While people with acne should avoid certain activities and environments
and practice good health habits to improve the physical
symptoms of acne, they also must deal with the emotional
issues caused by acne in order to lead happier lives.
One such
issue is low self-esteem. Talking with a counselor or a psychologist
helps acne patients recognize why they suffer from low
self-esteem and investigate ways to change or avoid these feelings.
An acne patient describes how talking to a counselor helped
her. “Before I started seeing him [the counselor], I hated the person
I saw in the mirror. He helped me realize that there is more
to me than my appearance. I’m smart and funny. I realize the
person in the mirror isn’t all I am. Because of what I learned in
counseling, I’m a happier person, and I feel better about myself.”
Staying Active
Another way acne patients deal with emotional issues is by staying
active. Getting involved in activities that are fun and that focus
on others helps people with acne to forget about their appearance
while raising their self-esteem. Supporting a cause, joining a club
or church group, or doing volunteer work are a few of the ways
people with acne stay active and raise their self-esteem in the
process. A former acne patient explains:
Being a teenager with pimples, that was bad. I knew I wasn’t
popular. I knew I wasn’t attractive to girls. There was a lot of
anger and humiliation. I wanted to avoid social activities and
stay home and hide. But I went out anyway. I had to get over
myself. I had to put myself out there, pimples and all. One of
the things I did was volunteer at the animal shelter. The animals
didn’t care how I looked. They licked my face, welts and all. After a while I didn’t care either. I was doing something
that made me feel good inside. That made me look better outside.
It is clear that people with acne face many challenges. But by
dealing with emotional issues and carefully protecting and caring
for their skin, they can meet these challenges and live happy, productive
lives.
