Articles

They say beauty is only skin deep. That might be true, but the difficulties that we can develop when we are not considered "beautiful" are not just skin deep.

My friend, for example, has a teenaged son with acne problems. His acne is barely noticeable and yet people make fun of him. Even friends he has had since elementary school had started teasing him.

At first he didn't pay too much attention to the comments, but then it started affecting him. He started avoiding parties, school functions and football games. He even refused going to his club meetings.

Not long after, she told me what the problem was. The comments were affecting his feeling. He hated the way he looked and had chose to stay away from the people he used to hang out with so they wouldn't bother him.

When he started not going out, his parents started to worry. He used to be sociable and the life of the party. Now he would just lock himself in his room for hours.

They finally decided to take him to a therapist. It seemed that all of the "innocent" joking had led him to develop a social phobia. His acne had actually led to an important anxiety disorder.

I was shocked. Teenagers and acne go together like peanut butter and jelly. I always just thought that, at most, you could get embarrassed or mad, but I never thought it could get this bad.

He began going to weekly sessions with a therapist to deal with the anxiety. He's also started going to a dermatologist to get specialized treatment for his acne.

Treating the Psychological and Physical Problems of Acne

Therapy has helped him with his self image. All of the times he was teased or laughed at his self esteem would break down just a little. Now it was time for him to re-establish his self esteem and the image he had of himself.

His therapist also advised him to seek professional help from a dermatologist and not to rely just on over the counter drugs as treatments for acne. The dermatologist steered him towards some organic acne products that would help his skin clear up and not cause any side effects.

He now has a concrete skin care routine that helps him control his acne. He still has some minor breakouts, but he can control them both physically and psychologically.

So next time you think about teasing someone with acne, remember that the problems that come with acne don't disappear just because the pimples go away.

Pimple treatment is not just a question of which product is the right one. If you feel like an outsider don't keep it inside and try natural skin care treatments to help prevent breakouts. Acne should not keep you from doing the things you love to do.