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I like many of you have suffered from acne for a number of years. In fact, at just the tender age of eleven, my high school photos revealed the beginning of my ongoing battle against the disorder. Ten years on, aged 21, I am a young woman whose life has been greatly impacted by the disease; I began treatment for acne aged fifteen and only now have I plucked the courage to begin a course of Accutane (two weeks in) as no other treatment offered lasting improvements. I often wonder who I'd be without acne. In some strange way acne has been a blessing; it has allowed me to judge people on more than just face value. To see more than just skin deep. It made me aware of my health and appearance at an early age, and I obsessed over food, diet and skin care in attempt to improve the health of my skin. However, the negatives of acne heavily outweigh the positives, as you undoubtedly know well. Depression, low self esteem, lacking confidence, self loathing, jealousy of others with perfect pore less skin... you name it, I went through it. I remember feeling like this as long as I have had acne, which brings me to the question; which came first? Did my acne cause these symptoms or was I going to be a depressed teen with or without acne? I would really appreciate any thoughts you'd like to share reg. your personal experiences with acne and depression to help me understand how they interlink ...
i often wonder the same thing myself and i agree so much with everything you said. it's totally changed my understanding of people and their issues and i feel like i'm a better person now who is a lot more empathetic and has a lot more awareness of the fact that someone could be going through the worst possible time of their lives - like i am now - and it could take one thing to push them over the edge. i'm on roaccutane also and one of the things i think about when i'm feeling down is that hopefully, my skin will soon be clear and then i will be not only 10x more attractive but also 1000x kinder i feel the same as you every single day and whilst some people are just born with that chemical imbalance that is going to inevitably lead them to be overcome with depression one day no matter what, i believe that with myself personally i definitely wouldn't be this psychologically messed up or depressed if it wasn't for my acne. i would be at university right now, going out every night, making new friends... what would there be to be depressed about? i know that depression is an illness that doesn't really depend on your lifestyle - it can hit anyone at any time - but with me it's my skin that has caused me to not allow myself to be seen 90% of the time and has ultimately led me to become a recluse watching my life pass by. sorry i couldn't give you a more insightful and knowledgeable answer, but i hope that gives you some idea as to how i see it. good luck with your course by the way!
