We all know that acne a very emotionally painful condition. It can certainly be physically painful as well, but it is usually nothing compared to the frustration, shame, and sadness that this rollercoaster of a disease can lock a person into.
Unfortunately, acne is an absolute champ at triggering some serious mental health issues – there is no question there. Most people blame their emotional problems on the acne itself, and therefore believe that as soon as the acne is gone, the depression and anxiety will go too. I believe strongly that acne may be the trigger and the justifier but not the cause of the emotional distress itself.
I believe that it comes from within and could have just as easily been triggered and justified by something else.
As a consequence of this, mental health issues can quickly get out of hand and not be realized by those expressing the symptoms. Because the blame is constantly put onto the acne, a long hard look at oneself is usually brushed aside. I’m not saying that you are to blame either, but that awareness is the first step to recovery.
The following mental health diseases can be strongly linked with acne. Most people will not have full blown versions of these, but often bits and pieces of each (which was the case with me). The purpose of this post is bring to light some disconcerting tendencies that you may not have realized you were displaying – before things start to get out of control.
- Depression. It’s characterized by feeling sad, unworthy, guilty, and helpless. Those with depression usually lack energy and motivation, and feel quite fatigued most of the time. They lose interest in normal activities and spending time with friends. It can also be hard to concentrate and they may have suicidal thoughts. Remember that everyone gets down sometimes but actual depression is when these feelings last more than a couple of weeks at a time.
- Anxiety. It’s characterized by excessive worry, fear, and apprehension over real or imagined situations – sometimes it manifests as a dark, ominous feeling with no real basis. Those with anxiety disorders can have uncontrollable excessive thoughts, repeated flashbacks to traumatic experiences, nightmares, sleep disturbances, jitteriness, digestive problems, and muscular tension.
- Obsessive Compulsive Disorder. OCD is a subset of anxiety. It’s characterized by developing strict, repetitive rituals and routines in order to deal with fears and anxieties, and those with OCD fear severe consequences if the rituals are broken. What’s worse is that they often realize the rituals are irrational – which can cause a lot of distress – but they just. can’t. stop. Classic rituals for OCD sufferers usually include things like obsessive hand washing, counting objects, and checking 20 times that the stove is really off. For those with acne, it can manifest in excessive skin picking and preening, obsessive face washing and topical application, and completely unreasonable fears and routines revolving around food.
- Orthorexia Nervosa. It is an anxiety disorder related to anorexia. Orthorexia is characterized by an unhealthy obsession with healthy eating, to the point where it severely interferes with normal life. It can even lead to malnourishment and death in severe cases. Much in the way that those with anorexia use their weight as an emotional scapegoat and limit food in order to feel in control, those with orthorexia are fixated on eating “pure” and “correct” foods in order to deal with emotions triggered by a variety of things (perhaps acne). They feel in complete control when they eat perfectly, and extremely guilty, shameful, and fearful when they don’t.
- Body Dysmoprhic Disorder, and more specifically, Acne Dysmorphic Disorder. It is characterized by a serious preoccupation with a real or imaginary physical flaw. There is excessive anxiety and stress over the perceived flaw and the person with BDD spends an unreasonable amount of time focusing on it, picking at it, excessively checking their appearance in a mirror, hiding the imperfection, comparing it with others, grooming, constantly seeking reassurance from others about it, and even getting repeated cosmetic surgery. With acne dysmorphic disorder, the perceived flaw is acne, blemishes, and scarring. Often the sufferer has mild acne but when they look at themselves in the mirror, the acne appears to them to be a hundred times worse than the reality.
Has this post thrown up some red flags for you? Are you dealing with the seeds of any of these mental health issues alongside your acne?
Thank you for posting this Tracy! It actually touches on some points I had been meaning to ask you about anyway! I believe that acne has absolutely led to my having some troublesome mental side effects. I can relate to the depression, OCD…..actually, I can relate to ALL of the issues you mentioned. I have been wondering if, now that you are clear, you still see yourself as someone with bad skin. If someone were to meet you now, they would never know that you have skin problems and would truly see you as someone with great skin. I was wondering if you feel this way though, or if you will always see yourself as someone with acne. My mom always tells me that I am like an overweight person who has lost weight and is now skinny, but still sees myself as fat. She says that even though my skin “looks clear” to ther people (and maybe is semi-clear in reality), when I look in the mirror, all I am able to see is someone with bad skin. It is so hard to look at myself objectively, that sometimes I do start to wonder if I am going crazy and if, in fact, my skin isn’t that bad?? I feel like I have lost all sense of reality about what I actually look like, which makes me really sad. So………..just wondering how you “see” yourself and if you think there’s hope for me? 🙂 I don’t want to feel like someone who is scarred and “damaged” forever, even long acter my skin has cleared. Thank you again for the article, the mental aspect of acne is much more painful than the acne itself!
Yea I am positive these things come with Acne but the major cause of acne is usually your diet as well as hygiene. Now I am not saying that people aren’t more prone to acne than others (Because they are) but those who are more prone tend to let the acne run them and either maintain hygiene or maintain their diet but not both. When I say hygiene I am considering people who will go above and beyond by not only washing their face everyday but sleeping on a clean towel every night. The diet is also very hard to maintain as pretty much everything causes acne nowadays. A wheats and grains need to be limited and replaced with starchy vegetables. Protein from animal sources have to be limited. Sugars and sweeteners that are found in fruit juices and chocolate need to be avoided. Not only all of this but you need to be wary of how you prepare you’re food. (Greasy food Greasy Face). I believe the first step to getting rid of acne is not only noticing these mental health issues but actually acting to organize your daily life to make your skin healthier. (Now if you’re taking pills that have acne as a side effect……find new pills). Also if you go to a dermatologist about Acne most will either give you pills for it ($$$NO$$) or tell you diet changes and hygiene hints. Best bet is to start living healthier and I promise you acne will go away and once thats gone you won’t even remember having any sort of mental health issues let alone if they were caused by Acne.
oh god i can relate to this in so many ways. i remember i had depression before my acne got worse though. i had really bad ocd when i was younger. I also have severe anxiety and its gotten worse over the years. ive gone through my fazes of eating disorders related to acne. i guess i still somewhat have one, because growing up i always ate horrible foods so its a real hard habit to break because its hard for me to fix healthy stuff all the time. and i have def. struggled with bdd. wow i am a mess hah. the thing is now i actually dont look at it as acne is the problem, i think its a lifetime of low self esteem and struggles that i haven’t gotten over. it sucks but on most days i have hope that i will be able to return to a normal person dealing with normal daily struggles like i once did.
I really believe that acne has a lot to do with your mental state. I have an eating disorder(that also was related to acne for a while) and when i´m stressed or having anxiety I also get extra worried about my skin and worrying that I´m going to breakout. I feel that my whole body is reacting, so why wouldn´t my skin also? It is so sad that mental issues like depression seems so glamorous in movies, cause they never show any actors with acne or bags under their eyes. They never show that depression can damage your metabolism and hormones. Instead it´s just skinny actors with clear skin and shiny hair. Really liked this article Tracy 🙂
Thanks for all your wonderful replies everyone! I’d love to reply individually, but I just moved into my new cabin and am working on getting the internet… so I am short on cafe time! <3
I was definitely suffering from a light case of BDD for about a year, depression for well over five. It’s amazing how quickly you find yourself gazing into a mirror and checking every insecurity in every light to fully grasp how “terrible” you look. Over time I came to realize that the only pain I suffered from -besides the continuous breakouts I hyper sensationalized x a billion – was self-inflicted. Therefore, I kept a record of mirror visits and was surprised to find I had over 30 occurrences within a day, investing over 2 hours. I would recommend anyone who believes they’re struggling with BDD to conduct a similar exercise: set a piece of paper near the mirror, like a post it, and blindly mark it. You might come to the realization mid-day that a change is necessary and only you can make it happen!
Thanks for the article, Tracy!
Yeah. All this applies.
I think it all an individual thing though. It’s a bit backwards for me. I’ve had depression an anxiety for most of my teenage and adult life (14-28). I was so depressed at one point about 3-4 year ago, that I had to be checked into a clinic, because I told my mom I was having suicidal thoughts. (and someone in my family committed suicide in 2003)
Even though I had acne at these times, it was mild and it didn’t bother me as much as some of my “other” problems. Acne of course bothered me, but I was actually more concerned with the other issues. My mind was more on the other issues.
I’ve got a lot of those issues worked out to the best of my ability, I got off antidepressants over 3 years ago, and I had been fine until now. However, I had my acne suppressed with benzoyl peroxide for the last one and half years, so I haven’t felt I had to deal or worry about acne then. Now that I’ve unleashed the acne after stopping mr benny, and attempting to solve all my problems with healthy food (been doing green smoothies for 4 weeks, all dairy cut, still working on wheat, but its difficult), I’ll be honest with you. This is the first time in a long time, I don’t want to leave my house. I’m seriously so upset right now, that I’d rather go back to slathering BP on my face. I can honestly say, that I don’t feel like I have an underlying “reason” unless its something I don’t know that I’m carrying. I don’t feel like I’m using my acne to stand in for that “reason”. I really feel acne is the reason but I’m not saying my life is perfect. Ack I don’t know if any of this makes sense.
this is one of my all-time favorite articles. i thought it was a coincidence, but a traumatic experience happened to me right before i had full blown acne. it’s been three years & i’m still trying to recover from it. i dont know how to get out of this mess but i’m really trying… b/c i know my health is taking it’s toll … (not just acne) …… love this article. thanks tracy:)
You’re welcome Grace, I’m sending plenty of love your way xoxoox
This is an older post of yours but I had to reply just because of how this all links together. Man! I am going through all of these right now and I knew about the first two you had listed but the last three blew me away. It was such a no-brainer but I am trying to get myself back together. I am just going to go with the advice with being happy (about anything/everything). I looked at a more recent post of yours about your rafting trip and that story reminded me a lot of myself. Now thinking about it more I believe I just need to “take it easy”. I have been extremely healthy and hygienic but my acne still comes. I am going to leave it to my mental health to sum this all up. I am still going to try some cleanses it the process but do you have any tips for hormonal imbalances? Thanks a lot… 🙂
Hi Angelina! Yes, emotional and mental health issues are usually the last frontier when it comes to treating acne naturally. It’s the piece of the puzzle that no one really realizes can actually cause acne, as opposed to being caused by acne. Anyway… if you think you are dealing with hormonal issues that aren’t being helped enough by a healthy lifestyle (hormones are only ever out of whack because of something else and usually aren’t the root of the problem), you can take a saliva hormone test (natural practitioners in your area should offer it) and it will let you know exactly where you’re at hormonally… then you can see if there are natural supplements that may be able to help you balance it!
Hey Tracy, I love your blog!! I’ve been following it for about 6th months now (although I am very busy so it’s taking me a while to catch up/read and watch all of your advice and such) and I’d just like to say that I find your blog very helpful. Thank you so much! My battle for clear skin has been a long, painful journey that I’m still trying to work through. It’s so hard sometimes that I just give up hope of ever being clear and physically attractive because I have a SERIOUS picking problem that I’ve had ever since I got the chicken pox in 1st grade. I do my best to cover it up and hide it from people (finally telling my best friend of over 8 years about my problem was a major step forwards in recover but also a bit of a step backwards because she didn’t really understand it nor get the fact that it’s not just a mild case of picking- it’s extreme) it’s getting to the point where it’s taking over my life and happiness. I hate myself because of it. I have no idea what to do about this issue. Reading this post has made me realize I basically have all of the mental health issues you mentioned, and that my acne and picking disorder are only making the mental issues worse, day by day… which stresses me out even more. I know you said “The purpose of this post is bring to light some disconcerting tendencies that you may not have realized you were displaying – before things start to get out of control” but I was wondering what your advice is for people like me, whose mental health issues have already gotten out of control? I’ve tried therapy but I never thought they actually cared or listened to my bullshit, so I gave that method of treatment up! Is it possible to heal all the emotional trauma that I have been suffering all these years? Can I undo what has been done, or is my psyche damaged forever?
Hi Lauren – I’d highly suggest looking up and reading about ACT (Acceptance and Commitment Therapy) and for compulsive behaviours specifically, like skin picking, look up and read about Exposure and Response Prevention Therapy. I hope this helps you. Also, this guy is awesome and has lots of info about this: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RNbB0KN5gsY
http://www.markfreeman.ca
I know this is an older post, but this jarred me because I relate to it SO much. I’m about 98% clear after figuring out my food allergies and sensitivities, but even after 1-2 years of being that way, I’m still OCD. The orthorexia nervosa part sounds like me too. I wash my hands constantly, check 20-30 times to make sure I’ve locked something/turned it off, and I’m constantly scared of eating something that will mess up my face. It’s not even totally irrational – one bite of something I can’t tolerate will bring up big, sore cysts, even after two years of eating clean. I thought I’d feel free when I cleared up my skin. I don’t. It took decades to finally be able to see myself as an attractive person by getting all the crap off my face, and I’m constantly afraid of it coming back. I don’t know how to cope other than to micromanage my diet.
Hi Caye, I understand. I’ve lived in fear about it coming back for a long time now (and have used food to control it), but things have slowly gotten better. Healing and growth just takes time. As for your OCD tendencies (which I think food micromanaging is a part of), look up Exposure and Response Prevention Therapy.. apparently it’s a technique that has a 90% success rate for treating obsessive compulsions
Thanks for your encouragement, Tracy. I love the positive focus of your blog and I will definitely look into that sort of therapy.
Wake up people! Someone ask “Tracy” how much money she is making from this site from 29.00 ebooks, 48.00 7 day cleanses, etc.. Wait, I’ll ask her before I jump to any conclusions like people exploiting a medical condition for profit. So, um, Tracy, how much are you pocketing buddy? You think she will speak up? Unfortunately most people with this sort of exploitative business usually tell themselves that they are helping people first and just making a little money along the way. If you are picking your skin go to a mental health professional. If you are struggling with acne go to a dermatologist. See this hippy chick for what she really is.
I’m sorry you feel that way Joshua. I make a living from this blog so that I have energy to keep it up and help people instead of working at a job that doesn’t fulfill me and leaves me with no energy to spare (and I always have people telling me how much I’ve helped them, so I’m not sure why they’d lie to me about that). Doing business is not always an evil thing. I mean, who doesn’t want to find a job that fulfills them and makes them happy? I have a perfectly fine give and take going here, if you ask me… I give away tons of information for free, much of it which wouldn’t be given out if I wasn’t also able to make some money from this blog too, because I just wouldn’t have any time or energy to do it. You don’t have to buy my ebooks to get the info you need if you are willing to read every article on my blog, and if people buy my ebooks and don’t find them helpful, they can just get a refund, just like that. If you find this exploitive, then don’t come back and it’s all good 🙂 My fans know that I am honest.
I stand corrected, just like that. Good luck. I suppose its just a deep seeded jealousy I have for someone who can make a decent living from a blog. What a fool i’ve made of myself, when you are just trying to help. Its all good.
i feel d same, i dont have any friends now. i never go out xcept work. i think i would hav stopped that too if i could. n i hav bf who doesnt speak to me much . i feel lik he doesnt speak because of my acne . acne is in my mind all d time. i have missed so many occasions just coz of acne:( i cant face ppl.. feel like they are lookin at my ugly face .. feel so unluckly lookin at others with clear skin.. plzz ppl pray 4 me…..
I have all these symptoms. I’m so down all the time I used to be the happiest person but now I constantly cry I constantly feel sick I’m always tired I need help I don’t know what on earth today anymore
I feel that the more anxious I am the more my acne tends to act up. The problem with acne and stress is that they go hand in hand-It’s like the chicken and the egg-so for me addressing both at the same time is extremely helpful. Living simpler, and having less to worry about, and finding time to relax & meditate-it really does help. I never thought I’d say this but your advice has helped me more than 3 dermatologists did-for me personally my hormonal acne is all due to diet, stress, and hormonal imbalance. I changed my diet a lot, but I didn’t know there were natural ways to help my hormone levels. For me, these have helped much more than the direutics and creams I was using that made me feel terrible. In fact, I’ve also noticed that adding a live probiotic & a natural elixir has helped me in other ways, as well as addressing the underlying hormonal issues. I feel better than ever, I still have acne but it is not as inflamed and I feel like perhaps in a few months it will heal. I think mind and body are so connected, so now I accept that it will be a process-thanks for your insight and different perspective on it. IT really has been helpful to me.
That’s awesome Miriam 🙂 Really glad to hear this – keep going, it will keep healing.