Speaker 1: Welcome to brain Stuff production of I Heart Radio. Hey
Speaker 1: brain Stuff, I'm Lauren Bogel bomb In. Today's episode is
Speaker 1: another classic from our archives. In this one, we discussed
Speaker 1: the strange and strangely widespread fascination we humans have with
Speaker 1: something so gross as popping zits. Hi brain Stuff Lauren
Speaker 1: Vogel bam here. Most people don't like having pimples. In fact,
Speaker 1: acne treatment is a nearly five billion dollar a year
Speaker 1: global industry, but for many there's a silver lining to
Speaker 1: the errant, unwanted sit Eventually, if you're patient, strategic and delicate,
Speaker 1: you'll get to pop it just right. Don't worry, no
Speaker 1: one's judging. I'm certainly not. Despite or perhaps because of
Speaker 1: the gross out factor, there's even a major online presence
Speaker 1: of pimple popping videos, like those put up by dermatologist
Speaker 1: Dr Sandra Lee, perhaps better known as Dr pimple Popper,
Speaker 1: whose YouTube channel has more than three point five million
Speaker 1: of followers. Whether or not watching other people's bodily fluids
Speaker 1: get expressed is your personal jam, Popping your own zits
Speaker 1: is usually a cathartic experience. So um why, As with
Speaker 1: just about everything we do, the brain and a whole
Speaker 1: smorg sport of chemicals are involved, so the human response
Speaker 1: to zip popping is more complicated than we thought. Zip
Speaker 1: management often captures our attention, not like kittens do because
Speaker 1: looking at them is pleasant, but rather the opposite. We're
Speaker 1: disgusted by it. The emotion of disgust is a powerful, multifaceted,
Speaker 1: often contradictory instinct. We spoke via email with Purdue University
Speaker 1: professor Daniel Kelly, the author of Yuck, The Nature and
Speaker 1: Moral Significance of Disgust. He said, you make that yuck face,
Speaker 1: you tend to think of the disgusting thing is contaminated
Speaker 1: and contaminating, polluted. You get that flash of nausea and
Speaker 1: emotional frision, But you also tend to keep an eye on,
Speaker 1: keep track of whatever it is that triggered your disgust.
Speaker 1: So disgusting thing is also attract and capture attention. It's
Speaker 1: just part of the way the psychological system works, how
Speaker 1: it's able to do its job well. As a result,
Speaker 1: this inherent disgust causes us to pop the ZiT or
Speaker 1: watch these zip popping video. We also e conversed with
Speaker 1: Matt Troube, a psychotherapist in California, who specializes in the
Speaker 1: psychological aspects of skin conditions. He said, for many people,
Speaker 1: pimple popping comes from a compulsion to ensure that their
Speaker 1: skin looks and feels smooth. They view any irregular patch
Speaker 1: or bump, such as a pimple, as an imperfection that
Speaker 1: must be removed, but there's also a pleasurable side to
Speaker 1: getting the pus out of a big ZiT. Florida based
Speaker 1: neuropsychologist Rhonda Freeman says that positive sensations associated with pimple
Speaker 1: popping actually begin well before the act is committed. She
Speaker 1: said via email. Prior to popping the pimple, there might
Speaker 1: be the sensation of wanting to engage in the act.
Speaker 1: The neurotransmitter dopamine as at play at this stage and
Speaker 1: may fuel some of the anticipatory excitement of going for
Speaker 1: the ZiT. This can cause a person to feel stimulated
Speaker 1: as the system is ignited into action. Stimulating because it
Speaker 1: could be gross, and there's the possibility of pain and
Speaker 1: it might get messy. The fun is hardly over before
Speaker 1: it begins, However, she continued, Once the pimple is popped,
Speaker 1: there is often the immediate sensation of pleasure and relief.
Speaker 1: This is probably thanks to the liking or hadonic response
Speaker 1: from the reward system, and that reward system is some
Speaker 1: serious stuff. The neuro transmitters and action at that point
Speaker 1: are endogenous opioids, which double as natural pain killers and
Speaker 1: generally just make us feel good. Then there are those
Speaker 1: people who enjoy popping other people's pimples. This urge is
Speaker 1: as old as time and is commonly seen in primates.
Speaker 1: Dr Freeman explained primates are very social creatures and experienced
Speaker 1: the release of oxytocin when engaged in the act of grooming.
Speaker 1: We have the same neurochemical release when we groom each other. However,
Speaker 1: it's not all golden. Psychotherapist Troub said, if you are
Speaker 1: stressed or anxious, pimple popping can give temporary relief but
Speaker 1: doesn't address the underlying issues. Instead of dealing with the
Speaker 1: actual problems, pimple popping can be a quick fix that
Speaker 1: makes you feel like you're resolving in urgent matter or
Speaker 1: source of stress. He also noted that excessive pimple popping
Speaker 1: is a way that some people abuse themselves, especially those
Speaker 1: who are being picked on by others, whether at home, work, school,
Speaker 1: or so on. He said, Popping your pimples can be
Speaker 1: a strategic behavior to give you a sense of control
Speaker 1: over yourself. By literally picking on yourself, you can feel
Speaker 1: some control over the unwelcome behavior of others. Your skin
Speaker 1: can become a metaphor, with pimples acting as a message
Speaker 1: of inferiority. Clearing those pimples can provide relief for a substitute.
Speaker 1: You might try popping bubble wrap. The act of popping
Speaker 1: those plastic pieces releases muscle tension, effectively reducing stress. It
Speaker 1: has also been shown to facilitate calmness and attentiveness. Today's
Speaker 1: episode is based on the article why do we love
Speaker 1: to pop sits? On how stuff works dot com written
Speaker 1: by Leo Hoyt. Brain Stuff is production of I Heart
Speaker 1: Radio and partnership with how stuff works dot Com and
Speaker 1: is produced by Tyler Kleine. Or more podcasts of my
Speaker 1: heart Radio, visit the I heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts,
Speaker 1: or wherever you listen to your favorite shows.