rentedname

congrats on the confidence boost how does it feel to be "normal" again?

 

anyway, just letting you know that you still have an avid follower of your progress here.

appreciate the updates and keep em coming! you know, it's so easy to just neglect coming back sometimes...

those are amazing results. can you describe your technique in detail?

lol, for some reason i can't bring myself to believe that OP is a real person

Whitefox, how long do you think a person needs to be on this path, and still having terrible acne, before they should give up and assume it's something other than their gut?

I've wondered this too. To tell the truth, I don't think anyone really knows a definite answer. Scientists aren't even sure of the mechanisms of action that happen with our gut bacteria... so you can only use your own intuition.

It's hard to make the first move if you've no experience of it, or if any instances where you tried went horribly wrong and made you feel even worse about yourself generally.  That's pretty much where I'm at, and where I've been since I first started noticing girls about 14 years ago. It just seems like a lot of pressure. On top of that, it's logical to wonder how people could like you if you don't like yourself, but maybe that's the key; to work out why that is and to fix the source of why you feel that way.  I always thought it was purely because of acne but it turns out that it's not.  Seems to be just a full-on lack of self-esteem, triggered by a bunch of things.  My main issue is this huge sense of inferiority I have due to a lack of experience.  If I were to get to know someone, I'd be trying to cover that up all the time.  I'd assume that if they found out how inexperienced I am, they'd run away in a heartbeat.  To avoid all that, I just keep to myself and so remain totally inexperienced.  It's a horrible, very lonely, vicious cycle.

self esteem definitely comes first. i think there's a huge dissonance in society between the illusion that everyone is naturally supposed to get into relationships and the actual development of a mutual bond with another person. you shouldn't be feeling pressure because it should be something that you sincerely want, and you will approach it in the way you feel most comfortable doing. societal cues may tell you that something is wrong if you haven't been in a relationship yet. as if it's expected of you, when in reality relationships are organic and cannot be forced to happen.

at the same time, if this is new territory, you must accept that you know nothing and may very well experience failure. in that case, treat the failure as a necessary learning step and a challenge that you have to overcome if you want the prize at the end. it all comes down to how badly you want it and whether you're giving it your all or just caving in to a session of self pity.

if you've exhausted all conventional medicines, try looking into the nutrition and holistic section of this forum. what better way to help your depression than to find a solution for your acne? it's a long road and i feel exactly as you do, but the least you can do is battle this shit to the best of your ability.

just realized that there are people out there (on this board) who are dealing with the same problems as me. and it makes me feel a lot better. its us against the world guys