1 00:00:02,040 --> 00:00:07,120 Speaker 1: Welcome to brain Stuff from How Stuff Works, Hi brain Stuff, 2 00:00:07,160 --> 00:00:10,960 Speaker 1: Lauren Voge obam here. Most people don't like having pimples. 3 00:00:11,400 --> 00:00:14,640 Speaker 1: In fact, acne treatment is a nearly five billion dollar 4 00:00:14,720 --> 00:00:18,239 Speaker 1: a year global industry, but for many there's a silver 5 00:00:18,360 --> 00:00:22,480 Speaker 1: lining to the errant, unwanted sit Eventually, if you're patient, 6 00:00:22,640 --> 00:00:25,840 Speaker 1: strategic and delicate, you'll get to pop it just right. 7 00:00:27,000 --> 00:00:30,639 Speaker 1: Don't worry, no one's judging. I'm certainly not. Despite or 8 00:00:30,680 --> 00:00:33,680 Speaker 1: perhaps because of the gross out factor. There's even a 9 00:00:33,720 --> 00:00:37,240 Speaker 1: major online presence of pimple popping videos, like those put 10 00:00:37,280 --> 00:00:40,440 Speaker 1: up by dermatologist Dr Sandra Lee, perhaps better known as 11 00:00:40,560 --> 00:00:43,560 Speaker 1: Dr pimple Popper, whose YouTube channel has more than three 12 00:00:43,600 --> 00:00:47,640 Speaker 1: point five million followers. Whether or not watching other people's 13 00:00:47,640 --> 00:00:50,840 Speaker 1: bodily fluids get expressed is your personal jam, Popping your 14 00:00:50,880 --> 00:00:56,800 Speaker 1: own sits is usually a cathartic experience. So um why. 15 00:00:57,200 --> 00:00:59,720 Speaker 1: As with just about everything we do, the brain and 16 00:00:59,760 --> 00:01:02,400 Speaker 1: a whole old smorge board of chemicals are involved. So 17 00:01:02,440 --> 00:01:05,479 Speaker 1: the human response to zip popping is more complicated than 18 00:01:05,520 --> 00:01:09,320 Speaker 1: we thought. Zip management often captures our attention, not like 19 00:01:09,480 --> 00:01:12,360 Speaker 1: kittens do because looking at them is pleasant, but rather 20 00:01:12,440 --> 00:01:16,000 Speaker 1: the opposite. We're disgusted by it. The emotion of disgust 21 00:01:16,080 --> 00:01:20,880 Speaker 1: is a powerful, multifaceted, often contradictory instinct. We spoke via 22 00:01:21,000 --> 00:01:25,120 Speaker 1: email with Purdue University professor Daniel Kelly, the author of Yuck, 23 00:01:25,360 --> 00:01:29,240 Speaker 1: The Nature and Moral Significance of Disgust. He said, you 24 00:01:29,319 --> 00:01:31,560 Speaker 1: make that yuck face, you tend to think of the 25 00:01:31,600 --> 00:01:35,720 Speaker 1: disgusting thing is contaminated and contaminating, polluted. You get that 26 00:01:35,760 --> 00:01:39,040 Speaker 1: flash of nausea and emotional frision, But you also tend 27 00:01:39,080 --> 00:01:41,440 Speaker 1: to keep an eye on, keep track of whatever it 28 00:01:41,560 --> 00:01:45,319 Speaker 1: is that triggered your disgust. So disgusting things also attract 29 00:01:45,400 --> 00:01:48,080 Speaker 1: and capture attention. It's just part of the way the 30 00:01:48,120 --> 00:01:51,160 Speaker 1: psychological system works, how it's able to do its job well. 31 00:01:52,160 --> 00:01:55,080 Speaker 1: As a result, this inherent disgust causes us to pop 32 00:01:55,120 --> 00:01:58,840 Speaker 1: the zip or watch these zip popping video. We also 33 00:01:58,920 --> 00:02:02,440 Speaker 1: e conversed with Matt Trout, a psychotherapist in California who 34 00:02:02,440 --> 00:02:06,480 Speaker 1: specializes in the psychological aspects of skin conditions. He said, 35 00:02:06,880 --> 00:02:09,760 Speaker 1: for many people, pimple popping comes from a compulsion to 36 00:02:09,919 --> 00:02:13,200 Speaker 1: ensure that their skin looks and feels smooth. They view 37 00:02:13,240 --> 00:02:16,040 Speaker 1: any irregular patch or bump, such as a pimple as 38 00:02:16,080 --> 00:02:20,200 Speaker 1: an imperfection that must be removed, but there's also a 39 00:02:20,240 --> 00:02:22,919 Speaker 1: pleasurable side to getting the puss out of a big ZiT. 40 00:02:23,560 --> 00:02:28,359 Speaker 1: Florida based neuropsychologist Rhonda Freeman says that positive sensations associated 41 00:02:28,360 --> 00:02:31,760 Speaker 1: with pimple popping actually begin well before the act is committed. 42 00:02:32,200 --> 00:02:35,400 Speaker 1: She said via email, prior to popping the pimple, there 43 00:02:35,480 --> 00:02:38,440 Speaker 1: might be the sensation of wanting to engage in the act. 44 00:02:38,680 --> 00:02:41,560 Speaker 1: The neurotransmitter dopamine as at play at this stage and 45 00:02:41,639 --> 00:02:44,720 Speaker 1: may fuel some of the anticipatory excitement of going for 46 00:02:44,800 --> 00:02:47,600 Speaker 1: the ZiT. This can cause a person to feel stimulated 47 00:02:47,639 --> 00:02:51,120 Speaker 1: as the system is ignited into action. Stimulating because it 48 00:02:51,200 --> 00:02:54,240 Speaker 1: could be gross, and there's the possibility of pain, and 49 00:02:54,400 --> 00:02:57,600 Speaker 1: it might get messy. The fun is hardly over before 50 00:02:57,600 --> 00:03:00,960 Speaker 1: it begins. However, she continued, Once the pimple is popped, 51 00:03:01,000 --> 00:03:04,160 Speaker 1: there is often the immediate sensation of pleasure and relief. 52 00:03:04,600 --> 00:03:08,000 Speaker 1: This is probably thanks to the liking or hadonic response 53 00:03:08,080 --> 00:03:11,320 Speaker 1: from the reward system, and that reward system is some 54 00:03:11,400 --> 00:03:14,400 Speaker 1: serious stuff. The neuro transmitters and action at that point 55 00:03:14,400 --> 00:03:17,600 Speaker 1: are endogenous opioids, which double as natural pain killers and 56 00:03:17,800 --> 00:03:20,959 Speaker 1: generally just make us feel good. Then there are those 57 00:03:21,000 --> 00:03:24,360 Speaker 1: people who enjoy popping other people's pimples. This urge is 58 00:03:24,360 --> 00:03:27,200 Speaker 1: as old as time and is commonly seen in primates. 59 00:03:27,720 --> 00:03:31,760 Speaker 1: Dr Freeman explained primates are very social creatures and experience 60 00:03:31,840 --> 00:03:34,920 Speaker 1: the release of oxytocin when engaged in the act of grooming. 61 00:03:35,400 --> 00:03:39,360 Speaker 1: We have the same neurochemical release when we groom each other. However, 62 00:03:39,640 --> 00:03:43,240 Speaker 1: it's not all golden. Psychotherapist Troub said if you are 63 00:03:43,280 --> 00:03:46,760 Speaker 1: stressed or anxious, pimple popping can give temporary relief but 64 00:03:46,840 --> 00:03:50,040 Speaker 1: doesn't address the underlying issues. Instead of dealing with the 65 00:03:50,080 --> 00:03:52,920 Speaker 1: actual problems, pimple popping can be a quick fix that 66 00:03:52,960 --> 00:03:55,160 Speaker 1: makes you feel like you're resolving in urgent matter or 67 00:03:55,240 --> 00:03:59,080 Speaker 1: source of stress. He also noted that excessive pimple popping 68 00:03:59,240 --> 00:04:02,440 Speaker 1: is a way that's people abuse themselves, especially those who 69 00:04:02,480 --> 00:04:05,680 Speaker 1: are being picked on by others, whether at home, work, school, 70 00:04:05,800 --> 00:04:08,840 Speaker 1: or so on. He said, popping your pimples can be 71 00:04:08,920 --> 00:04:11,400 Speaker 1: a strategic behavior to give you a sense of control 72 00:04:11,440 --> 00:04:14,960 Speaker 1: over yourself. By literally picking on yourself, you can feel 73 00:04:15,000 --> 00:04:18,320 Speaker 1: some control over the unwelcome behavior of others. Your skin 74 00:04:18,440 --> 00:04:21,360 Speaker 1: can become a metaphor with pimples, acting as a message 75 00:04:21,360 --> 00:04:26,320 Speaker 1: of inferiority. Clearing those pimples can provide relief for a substitute. 76 00:04:26,480 --> 00:04:29,040 Speaker 1: You might try popping bubble wrap. The act of popping 77 00:04:29,120 --> 00:04:33,279 Speaker 1: those plastic pieces releases muscle tension, effectively reducing stress. It 78 00:04:33,320 --> 00:04:41,919 Speaker 1: has also been shown to facilitate calmness and attentiveness. Today's 79 00:04:41,920 --> 00:04:44,760 Speaker 1: episode was written by Aliya Hoyt and produced by Tyler Playing, 80 00:04:44,839 --> 00:04:47,880 Speaker 1: with kind engineering assistance from Ramsay Youngt. For more on 81 00:04:47,920 --> 00:04:50,320 Speaker 1: this and lots of other pop and topics, visit our 82 00:04:50,360 --> 00:05:03,600 Speaker 1: home planet, how stuff Works dot com.