Underlying both of these acne fetishes is the fear of being ugly, or dysmorphophobia. It’s an easy psychological state to acquire in a society that increasingly places more value on superficial looks than personal traits.
Steps to combating an acne fetish include:
Spending less time self-critiquing in front of the mirror; and
Embellishing your talents.
Even a hiatus from mirror visits may help an acne fetish. If you do look in the mirror, focus on elements of your face besides the zits. For instance, look at the color of your eyes or the size of your lips, without criticizing of course. You may have lovely eyelashes or the perfect eyebrows. Whenever you look in the mirror stop making negative judgments about yourself. If you do find yourself ridiculing yourself and wanting to burst a zit in a rushed desire for clear skin, just remind yourself that every zit that you prematurely pop may encourage the formation of 3 completely new zits.
Focus on your greatest assets as a person, or cultivate new skills. You may be an awesome guitar player or fabulous singer, give yourself recognition for your strengths. Do something that you’ve always wanted to do, but did not do because you felt having acne precludes you from this activity.
In the final analysis, healing an acne fetish starts with recognizing that this condition has serious medical repercussions. An acne fetish can debilitate one’s self-esteem while encouraging needless facial scarring. If you think you have an acne fetish, you can get help from a qualified dermatologist, psychologists or just talk it over with some really cool and understanding friends.