F.B.S.~Furrowed Brow Syndrome

  You won’t read about Furrowed Brow Syndrome in medical journals, nor will you find it listed in the criteria for psychological disorders, but F.B.S., as I call it, is a very serious condition! Apart from causing the annoying and age-revealing signs between the eyebrows, these aptly named “worry lines” settle in as the result of disdain, confusion, irritation, and overall distress. You may or may not be particularly concerned by the appearance of this wrinkle nuisance. However, other negative impacts of stress and agitation may motivate you to change your tone and how you respond to stress… or at least the way you express it on your face.

FBS and Our Health: A little stress in life can be healthy, activating neurotransmitters that cause a flush of exhilaration and may enhance our performance of certain activities like public speaking, sports, etc. The functions of the sympathetic nervous system (SNS), associated with “fight or flight,” are the body’s automatic impulses and reflexes that allow us to mobilize and survive life threatening situations. However, when stress forces the SNS into overdrive, we put ourselves at risk of overexposure to stress hormones like cortisol and adrenaline, which can activate symptoms of anxiety and depression. In addition, chronic or acute stress can wreak havoc on our bodies, taking a toll on our cardiovascular, nervous, endocrine, and immune systems. This type of stress has been linked to suppressed immune function, cardiovascular disease, and inflammation prevalent in autoimmune diseases among others.

FBS and Our Relationships: Stress, the way we manifest it and the way we express it, may also have adverse ramifications on our interpersonal relationships. It can negatively impact our ability to communicate our needs, effectively resolve problems, and access the support that could be vital in overcoming challenging situations. Significant research (Paul Ekman) has been done on how facial expressions may enhance or damage our ability to connect with others. The expressions we see on the faces of others can create a corresponding psychological response in ourselves. Consciously or subconsciously, when we see a scowl or furrowed brow, we tend to tense up, withdraw, or feel the need to activate our defenses. The viral video of Bitchy Resting Face (watch here) is a farce, but a great example of how our expressions and others’ perceptions of them can impact our interpersonal relationships.

FBS and the Ferris-wheel: Stress can be like getting on a Ferris-wheel in the sense that once you get on it, it can be rather difficult to get off. There is a self-perpetuating aspect of stress. Stress begets stress and can further activate other negative emotions associated with it, like anxiety, depression, etc. Neurologists use the expression, “what fires together, wires together,” meaning the more we reinforce certain patterns of thought, the more likely those thoughts or ways of thinking become our default mode. The more we engage and entertain our stressful thoughts, the more we resort to other thoughts that cause worry, fear, doubt, anxiety, etc.

A few tips to overcoming F.B.S.:

• Be aware of what your face is doing, where you may be holding tension, and how you are expressing stress in your body.
• Consciously relax your body’s muscles, with special attention to the space in between the eyebrows.
• When you notice yourself entertaining stressful thoughts, redirect your focus to thoughts that bring you a sense of calm, peacefulness, and reassurance.
• Communicate with people you trust when you are feeling particularly stressed or emotionally or physically taxed. Simply making yourself and others around you aware of what is causing you stress can allow you to access the support you need and mobilize the resources to help you resolve troublesome issues.
• Laugh! It’s impossible to laugh and have F.B.S. at the same time. Go ahead try it!