The impact of acne on self-worth and wellbeing

Arecent video, posted by the BBC, focuses on the impact of acne on the everyday lives and sense of self-worth of affected individuals (BBC News, 2019). It follows Abigail Collins, who has had cystic acne since she was a child, who explains her condition and the way it has affected her throughout her life.

‘Spotty’, ‘not worthy’ and ‘ugly’ are the adjectives Abigail lists as examples of some of the comments she has received from strangers based on her appearance. She explains how she remembers being treated differently by others, and that some people didn't want to be seen out with her unless she was wearing make-up. Abigail explains that this is why she began to depend so heavily on make-up to ‘mask’ her appearance.

In the video, Abigail describes wanting to ‘shy away from everything’ and be away from people and in her own space. This highlights the extreme impact that skin conditions such as acne can have on a patient's wellbeing and quality of life. Several studies have highlighted the mental impact of acne in patients, with one suggesting that depression was found to be two to three times more prevalent in acne patients than in the general population, with a reported 8.8% of acne patients having clinical depression (Uhlenhake et al, 2010). Furthermore, in this study, 65.2% of the acne patient population was female, with twice as many reported to have depression as males (10.6% females compared with 5.3% of males) (Uhlenhake et al, 2010).