Impact of acne on quality of life

Impact of acne on quality of life

I decided to read up on the impact of acne on quality of life for my third causeachatter post of this quarter. Having healthy acne free skin gives me confidence. It somehow makes me feel happy.This may be rooted way back to my teen years when started having pimples. I a very positive child. Due to this I held on to the belief that having pimples as a teen meant having clear and glowing skin when you grow up.

This stemmed from something I heard from my mother and sister. They would always tell me that those who face any hardships when they are young, are always blessed with a lot of happiness later on in life. So I made that my mantra in life and never let my pimply cheeks or my rabbit-y teeth(I still get to here about this one till this date!) get in the way of my confidence.


But then I grew up, and reality blossomed. Things don’t exactly turn out the way you want them to. Life is somehow like that. I again started facing adult acne and questions from numerous well wishers regarding the source of it! I had been dabbling with the idea of making a video. It would about my acne and skin care journey but I just could not make myself do it.

Recently I decided to chuck all my insecurities. Give a pleasant smile to all the people who never forget to enquire ” Hey! How come you are getting so much acne!” and share freely about my journey. I suffered from a severe breakout episode last year triggered by extreme stress. With some help from my loved ones, I have brought things under control. I hope to continue with my head held high ❤️ and unfaltering confidence.

Express my heartfelt gratitude to Dr. S.R Shukla from Jaipur for helping me through this.
I know there are many think that it seems very superficial and fickle to be disturbed by cosmetic issues related to skin, but has a large mental health impact.

Impact of acne on mental health

In a medical research paper by Natsuaki et.al it has been

stated “Acne is a hallmark of adolescence, affecting 85% of youth between the ages of 12 and 25 worldwide.Perhaps because of its ubiquity and minimal impact on physical functioning, acne is often dismissed as a time-delimited cosmetic nuisance and has been summarily neglected by developmental scientists.”

According to them there is evidence of acne being directly related with associated psychological issues like depression and anxiety, and especially so in “females and youths with darker skin”. You can read the entire paper here. https://srcd.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/cdep.12397
(Source: Natsuaki, M.N. and Yates, T.M. (2021), Adolescent Acne and Disparities in Mental Health. Child Dev Perspect, 15: 37-43. https://doi.org/10.1111/cdep.12397I)

In another research paper the authors Hazarika et al have stated “Patients reported being constantly enquired about their acne, even teased by peers and relatives. Oh! how I can relate to that! They have also said that “A higher degree of social anxiety, social avoidance/withdrawal has been reported due to acne with many patients developing avoidance behavior in response to their acne and some going on to develop permanent effect on personality such as avoidant personality trait.

Source: Hazarika, Neirita & Archana, M. (2016). The Psychosocial Impact of Acne Vulgaris. Indian Journal of Dermatology. 61. 515. 10.4103/0019-5154.190102

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5029236

So it is very important to address this important issue of impact of acne on quality of life early on rather than cope with unmanageable effects later on in life!
I am grateful to God that I decided to take things into my own hands, and will encourage all the ladies suffering from acne related confidence issues to not give up and keep your chin up.

My Acne Skincare routine

I have enlisted a few of the skin care besties
They have worked wonders for me and hope this helps somebody out there.
 

Peptaronic serum by @snp_global
Hyaluronic Acid toner plus by @isntree_india
Vitamin C serum by @klairs.global @klairs.in
Advanced snail mucin essence by @cosrx @cosrx_india_official
Snail solution emulsion and Cica cream by @naturerepublic_kr
Floria peeling gel by @tonymolyindia
Sun Project SPF 50 sun essence by @thankyoufarmer_official
@thankyoufarmer.in
Tone up no sebum sunscreen by @innisfreeindia
@innisfreeofficial
Barrier Relief cream by @theformularx
Green Tangerine vita c tone-up spf50 by @goodal_official
@cosrx_india @cosrx Snail Mucin essence
@innisfreeindia @innisfreeofficial Bija Cica Gel and Spot Treatment
Epiduo Gel suggested by @healthwealthbridge_dramrita
@dotandkey.skincare 72 hour probiotic enriched hydrating gel

 
 
 

This post is part of Blogchatter’s CauseAChatter.

9 Comments

  1. Thank you so much for writing a post on this topic. People often neglect the impact acne has on mental health. In fact, people never talk about mental health openly. Fortunately, I have never suffered from sudden breakout of pimples, in teens or in adulthood. Maybe because I have always been physically active in sports and dance activities. And physical activity is good for overall blood circulation. But I have seen many sports teenage girls who had pimples. I have seen my elder sister getting irritated by unwanted suggestions of relatives, friends, and strangers about her skin condition. I have seen a change in her behaviour from a happy girl to a continously frustrated person who gets angry easily. And reading your post made me realise that maybe it was the effect of pimples on her mental health that caused it.

    • Yes definitely physical activity in any form helps in circulation and detoxing. I am glad that you liked this post 😊

  2. As someone who has been a victim of acne and poor self-image because of the same, I appreciate this article a lot. Thank you for writing this!

  3. It’s a really important topic to understand because so many you people experience this.
    I love your mantra about going through hard times when younger. It’s always so important to have hope, and for people to know that things will change and evolve one day.

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