Body Image

To lose confidence in one’s body is to lose confidence in oneself.

― Simone de Beauvoir

 

In today’s society we are constantly bombarded with messages and images of the body beautiful, and people are under pressure to live up to this ideal.

A chronic illness like HS can leave you with many scars on various body parts, some visible to the general public, and some in the more intimate parts of the body. Little research has been done to date measuring the impact of HS on one’s own body image,  defined by Schilder as the image of our own body which we form in our minds. In other words, body image is the perception of one’s sexual attractiveness of their own body. A reduced body image can cause feelings of shame, embarrassment, and anxiety, resulting in a lack of self-confidence, depression, and social isolation (Noles et al. 1985, Tomas-Aragones and Marron 2016).

Recent research by Dr. Sylke Schneider-Burrus and colleagues in Germany investigated how HS impacts body image. Their study, involving ~100 volunteers, found that HS significantly reduces body image, and that this impaired body image was especially associated with body mass index. The study also found a significant link between reduced body image and depression and anxiety. Notably, it did not matter how severe the HS was, when it started, or how long one had HS; most of those with HS in the study had a reduced body image score.

The findings of this study come as no surprise to me. I have struggled with low body image for a long time, due to having HS. I know from interacting with others online that many people with HS feel the same way. I recently wrote about the Japanese practice of kintsugi, and how adopting such a philosophy may help in coming to terms with having conditions such as HS.

I find it encouraging that the medical profession are taking notice of the psychological impacts of living with HS. Studies such as this one should help inform those medics who treat HS in their clinics of the additional (mental) strains that living with HS can put on patients. Suitable treatment approaches can now be put in place to help those with HS.

 

Kindness makes you the most beautiful person in the world no matter what you look like. – Unknown

 

References:

Noles S.W., Cash, T.F. and Winstead, B.A. (1985) ‘Body image, physical attractiveness, and depression,’ J Consult ClinPsychol. 53(1), 88-94.

Schilder. P., ed. (1935) ‘The Image and Appearance of the Human Body’. Oxford, England: Kegan Paul.

Schneider-Burrus, S., Jost, A., Peters, E.M.J., Witte-Haendel, E., Sterry, W. and Sabat, R. (2018) ‘Association of hidradenitis suppurativa with body image’ JAMA Dermatology, doi:10.1001/jamadermatol.2017.6058,

Tomas-Aragones, L. and Marron, S.E. (2016) ‘Body image and body dysmorphic concerns,’ Acta Derm Venereol. 96(217),47-50.