Coping with the Psychological Scars

The psychological impact of acne can lead you to feelings of
diminished self-esteem and be a source of anxiety when it
comes to dealing with the world. If you’re a teen with acne, you
may have been told, “It’s no big deal, and anyway, you’ll grow out
of it. You’re just experiencing a normal part of life.” But to you,
having acne is a big deal; you feel insecure and lack self confi-
dence. Every day you have to deal with school and other kids who
seem perfect (even if they’re not). You don’t feel like you have time
to “grow out of it.”
The truth is that many folks don’t “just grow out of” acne and
others wind up growing into it. And if you’re an adult, you don’t
even get the benefit of having lots of other peers around in the
same boat. You have a whole different set of stressors (job inter-
views, presentations, black tie events, and carpools) associated
with your acne. And darn it, you thought you were past this stage
anyway.
The main thing to remember, whatever age you are, is that acne is
treatable. (Take a look at Chapters 7 through 15 to find just the
right way to treat your acne.) In this chapter, I talk about ways to
deal with the invisible scars that some people carry around with
them — the ones that are carried on the inside. Although most
other people see acne only on the surface, the burden goes much
deeper.