192 replies to this topic

[jkitty03]

I've had my fair share of being depressed because of my skin condition, but as the time goes by, I learned to live with it and my situation became better. Just keep on thinking that one day this problem would go. What I will always remind myself whenever I think of my face is this: "Someday this ugly-duckling will turn into a stunning swan just wait and see"
PATIENCE is very important when dealing with acne.
And always think that you are not alone.

[Byse]

I suffered from this bad feeling but after all we should not allow anything to make us un happy about how we look and should try to feel good all the time beacuse acne is like any disease and we will get better if we believed in that .

Edited by Byse, 16 January 2012 - 08:54 AM.

[Daphnis]

I'm proud of myself these past few weeks. I am more motivated than before; I've been studying more efficiently without a negative mind. I can remember concepts. Before this, I'd be extremely negative and beat myself up into a state of extreme anxiety and depression for not understanding the material. Now I've got my game face on

Edited by Daphnis, 23 January 2012 - 01:06 AM.

[DannyRoze]

Hi Everyone--

I've ready many of the posts in this amazing thread and wanted to add my own contribution before reading the rest.

The following is from a speech by David Foster Wallace, one of the most brilliant minds of our time, IMO. He is speaking at the commencement at Kenyon College in 2005:

This, I submit, is the freedom of a real education, of learning how to be well-adjusted. You get to consciously decide what has meaning and what doesn't. You get to decide what to worship.

Because here's something else that's weird but true: in the day-to-day trenches of adult life, there is actually no such thing as atheism. There is no such thing as not worshipping. Everybody worships. The only choice we get is what to worship. And the compelling reason for maybe choosing some sort of god or spiritual-type thing to worship--be it JC or Allah, be it YHWH or the Wiccan Mother Goddess, or the Four Noble Truths, or some inviolable set of ethical principles--is that pretty much anything else you worship will eat you alive. If you worship money and things, if they are where you tap real meaning in life, then you will never have enough, never feel you have enough. It's the truth. Worship your body and beauty and sexual allure and you will always feel ugly. And when time and age start showing, you will die a million deaths before they finally grieve you. On one level, we all know this stuff already. It's been codified as myths, proverbs, clichés, epigrams, parables; the skeleton of every great story. The whole trick is keeping the truth up front in daily consciousness.

I encourage everyone to read the full transcript here: http://moreintellige...n-his-own-words and really try to take the bolded part of the above to heart. What are we really talking about here? Acne destroying our happiness. But I can tell you I've gone months without a zit, and it didn't make me automatically happy. I wasn't miserable as I was when I was breaking out, but I still had everything else in my life to address. And then I unexpectedly broke out again, and died another of my million deaths.

I recently saw a documentary about a bodybuilder who was featured on the cover of fitness magazines, who at one point said, "I feel fat today." We can't let ourselves become that person. Because the same drive that will lead us to do every single thing in our power to get our skin clear will also keep us in misery at the first imperfection.

What I'm trying to say here is that what we're all after is mostly an empty pursuit. I've been trying to escape it for a long time, and I will tell you that it isn't easy at all, and I have by no means succeeded completely. But being aware and really thinking about what is important in your life is the first step.

Edited by DannyRoze, 04 February 2012 - 07:40 PM.

[EmilySummers2]

I'm just getting really depressed and basically having mini panic attacks lately about my skin. Ran out of my prescriptions for the stuff I was on for the last year and a half and it did wonders. I was completely clear, hyper-pigmentation healed and everything. Unfortunately, within a month of stopping I now have worse acne than I have had ever included huge cystic acne all over the middle of my face and top of my nose! I could normally get through it since I have a dermatologist appointment on Monday, but my friend's having her son's first birthday party on Saturday and she is inviting all of these people from high school (I'm 24 now) and I haven't seen them since then so I'm just really embarrassed. I have to go because I am the godmother and I feel obligated but just thinking about it makes me cry so much. I don't want anyone to see me like this. I can't even smile because I have painful pimples around my lips and jaw...I'm just really depressed. I hope Saturday goes by quick and I hope Monday bring some solutions here. / Everyday I wake up and look in the mirror I have to hold back tears. When I messaged my other friend about what I'm going through she said she was having "severe" breakouts too...I saw her and her face was flawless not one pimple in sight maybe just a teeny itty bit of redness. If she thinks her skin is bad then what in the world is she going to think of me? ( Why can't I just have clear skin like everybody else I know? I do everything right! Sigh...I guess I just needed somewhere to vent.

[WantThisAcneGone]

Each day I keep trying to tell myself in my head that I AM a pretty girl. Sure, I ain't the best looking girl but I'm not the ugliest either. Yes, I have this problem with acne but so what? I'm not the only person on the planet with it. There are plenty of other people who deal with acne as well! I always tell myself that if people are going to judge me wrongly just because of my acne, then they're not worth my time.

So, yeah, basically screw what other people think I'm trying to control my acne. That's all that matters.

[shinataro]

EmilySummers2, on 10 February 2012 - 02:02 AM, said:

I'm just getting really depressed and basically having mini panic attacks lately about my skin. Ran out of my prescriptions for the stuff I was on for the last year and a half and it did wonders. I was completely clear, hyper-pigmentation healed and everything. Unfortunately, within a month of stopping I now have worse acne than I have had ever included huge cystic acne all over the middle of my face and top of my nose! I could normally get through it since I have a dermatologist appointment on Monday, but my friend's having her son's first birthday party on Saturday and she is inviting all of these people from high school (I'm 24 now) and I haven't seen them since then so I'm just really embarrassed. I have to go because I am the godmother and I feel obligated but just thinking about it makes me cry so much. I don't want anyone to see me like this. I can't even smile because I have painful pimples around my lips and jaw...I'm just really depressed. I hope Saturday goes by quick and I hope Monday bring some solutions here. / Everyday I wake up and look in the mirror I have to hold back tears. When I messaged my other friend about what I'm going through she said she was having "severe" breakouts too...I saw her and her face was flawless not one pimple in sight maybe just a teeny itty bit of redness. If she thinks her skin is bad then what in the world is she going to think of me? ( Why can't I just have clear skin like everybody else I know? I do everything right! Sigh...I guess I just needed somewhere to vent.

I know how feel and am in a similar situation where I'm reconnecting with some friends from couple years back at a music festival.Apparently they missed me and everyone wants what we had a few years back.So I'm sure acne or no acne they be thrilled to see you but the only thing is the acne affect your confidence.You have friends /family that want to see you so thats a plus right?Acne sucks and it does affect how I act and what my mood is.Fingers crossed hopefully your party goes well and its not your fault that you have acne nobody deserves it and its just pure chance just like the colour of your hair.



Anyway today acne sucks but I'm also grateful its not as severe as it used to be .Also I sat back and thought of the things I missed because due my depressed mood because of acne. There are too many situations or opportunities that have gone by and I promise myself that despite acne I'll give it my all in all others areas of my life and isolate the acne.Life tough I guess if it was perfect then there will be no ambitions for the future?

Edited by shinataro, 03 March 2012 - 10:49 AM.

[pinkfloydforever]

my acne experience is like this ever black tunnel but there is this tiny inch of light coming through on the other side. I have gotten accustomed to the darkness but the light is a place i would like to be no matter how much i like being in the dark. Though I do have to say that even though acne has somewhat caused me to lose most of my friends and buried my confidence , it has made me someone very interesting and eccentric.Building up back my confidence and showing everyone my interesting side ,if they like it or not lol is the light on the other side of the tunnel. One day .......

[masterwong888]

Acne doesnt challenge me, I challenge acne! >.>

[EddieE]

I always try to be positive. I usually smile when people look at me. I'm a happy person. However, if my skin gets worse.. I lose confidence. I look down instead of looking at people and smile. My skin is mild atm, it always mild. If severe, I would stay in my house I can't wait for this semester to finish. I am not going to register in the summer and probably Fall 2012.

[dkost]

Hi everyone,
I am a medical student who has battled acne myself for many years. I can relate to every one of you and that is why I have been compelled to try and develop a solution to help people manage their acne. It would help me out a lot if anyone with 5-10 minutes to spare can fill out a survey I have created here.

I've had some people fill it out and, I have to say, it has been super informative and very helpful to hear everyone's personal story with their acne. The more people that I can hear from via the survey, the more it will help me out. Thanks!

[chrisilv1]

Living with acne made me fall victim of the spotlight effect.

I thought everyone was looking at me, analyzing how crude my skin had become. But in reality, I learned that people don't really care that much. In fact, correct me if I'm wrong, people of our society in general are inclined toward the spotlight effect, having everyone in their own spotlight thinking they're being watched and monitored.

Well, I decided to challenge such conflictive thinking and looked at people straight to the eye without showing fear or embarrassment. WOW, that was a change! Ever since I've been confident about myself regardless of the acne of the given day.

One other method that helps me cope with acne is to think that my condition could be worse. I could have other terrible skin conditions that thankfully I don't have to suffer from. So maybe you can try comparing your skin to worse ones and feel better about your scenario. Sounds a bit harsh, but it helps to cope with the psychological effects of acne.

CS.

[free falling]

When I have bad acne, I would look at the white patches of skin I still had left.

Thats it, thats all I did and it made me feel a bit better....

Edited by free falling, 07 May 2012 - 05:31 PM.