184 replies to this topic

[Fresh16]

I'm glad that you were able to go out with the cyst & not care
it's true, we should be happy that we've actually got a face! and eyes, a nose, and a mouth
i know, i know.. i've been there.. it's hard to be happy when you have red marks eating your face up, but i guess the only thing i've been able to tell myself to conquer the depression is, "get over it."

however.. that doesn't always work.
just love yourself, and take into consideration there are many other that love you as well! despite the fact that you have acne.

good luck on clearing up as well!

[BarryAllen]

Acne has ruined me in every way. To say that there is a positive outcome means you never had to suffer continuously.

No! You've ruined yourself in every way because you haven't understood the ways you can choose feelings, attitudes, thoughts and behaviors that are positive and can help you in a constructive way. So rather than being part of the solution to your life and your acne, you play the victim. Sorry to say, but it's true. Don't believe me?

What good has your attitude done you so far? How has that helped? Do you just want to tell everyone, "Hey! Feel sorry for me people because I have acne?" That's what you're doing. Doesn't mean you don't have to work through some feelings, but when you're done with that you need to reset yourself, your mind, your feelings and start anew.

Your well-being doesn't depend on your acne. YOU'RE THE ONE THAT'S CHOOSING THAT, IT'S NOT CHOOSING YOU!!!! And yes, I've suffered with acne continually as well. And yes, I've had my ups and downs, but I never gave up or said it ruined me in every way. It's simply not true. BTW, when I was in high school one of the most popular good-looking girls (prom queen) had severe cyctic acne, but it didn't "ruin her in every way." She was great, I wish I'd asked her out, and I WISH I WAS MORE LIKE HER IN HIGH SCHOOL, choosing to be positive and outgoing rather than letting my attitude towards my acne effect me negatively and feeling sorry for myself.

Again, it's one thing to feel hurt and frustrated by one's acne, it's another thing to act like a turtle going into it's shell and hiding or saying you're ruined. What a lousy attitude. Don't believe me still? Find someone who's in a worse situation than YOU THINK yourself to be in. Then how sorry are you going to feel for yourself?

[anonymou5]

This thread is an excellent idea, reading just a few of the replies has lifted my spirits. I have a few positive things to say...

1. Acne has forced me to end a 5 year drug addiction. I started smoking when I was 14, and within a few months I was smoking daily and drinking heavily. Between 14 and 19, I did ecstasy, heroin, cocaine, oxycontin, DMT, acid, mushrooms, DXM, LSA, ketamine, benzodiazepenes, salvia, and many other terribly toxic substances. I must note that I had a revelation whilst tripping on mushrooms that I needed to get sober and be healthy again. After that, I quit EVERYTHING cold turkey, and now I have been clean for about 4-5 months, the longest since I began doing drugs. Words cannot express how proud of myself I am for doing this.

2. This forum makes me realize that I am not alone in this struggle. There are millions of other people in the world just like you and me.

3. Realize how much you take for granted. You may have bad or even terrible skin, but you should feel privileged to be alive and otherwise healthy. There are millions of people around the world who are barely able to survive, impoverished and malnourished. None of us can even fathom what life is like for them.

4. Lastly, I believe everything happens for a reason. Maybe the reason I have acne is because I used to be a complete douchebag. I would look down on and make fun of imperfections in others. Since getting acne, I've realized that we should treat everyone with kindness and respect. I have become a much more humble, kind person since this endeavor began. I only want to help others.

Edited by anonymou5, 31 October 2009 - 10:31 PM.

[anonymou5]

Hmm... Positive affects of acne...
1. I've gotten used to the idea that I'm gonna be alone all my life so I have no high expectations of marriage, long-term relationships, etc. Therefore, I'm never let down.
2. I've gotten used to the fact that I am ugly and have learnt to just deal with it and try not to think about it.

Haha. I'm just kidding... Sorta.

I think acne makes you stronger. You can deal with bullies/people staring at you and things like that. But I think it could be A LOT worse. We should be grateful we only got acne and not some serious illness. I know what you're thinking, how comes some people get no acne and no illnesses. Hmm... That I can't explain.

I personally also concentrate more on 'important' things like my studies. For the time being, anyway... If I can't be pretty, I will be rich, RICH I TELL YOU!!

lol.

I dont know what you're talking about, you look beautiful in your picture.

[fuwafuwachan]

I recently met a guy with clear skin who is really good looking, superstar athlete, honors student, all that crap. When we were talking he looked at me right in my eyes for the entire time and payed attention to what I was saying. Never once did his eyes wander to my acne or anything else embarrassing. I've never felt so good in my life. My acne does not stop me from meeting and interacting with the so-called perfect people who don't suffer from acne. I'm starting to think about it less and less.

[dottie07]

oh my goodness!!

i woke up this morning with a cyst on my face. the first thing i thought of was crap its on the side of my face (the left side) where a really cute guy sits next to me in class!! this totally sucks and now i look ridiculous. so i put on some cover up and went to class. i walked into the room and smiled at him as i took my seat. we talked for a minute until the prof showed up. the whole time i kept thinking that all he was looking at was my cyst and how ugly and gross it is. i kept my head down the rest of class and ran out of class in a hurry at the end to avoid him seeing me more. I felt horrible like i have no chance with him now. when i got home, i told my mom how horrible i was feeling about my cyst and she told me something amazing!......




she said she didnt even notice it until I pointed it out to her! she said all i see is you talking to me and your big beautiful smile.

along with reading these posts i realized that i probably focused on my cyst/acne more than anyone did. not everyone focuses on my flaws like i do and actually sees me for me and talks and laughs with me like a regular person. now i feel more confident talking to him. i can laugh and joke and smile knowing that my personality shines through and if i hold my head up high people will respect me for me. this has been a breakthrough. just days ago i was crying my self to sleep because of my acne. so thank you to everyone who is encouraging and i hope that this can help encourage someone as well

[just_another_girl]

In general having acne has made me a stronger person.
Mostly because I hear girls talking about skipping school because they’ve got one little zit and I think to myself, that’s nothing compared to what I’ve had to deal with. To be able to face the world everyday with these spots, I think that it takes more guts than most people have.
It’s also made me become obsessive about people getting to know me so that they can’t just judge me on me acne. I should to be really shy but know I’m more out going because I don’t want people to think that I let my acne stop me from doing anything.
Then there’s I may be having a bad skin day there’s somebody whose problems are worse than mine so I just smile and realize that maybe my life doesn’t suck after all.

[tick_]

Cool story, bro.

[BarryAllen]

In general having acne has made me a stronger person.
Mostly because I hear girls talking about skipping school because they’ve got one little zit and I think to myself, that’s nothing compared to what I’ve had to deal with. To be able to face the world everyday with these spots, I think that it takes more guts than most people have.
It’s also made me become obsessive about people getting to know me so that they can’t just judge me on me acne. I should to be really shy but know I’m more out going because I don’t want people to think that I let my acne stop me from doing anything.
Then there’s I may be having a bad skin day there’s somebody whose problems are worse than mine so I just smile and realize that maybe my life doesn’t suck after all.

The amazing thing is WE'RE ALL STRONGER THAN WE KNOW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! If you meet someone and you're feeling embarassed about your acne or self-conscious about it then shift your thinking to how you can make a POSITIVE impression on them and what you can do to make them see you as you really are (which is inside people, not outside!) So put them at ease, ask them about themselves, ask for their advice, what they like doing, get them talking and thinking about themselves and them telling you about themselves and guess what? YOU just made a new friend who'll be there for you like you were there for them.

Remember relationships are a two-way street what you give is what you get and what you put out there is what you give back. Not getting any love in your life? Love yourself first and put more love out there. Remember how you see yourself is how you see your life, and the world around you and VICE VERSA!!!!!!!!!

Keep learning, loving and growing, help others out and you'll be helped out too! What you give is what you get! Think solutions, not problems or what's missing in your life. Life changes when you change people!

NEVER, EVER, EVER GIVE UP!!!! Happy Holidays and a New Year to all!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[kensai]

Great thread guys. I've had acne for about 8 years (25 now), moderate+ for about 4 of those. I am in the middle of recovering from a serious back injury and just as I'm feeling better physically my acne came back hard. I couldn't believe after everything I'd been through injury wise that my acne affected me so much again, but reading this thread has helped put things into perspective. I should just be happy that I am finally getting to be physically healthy and happy again, I'm not going to let my acne bring me down! Fuck it!!!!

[Masaj90]

Hi everybody, Im just another desperate dude with a ''not serious'' problem called ACNE. Please do not mind my english, Im from Serbia. Anyway, I got this thing on my face since I was 12. Now Im 19. During this 7 year period I tried everything, but really evrything against this problem. No doctor in the country could help me, because, afterall they give the same treatment anyway. Plus, Im starting to think that my acne are spartan like, they just wount go away no matter what I do. So after a long research I realised that hormones are my biggest problem. And, you can't do anything on that matter because Im 19 and my body is fucked up, right??? To cut the long story short, I ended up like prisoner in my own home. I just cant go out, because no matter what other people think I cant stand it anymore. And as all of you outther, I got that fear inside of me. Its been a loooooooooong period of time, and I still went over my doorstep. The irony is, I dont have any trouble with any other aspect of my life except for this acne problem. Because of that, my whole life is on a pause. But trust me it's costing me too mutch allready. Friend, college, social life, depression etc. If you have any advice for me, I would listen to it gladly. Tnx, peace from Serbia.

[Julius Jones]

Just noticed this was a repliable area. It's always a struggle just to see how someone views acne, some can shrug it off, some can become emotional with it, regardless too many people have it.

[onun]

Hi everyone!
Well, sometimes I feel like really alone. I have acen since I was a teenager. The first extraction of a cyst I did I was 22. I've made two 6 month long treatments with Accutane/ Roaccutane. By know I'm 36 years, I've made several cysts extraction from my face and head (last year have extracted the biggest cyst I ever had from my face). I lost hair and bear hair. I have innumerable scar in my head, face, chest and back. Now the only treatment that dermatologist propose to me is taking roaccutan once again. I don't feel like taking it again because i's an expensive and with a lot of side effects treatment, apart from the fact that it didn't gave me any real solution to the problem. I'm also not reacting to antibiotics. Doctors gave me so much of them that my body just doesn't react any more, or if it reacts it's for worst. In fact the problem got worst and worst with the years. I have pimples in my face that keep on infecting and that don't go away for at least a year now. I went to lot of doctors. Now I'm doing two therapies an homoeopathic one and a traditional Chinese medicine one. In the homoeopathic I'm taking oil elements such as magnesium, sulphur, gold, silver and copper. I also took Flagyl (metronidazol) for 40 days. With the Chinese medicine they are giving me some capsules made from plants to clean my liver, kidneys, intestines and spleen, as well as acupuncture which I decided to leave because it was hurting me. I'm already to fragile for someone even if it's for a good reason to inflict me more pain. Until the present day none of this treatments helped me in any way.
I don't have any big problems with what other might think about how I look. I've been working as an actor for several years and at that time this disease was terrifying for me. I wasn't worried with beauty, but because I was working with my image (either it's good or bad) and that could change overnight. A lot because of that I quitted acting and turned more into directing. About a diet: I stopped eating cow milk and derivatives along time ago and I eat a lot of vegetables, fruit and I drink a lot of water. That to explain my problem and to make it clear that I'm no teenager worried about a bubble that appeared in my face.
For the last two months I've been, at least before and after sleeping, a hand full of dirty gauze out of my face and head, and during the day it's usual that some cysts just break out pouring pus, and blood. So, I'm not worried about if other people think that I'm ugly at all since years, I'm just having a permanent pouring of pus out of my face, head and chest from really big cysts that hurt a lot and can be infected for more than a year. So I'm not really worried at all with what others can think about my looks, it's just that it's painful and uncomfortable for me. I have to walk around with a mirror, gauze and some disinfectant. Which really stresses me when I have to go out of my home. Sometimes I'm going to a meeting for which I have short time to get there at time (with friends or working partners) and a pimple just break out and I've to take like an half an hour at least to clean it and stop bleeding.
All this situation is really affecting my life and sometimes I don't know what to do or who can help me with this problem. As you can see I've been years fighting against it and in the last months I just broke down into a deep depression. After this I decided to start taking anti depressive pills so that I could keep on doing my life. I'm taking them now for a month and I'm still down because it's the disease that is depressing me and not other factors.
It's the first time I'm writing about my problem in a forum, that because I found that usually people mix up two completely different kind of problem: one is a teenager that is worried because he has a bubble in his chin and feels that no one will love him (a feeling that is quite common and comprehensible at their age and that will soon disappear once that they know people love them for they are and not for what they look like), and another one is fully grown up people who have a really severe cystic acne problem and really don't have any kind of therapy or a medical approach that really can help them. he second case is when people start to feel desperate, anguished and depressed. Lately I even avoid to speak with people about the subject because I'm tired of explaining once again all the process and history, and even with my closest friends or family I prefer not to talk about it. I'm just tired of fighting. But this, although it's easier for my soul in some way, in another makes me feel far more alone and sad. It's great that I have a forum where I can tell my story an express how I feel, otherwise I'll just keep to myself. Besides that if anyone knows about something than could help this kind of cases I would be very thankful.
Thank you for your attention!

[ComeToNowhere]

This might seems really insignificant but for me it's a small victory. Last night I went to a Lock-In at my church and knowing I would be staying up with other people I really didn't want to wash my face. But the more I thought about it, I knew I would regret keeping my make-up on and not washing my face the next day. So I sucked it up and went without make-up for the rest of the night and the next morning. I still felt really self conscious but in my sleep deprived state I shrugged it off.

Small victorys win the battle right?

[zoey119]

you all inspire me. I never had bad acne up until a few months ago. I used to be one of those people who freaked out when I had one zit. then all of a sudden my acne flared up bad. i am 17 years old, graduating in a few months, with newly moderate, sometimes severe acne. It has definaetly taken a toll on my self esteem and reading all your positive posts makes me feel like im not alone. and i agree, you shouldnt let acne define you. its not worth it. the last couple months i have been ashamed, hiding out in my room, and kind of going through a slump. but reading all of your stories makes me feel like i can go out into the real world and be proud of who I am. We are all going on a journey to clear skin, and it will be hard but worth it. but it will only make us stronger.

[luckyduck10]

One positive thing i can say acne has brought me , awesome friends. Friends that dont care about the way you look ect just for who you are. Acne has let me see what people are worth creating friendships with and who are just plain idiots.

Hey I totally agree with you and I know that if I ever get clear skin I will never date or be good friends with any of the people who didnt want to talk to me while I had acne.

[skincareformen]

It can be hard but everything passes with time...

[Masaj90]

Tell you the truth people, everything is possible. I'll skip the encouraging speaches and negative feelings that acne cause in me and go straight to the real world. Acne is a disease. The rest of the world, even doctors, don't realise that. Why? One reason only, they don't cause death. Sure, they're right, except for the suicidal cases, but that relates to the thing I'm going to say. Psyhic problems people!!! It screws up your mind! Fear of millions of eyes looking at you and humiliation and whisper behind your back is not the problem, it's the opinion about yourself that counts. So that's why most people don't take acne seriously. Simply, because they don't have acne or because they are influenced by the opinion of the rest of the non-acne world. I suffer from acne for 8 years now, and I still haven't found the cure that's going to help me or even downgrade the condition of my face. One day, I was really pissed off, and I was fed up with it. I decided not to get out of the house until they are gone. Meanwhile, I will cure them, but I won't show my face in public. Why? Cause, handicap people have more respect than us. We are also handicap in some way, but most people just don't want to see the truth. Even those with acne. Me, I love life, I had some pretty amasing moments in it, but those were the moments that everyone have, simple, everyday stuff. I don't care what will people say about my acne condition, I don't feel embaraced at all, my problem is that I can't feel the real freedom that I should feel in the first place. It's all about freedom. Getting up in the morning, and not having the need to say yourself: Oh man, nevermind, one day I'll feel the wind on my face. I don't expect you guys to understand this too, cause you are either depresive as hell or going outside influnced by other people, not by yourself. Or you could be suicidal, but that kind of stuff are prohibitet on this web page. I have spent 4 months in my house and still counting days. Still haven't gone out. But I will, one day. And that will be it. Peace.

[Ritaaz]

I am so glad someone made this post, because i thought everyone had acne controlling their lives (as what i've been reading through this forum).
Acne is part of human life. Some of us get and some of use don't and seriously WHO CARES.
So what, if everyone's skin is different.
If you see someone with clear skin, who cares because you will have a trait better then them
I personally, do not undertsand how acne can make you suicidal. You can not be the only person in your school to have/had suffered acne. So why try and skip school and sulk in your bedroom when you can be doing something more amazing or fun, like hanging around your friends. Don't let acne mess your life up. SERIOUSLY IT'S NOT WORTH IT!!!!
Even those model, actors, singers and other celebrities, some of them have suffered acne at some opint on their life.
Acne also helps you to notice your true friends of those who do not care how you look, because your awesome personality is what matters.
If you believe your a good person and not worry about your outside, your acne should not bother you in anyway.
All you people depressed over their acne just needs a boost of self-confidence.

Good Luck

[AlbinoSTU]

I'm a good judge of character through it - very very rarely am I shallow about things