The Pain of Acne

 

Every since my early teens, I have been afflicted by acne- I have had spots on my face; the kind that don't leave scars but are nonetheless omnipresent. I sit here writing at the age of nearly 30 and my spots are still a daily preoccupation.

 

It is hard for people that don't have a spot problem to understand just how adverse an effect spots have on a person's mood and well being, on the other hand, it is all too easy for fellow sufferers to empathize with this problem.

 

My spots have gone through various phases over the years, from terrible during my late teens when I basically became reclusive and as a partial result became academically successful for the first time- to manageable during university- to bad again throughout my twenties. Spots go in cycles anyway- periodically they are manageable and sometimes they are prominent for a few days.

 

There were many occasions when I did not go out due to my spots- I wrote my first unorg pieces when I stayed in because I had a spot like a boil on my nose. I do some of my best thinking in front of a mirror examining my face. It's a good job really considering all the time I must have spent in front of mirrors over the years.

 

There have been so many meetings and speeches I have given when I have had acne that I am amazed that my business has done so well in spite of my appearance. Personal relationships too are particularly affected by acne- physical proximity is a pre-requisite for personal relations (if not intimate ones) and if is difficult to allow someone to look closely at your face or stroke your skin when you have acne.

 

Whilst acne has had a negative impact on my moods and affected me, it has also kept me quite modest and less arrogant than I otherwise might have been. I remember making a move on an attached girl and friend on one occasion because I had the confidence since my spots had abated. Of course, such is life that every time you have a date or are going out you get a horrible spot or few- mainly because you spend too much time examining your spots such that you end up exacerbating the problem.

 

I have worn skin colored concealer as make up ever since my early teens and not a day has gone by in my life since that I have not used it. Indeed it is the last thing I would give up and the first thing I would check, over and above other essentials such as contact lens. (In fact, when I had an eye infection I only wore one contact lens for a week or so- I thought my spots were fine for that whole week- until my eye was better and I realised that I just could not see how bad they were with just one lens in!). Obviously using make up is this way is a great embarrassment for me- especially when staying out and wanting to top up and refresh the make up periodically like a girl. But it is survival for me to manage daily life.

 

 

Author: Simon Buckingham

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To make a comment to the author, send e-mail to simon@unorgan.com