Clinical studies of people affected by acne have shown that the condition can go together with social withdrawal, lower self-esteem, poorer performance at work, depression and anxiety.
The psychological impact of acne can reach well beyond the skin, giving rise to deep emotional wounds even when the lesions on the skin are not especially severe.
Unwanted mild or moderate lesions may appear before an event or an interview, which can weaken your concentration and your confidence in yourself.
On the mornings when you wake with one or more painful nodules on the chin, it can leave you unable to smile for the rest of the day.
Unwelcome and far too often, acne takes away the joy of living and can hold you back from the goals you are working towards.
Stress
Clinical studies have shown that stress can be associated with the appearance of new inflammatory lesions and can also make existing acne worse. The explanation lies in the biochemical and hormonal changes the body goes through during stressful periods of life. If you notice that your acne worsens during stressful times, practising relaxation and stress-reduction techniques can do a great deal of good for the skin lesions.
Depression
People with severe forms of cystic acne and painful nodulocystic lesions can suffer from anxiety and depression.
ALWAYS
• Use skincare products, make-up and sunscreens that are hypoallergenic, non-greasy and alcohol-free. Some of these products, described as “non-comedogenic” and/or non-acnegenic, have been tested and shown not to make existing acne worse.
• Wash the skin gently morning and evening, using suitable syndet soaps or cleansing gels (detergent-free), without rubbing the skin vigorously as you wash, which can further irritate skin that is already inflamed.
• Do not squeeze or otherwise traumatise comedones and inflammatory nodules. Forcing them out can make the acne lesions more severe and deeper, and carries the risk of permanent residual scarring.
• Talk to your doctor about whether any of the medicines you take regularly might be making your acne worse. Certain oral and implantable contraceptives have been shown to worsen acne. The same has been shown for anabolic steroids.
• Avoid direct exposure to ultraviolet radiation, both natural and from sunbeds. Many anti-acne treatments make the skin more sensitive to ultraviolet radiation, so that it burns far sooner after sun exposure. Protection against ultraviolet is a matter of using a high-factor, non-comedogenic sunscreen (at least SPF 40).