People would much rather stay in than feel embarrassment
The embarrassment to think that somebody is just staring at your lip whilst your talking can be too much for some people to handle, cold sores are a social killer.
According to new research, conducted by Cymex, it reveals that over half of sufferers say that they would miss a social occasion because of an unwelcome presence of a cold sore.
Two-thirds admit that feel under constant pressure to look perfect so it's not surprising that unsightly cols sores can make people hide away.
The research found the most common reason sufferers avoid going out is because of embarrassment. Half are in fear of being seen as unattractive whilst a quarter are scared people will think they are unhygienic.
Half of people say that they would go as far as to actually miss a night out because they are fearful of having their photo taken, and nearly two-thirds would de-tag themselves from a picture uploaded to Facebook.
With social media contantly exposing our faces to the outside world, it's no wonder we feel we have little control over who sees our face. Psychologist Donna Dawson says: "A photograph capturs a moment in time for all time, and if that photo shows us looking less than our best, then it is a permanent reminder of our perceived imperfections.
"We live in a society where we no longer question 'airbrushed' photos of models and celebrities and think of them almost as 'normal' - we feel any visual flaw in ourselves puts us at a social disadvantage."
First impressions are important to people and these ‘hang-up imperfections’ are making us miss out on the enjoyment of dating, with three quarters cancelling or rescheduling a date if they had a ‘break out’ - nearly a quarter are concerned that no one would want to kiss them. It’s not just men that women want to impress – over half would miss out on lunch or dinner with friends because of an imperfection.
Psychologist Donna Dawson continues: “First impressions are based mostly on what we can see, which is why we would avoid a date when we’re not looking our best. Our face, especially the eyes and mouth, are the focus of attention in close social encounters, and to know that there is a visual imperfection near one of these areas leaves us feeling insecure.
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"Also, as kissing is the first stage to further affection and sexual activity, any deterrent to kissing will make the cold-sore sufferer feel that there is hardly any point in the date taking place until the sore is gone.”
Tagged in Health