How Acne Affects Someone Emotionally, Physically and Mentally.
How acne affects someone both Emotionally, physically and mentally
Venezuelan skin positivity influencer Constanza Concha has had a severe form of acne called acne conglobata. It’s more common in males and the skin disease usually occurs in young adults aged 18-30.
“I was 11 years old when I started [to develop conglobata] and I didn’t know what it was. And so it was really an extreme change in my life, getting to know my skin and how it was going to affect me,” she tells us.
“At first it becomes like some kind of strong cyst, a little bit bigger from my usual breakouts. But after that …bigger and bigger with time… usually around my neck, my forehead and my back. And usually they will connect themselves and create like a chain of cysts around my body and it was really painful.”
“..I was diagnosed with anxiety and every time I experienced a period where my anxiety would blow-up my skin will immediately get worse.”
Constanza says that there’s a misconception that acne is just superficial. She says it’s impact is emotional, physical and mental.
“I wasn’t able to sleep well at night, I had cysts all over my back so I usually slept for a year seated. I wasn’t able to just lay down on my bed. Also my sheets will most of the time be covered in my blood from my face, my back.“
Sometimes her spots would burst during class. “I would need to ask permission to go to the bathroom, clean myself up. And also have some really bad encounters with people asking me ‘what’s wrong with you, why are you bleeding, why aren’t you calling a doctor?’ And I can’t call a doctor just for having my cyst explode in the middle of the class. It goes way beyond that.”
“Venezuela is a country where model agencies and Miss Universe is really strong,” says Constanza. “We have a really strong culture with beauty, with how women should look.” So she grew up knowing she would “immediately be rejected from the type of stereotype that every single girl wants to be part of.”
After seeing other people online sharing their experience of acne, Constanza started posting on social media. “Their experience helped me feel a lot better about my skin. I thought to myself if they have the courage to do that, I can also have the courage to do the same. So I decided to start sharing my experience with it and also let people know they are not alone… as I thought I was.”
Constanza has been photographed for the cover of special editions of Cosmopolitan and Glamour magazines. Something she feels very proud of:
“Seeing myself be the representation I always wanted to have when I was a kid: it made me so happy that I decided to talk about skin, that I decided to share my experience and that I decided to keep my head up.“
Hear Constanza share her experiences with dermatologist Dr Sharon Crichlow on BBC world Service.
