The injuries that scars cause can certainly lead to physical pain – sometimes long after the injury has healed. But not many people talk about the emotional impact of those scars – especially those that occur in highly visible areas such as the face and arms. Scars run deep, and that goes for emotional and physical effects alike.
Many times, scars can bring traumatizing memories with them, and those are often harder to heal than the physical reminders. Perhaps you got into a bad car crash and have gashes on your face, or maybe you had severe acne as a teen and it left you scarred for life. Whatever the case, scarring can make it hard to look in the mirror for many reasons. Maybe you even got bullied for your scars in school.
It’s important to remember that in most cases, scars aren’t the fault of the bearer. You can’t help it if you got burned in a house fire, or as a result of a chemical splash in the lab.
No matter what, scar tissue can lead to social, emotional, and psychological effects. It can:
- Prompt physical triggers that remind you of the events surrounding your injury
- Lead to the development of new emotional consequences due to the impact on appearance
Examples: Emotional Reactions
There are many ways your scars can manifest themselves in a variety of emotions on a daily basis. Those common reactions can include:
- Fear
- Insecurity
- Anger
- Worry
- Pain
- Disgust
- Guilt
- Sadness
Trauma can bring a lifetime of insecurity, fear, and lack of self-confidence for anyone, but especially for kids who suffered a trauma when going through critical emotional or physical developmental stages. Studies show that people with severe scars can go through aesthetic, social and psychological distress due to the lesions being cosmetically-disfiguring. In fact, those disfigurements can result in a higher risk for anxiety, depression and problems interacting socially.
Your scar may not pose a risk to your physical health once healed, but it can lead to long-lasting physical discomfort as the new skin stretches over the injury.
Those lasting physical reminders of scars can cause ongoing problems, especially those that get raised or red or both. Some scar tissue grows past the wound boundaries, and many types of scar tissues take several years to fade.
All that said, you don’t have to be at the mercy of your scars for the rest of your life. While scarring and the resulting trauma can be life-altering, it doesn’t have to consume you. Therapy is available for those who have gone through a traumatic event.
For more minor scars, a simple home gel can help the scar and the reminders it brings you. Scarfade, comprised of a silicone micro-membrane, moisturizes the area without skin maceration. You can easily and quickly apply it, plus it dries fast and there’s no sticky residue left behind. No prescription is necessary.
Are you ready to face the world again? Try Scarfade and see how it works for you!