UNCLEAN! Acne And Its Social Impact

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If the headline above seems a little strong, I use it with good reason. Can you think of any other affliction that causes more psychological trauma, more social awkwardness, and greater insecurity than acne? I can, actually, and it’s called leprosy. From the way some people react to acne, they would be better off living in such-and-such BC, when lepers had to carry warning bells with them and shout ‘Unclean’!

 
Okay, I may be biased because I’ve experienced such reactions first hand, but ask any acne sufferer and s/he will tell you how acutely damaging acne can be socially. Angelique Hennart, a French girl who went to school with me and was one of the few schoolmates who could look beyond my pustules to the person within, once wondered why more research was not conducted on the psychological and social impact of acne.

 
I couldn’t answer her then, but I can now. I think the reason is that acne is not rare enough to warrant research. I mean, almost everyone gets it, and it isn’t threatening to your overall health, if you come right down to it. And yet, people with acne can be socially withdrawn, lack self-esteem, depressed or angry or frustrated, and even jobless, because they can’t face the world. Worse, because acne is widely – and incorrectly – associated with dirt, people assume that those with acne are ‘unclean’. See? I told you the comparison was valid.