Acne

Acne erupts on the face - read in these frameworks as the part of us that meets others first and is accepted or rejected - so it externalises a conflict about one's own identity and self-image. The pattern is an inner turbulence of irritation, self-criticism, shame and insecurity about how one appears and is received, surfacing most often when the sense of self is still unsettled, as in adolescence. Not accepting oneself - even finding oneself unattractive - turns inward and breaks out on the skin: an inner revolution showing as a revolution of blemishes. The short explanation's inability to accept perceived injustice is that refusal turned against one's own image. Relief is described as accepting and loving oneself unconditionally and affirming one's identity, rather than living anxiously for the picture others form.

Example from the findings: the eruption is read as irritation, shame and self-rejection made visible on the face that meets the world.