We think of acne as part of the phase of being a teen, but have you thought that acne could be one of the perils in a teens life? Along with acne comes many self-esteem issues, which can eventually lead to depression and suicide. Studies have found that acne is a debilitating condition for those who suffer it. So debilitating that it appears to be significantly correlated with suicidal thoughts and depression.
Why?
Think about it…our faces are our first impressions, and acne appears most often on a person’s face. This often leads to teens feeling conscious and even low mood and self-esteem due to appearances mattering so much. Studies also found that teens with acne had fewer friends and lower grades. In ability to perform to expectations academically and lack of a good social support system will bring a teenagers mood down as well.
Acne can also be difficult to treat without daily effort, and many teens just don’t have that kind of focus in order to do it. While prescription medications are available to treat it as well, that would be drawing even more attention to the problem. Most teenagers don’t want more attention to the problem. What’s worse is that the more you worry about it, the more stress it causes and the more acne outbreaks you’re prone to have. Not to mention that a teen has plenty of academic and social stress already contributing to the factor.
This is a situation when a teen that practices mindfulness and learns to just be in the present and sit with the problem could benefit and reduce the stress as well as acne. It would also be beneficial to move from treating acne as just a normal part of growing up, to treating it like the normal health condition it is in order to prevent the mental health concerns that acne is linked to.
