More than Skin Deep: Sharing Stories for Mental Health

IfYoureReadingThis.org (IYRT) is a mental health community that empowers students to build and tap into their support networks by amplifying the faces and stories of their communities through written letters from the individual to the public. IYRT recently added to their platform by creating a resource called “The Hub” to present evidence-based information on mental health topics through a human lens. 

Our contribution, “More Than Skin Deep,” focused on the relationship between skin health and mental health. For example, a recent published analysis of stigma toward individuals with acne included the following key findings:¹

Individuals with severe acne had greater reluctance in socializing, hiring, physical contact, dating, and sharing social media photos.

Individuals with severe acne were more likely to be perceived negatively, and associated with poor hygiene, unattractiveness, lower intelligence, likability, maturity, and trustworthiness.

The stigma was more pronounced for images depicting individuals with darker skin.

Study participants with a personal history of acne displayed less stigmatizing attitudes. 

Our article also addressed how visual skin lesions can affect self-esteem and subsequently cause self-isolation and poor quality of life, manifesting as anxiety, depression, and suicidal ideation.² There is no clear delineation of how a particular dermatological disorder will affect an individual.

Skin conditions such as acne and atopic dermatitis (AD) are often neglected because they do not have high mortality rates. However, studies have shown that AD ranks in the top 15 among all nonfatal diseases in disability-adjusted life-year (DALY) burden.³ Itch can cause stress, anxiety, and other mood disorders, and diminishing it in clinical settings can lead to detrimental psychosocial outcomes.⁴

We provided resources and palatable information on common skin diseases in the article. The objective is to serve as an easily accessible resource to patients to understand that their condition is normal, common and manageable.

To help make our platform better, we are calling on dermatologists to write letters addressed to the community detailing their (or their patients’) experience with skin conditions and its effect on the psyche. We hope that physicians sharing stories will provide those afflicted with these conditions some comfort and relatability. Additionally, this can serve as a great platform to refer your own patients to and learn from others experiences to be a more empathetic provider. 

 1. Shields, A, et al. (2024). Evaluation of Stigma Toward Individuals With Acne. JAMA Dermatol. 160(1), 93–98. Doi:10.1001/jamadermatol.2023.4487 

2. Cortés H, et al. Alterations in mental health and quality of life in patients with skin disorders: a narrative review. Int J Dermatol. 2022;61(7):783-791. Doi:10.1111/ijd.15852 

3. Fasseeh AN, et al. Burden of Atopic Dermatitis in Adults and Adolescents: a Systematic Literature Review. Dermatol Ther (Heidelb). 2022 Dec;12(12):2653-2668. doi: 10.1007/s13555-022-00819-6. Epub 2022 Oct 5. PMID: 36197589; PMCID: PMC9674816. 

4. Golpanian R, et al. Effects of Stress on Itch. Clin Therap. 2020;42(5). Doi:10.1016/j.clinthera.2020.01.025