Scars Can Change Your Life - LIVING WITH SCARS

They often say that scars can have a big impact on one’s quality of life and I definitely agree with that. We all know that scars have nothing to do with who we are, they don’t define us and we’re all equal. At least that’s what should happen in an ideal world.

However, although we don’t admit it, we all know having scars and dealing with them on a daily basis lowers our self-esteem. Having scars—whether they are acne scars, self-harm scars, or burn scars – sometimes makes us feel broken, incomplete, or perhaps not strong enough. Wearing scars on our bodies can change our lives in many ways.

The physical and psychological impacts of scars are very much real and can drastically change your life.

Impact of Scars on your Confidence

Scars have a big effect on one’s confidence and body image. Scars are stigmatized mostly because society has put an impossible standard for beauty. For society, beauty should be being flawless, tall, slim, with straight hair, and an unscarred body. Untouched and innocent. And despite having people around you who remind you that we’re beautiful no matter what, it’s impossible not to be affected by what society tells us is ‘normal’ and ‘desired’.

Impact of Scars on your Relationships

As scars have an impact on your confidence levels, going hand in hand, they can also have a terrible effect on your relationships too. Having low self-esteem hinders you to be the best version of yourself, and some people feel less worthy inside a relationship – they think they need to prove themselves more just because they think they are ‘damaged’ and ‘weak’, both physically and psychologically. People who lose confidence due to their scars tend to push people away because they are afraid that if they share their scars and their stories behind those scars, the people will run away. So to feel safe, they always tend to keep their distance.

Impact of Scars on your Career

I wouldn’t say that this happens to all interviewees but unfortunately for some, there is indeed a bias that’s happening based on your appearance. According to a study, people who have acne or other visible scars are less likely to be hired and are usually discriminated against. Society has made this stigma and it has caused big suffering and injustice to those who have the scars. Read more about what you can do to minimize the appearance of acne scars.

Your Scars don’t Define You – they Empower You

Whatever scars you have and whatever story is behind them – you are beautiful, you are valuable, and you are enough. You don’t deserve to relive the pain of what caused these scars by facing the stigma every day. Our society needs to evolve – and it will take time.

Sharing your story and being open about your scars will help other people understand. You should not bear guilt for what has happened to you – it’s not something you are responsible for – it’s something that happened to you.

Your scars remain, but you are stronger than your scars. Accepting scars and making them a source of your pride and strength will help you in many ways – in your confidence, your relationships, and your career.

Every change starts with yourself, and you owe it to yourself to do what feels best for you

You can keep this part of your life private if that makes you feel good, that’s perfectly okay. Or you can decide to share your story with others, that’s also okay. No matter what you decide to do, you are taking charge of your life, by listening to yourself and tuning into your feelings, by doing only what makes you feel good and you become a winner.

Either way, it ignites a ripple that starts the change of our attitudes towards scars – as individuals and as a society.

You can read my personal story about how I underwent reconstructive surgery that helped improve the look of my scars. I also used specific scar creams to help improve the appearance of my scars in the post-operative period.

To help others I published a book called Living With Scars, where I describe everything in a lot of detail.