Welcome to brain Stuff from How Stuff Works, Hi brain Stuff, Lauren Voge obam here. Most people don't like having pimples. In fact, acne treatment is a nearly five billion dollar a year global industry, but for many there's a silver lining to the errant, unwanted sit Eventually, if you're patient, strategic and delicate, you'll get to pop it just right. Don't worry, no one's judging. I'm certainly not. Despite or
perhaps because of the gross out factor. There's even a major online presence of pimple popping videos, like those put up by dermatologist Dr Sandra Lee, perhaps better known as Dr pimple Popper, whose YouTube channel has more than three point five million followers. Whether or not watching other people's bodily fluids get expressed is your personal jam, Popping your own sits is usually a cathartic experience. So um why. As with just about everything we do, the brain and
a whole old smorge board of chemicals are involved. So the human response to zip popping is more complicated than we thought. Zip management often captures our attention, not like kittens do because looking at them is pleasant, but rather the opposite. We're disgusted by it. The emotion of disgust is a powerful, multifaceted, often contradictory instinct. We spoke via email with Purdue University professor Daniel Kelly, the author of Yuck,
The Nature and Moral Significance of Disgust. He said, you make that yuck face, you tend to think of the disgusting thing is contaminated and contaminating, polluted. You get that flash of nausea and emotional frision, But you also tend to keep an eye on, keep track of whatever it is that triggered your disgust. So disgusting things also attract and capture attention. It's just part of the way the psychological system works, how it's able to do its job well.
As a result, this inherent disgust causes us to pop the zip or watch these zip popping video. We also e conversed with Matt Trout, a psychotherapist in California who specializes in the psychological aspects of skin conditions. He said, for many people, pimple popping comes from a compulsion to
ensure that their skin looks and feels smooth. They view any irregular patch or bump, such as a pimple as an imperfection that must be removed, but there's also a pleasurable side to getting the puss out of a big ZiT. Florida based neuropsychologist Rhonda Freeman says that positive sensations associated with pimple popping actually begin well before the act is committed. She said via email, prior to popping the pimple, there might be the sensation of wanting to engage in the act.
The neurotransmitter dopamine as at play at this stage and may fuel some of the anticipatory excitement of going for the ZiT. This can cause a person to feel stimulated as the system is ignited into action. Stimulating because it could be gross, and there's the possibility of pain, and it might get messy. The fun is hardly over before it begins. However, she continued, Once the pimple is popped, there is often the immediate sensation of pleasure and relief.
This is probably thanks to the liking or hadonic response from the reward system, and that reward system is some serious stuff. The neuro transmitters and action at that point are endogenous opioids, which double as natural pain killers and generally just make us feel good. Then there are those people who enjoy popping other people's pimples. This urge is as old as time and is commonly seen in primates.
Dr Freeman explained primates are very social creatures and experience the release of oxytocin when engaged in the act of grooming. We have the same neurochemical release when we groom each other. However, it's not all golden. Psychotherapist Troub said if you are stressed or anxious, pimple popping can give temporary relief but
doesn't address the underlying issues. Instead of dealing with the actual problems, pimple popping can be a quick fix that makes you feel like you're resolving in urgent matter or source of stress. He also noted that excessive pimple popping is a way that's people abuse themselves, especially those who are being picked on by others, whether at home, work, school, or so on. He said, popping your pimples can be a strategic behavior to give you a sense of control
over yourself. By literally picking on yourself, you can feel some control over the unwelcome behavior of others. Your skin can become a metaphor with pimples, acting as a message of inferiority. Clearing those pimples can provide relief for a substitute. You might try popping bubble wrap. The act of popping those plastic pieces releases muscle tension, effectively reducing stress. It
has also been shown to facilitate calmness and attentiveness. Today's episode was written by Aliya Hoyt and produced by Tyler Playing, with kind engineering assistance from Ramsay Youngt. For more on this and lots of other pop and topics, visit our home planet, how stuff Works dot com.