My thoughts are very similar to yours.. also when i wake up i have a mirror nearby to check for new breakouts.. and every morning i think "am i sure i want to do this?".. if i want to buy something "i 'd better go out when it's night, hopefully only a few people will notice", when i have these nodules "my acne is so brave, i use everything i can against it and still won't fall back..", if i have a new break out "when is this drug going to work? Damn, i bet it won't...".

For me there are two ways not to think about them... 1) stay all day at home and keep my mind busy whatching movies, reading etc or 2) when i will have no acne.

Haha, I can totally relate to all of your Daily Thoughts. They always have a way of creeping in and destroying my self-confidence.

At the mall:

"Wow, that cute girl walking towards me is looking at me! She turned away when she got close, she must be repulsed by my face! I gotta get out of here."

"All these people have perfect skin, why am I so cursed?"

"Oh God No ... " - When a person selling skin products in a kiosk in the middle calls me over.

At the gym:

"I know that person just looked at my face and made a beeline for the sanitizer dispenser!"

"I'll just pretend that I'm so focused on my workout that I won't have to look at anyone."

"Lift weights in front of mirror, but don't look at face ... don't look at face ... looked at face, gotta get out of here."

At Costco:

"Time to devise a route to get past the people offering samples" - Not about to ask every one of them whether their food contains dairy.

"In this flourescent light, I must look like a monster!"

"Everything looks so good, too bad I can't have any of it, this is torture." - In the dessert area

Looking at Facebook:

"Sigh. Look at everyone having lives except me."

"Thank heavens I didn't go to that event, look at all the pictures they took."

"When my face clears up, I will do all these things." - Although when that breakout heals, another one starts.

Thank you for this post it really made me feel like I'm not the only one. It also made me laugh My acne is slowly getting under control now but it's a slow process and I definitely still have acne. I use differin prescriptive cream which may work for you if you haven't already tried it. Good luck

A little bit about me:

I'm about to turn 21 and I have been battling/dealing with acne for 3 years now. I have mild to moderate acne however I have had some cases where it has been severe. I struggle with acne everyday and it has defiantly affected my life in a big way. Not only physically but also mentally and emotionally. It has changed the way I think about myself and others, and the way I live my life. Im slowly getting my acne under control and finding the right products and routine that works for me, but even with my skin clearing up and having more 'good skin days' I still find myself being controlled and consumed by this horrible thing called acne.

Acne is on my mind a lot and since it has become such a big problem in my life for the past three years I find myself having these 'daily thoughts' depending on how my acne is that day/week. Here they are...

Waking Up

"I hope I have no new breakouts."

"Hopefully my current breakouts didn't get any worse."

"Maybe my acne has cleared up since I went to bed." -I kinda laugh at myself when I think this because this rarely occurs for me. it takes days for weeks for my breakouts to go away.

Touching My Face After I Wake Up

"Yes! No new breakouts!"

"That wasn't there when I went to bed."

"Really? I just cleared up in that spot and now I'm breaking out there already!?!?"

"Ow! That one hurts." :/

Looking In The Mirror

"Look the same as yesterday, meh..."

"My face is clearing up... Kinda... I think?"

"Yeah... Today is going to be a rough day. Is it over yet?"

"Holy crap, can I just crawl back in bed and sleep for a year?"

"What the hell happened to me????" :/

"Should I pop this one? No don't. Ok I won't." 10 seconds go by. "Let's try to pop it..."

"Damn it I shouldn't have popped that one! When am I ever going to learn?!"

Driving To Work

"Looks like I'm going to just sit in the corner and avoid everyone today..."

"I hope no one tries to talk to me too much."

"Why me??!"

At Work

"I hope there's no big meeting today, my face is terrible right now."

"Please don't come over here and talk to me..."

"If I stand on everybody's right/left side I should be fine." -When only one side of my face is bad.

"Why does everyone I work with have clear skin?!"

"What the hell.. My face didn't look like that in my bathroom mirror." -When I use the office bathroom.

Lunch Time

"Yep, my face still looks the same from this morning."

"Is the day over yet?"

"I can't wait to just go home and lay in bed."

"Time to go back to work... Sigh*"

Going Home From Work

"Yes! The day is finally over."

"I can't believe I made it through the day..."

"Wow... Is it the weekend yet so I don't have to show my face?"

Afternoon at Home

"If I pop this one it should look alright by the morning..."

"Stupid face."

"I wonder what my face would look like without acne..."

"How the hell did I even end up like this?"

"Yeah.. I'm just gonna go lay in bed and not go out."

Going To Store, etc.

"Ok I just need to get three things, I'll make it quick and fast so nobody sees my face."

"I really hope I don't run into anybody I know, they can't see me like this!"

"Please don't look at me, please don't."

"She's cute... Too bad my face looks like this!"

"I hope they have a self check out line."

Before Bed

"Maybe things will be better in the morning."

"This stuff better work." -Washing my Face

"Only X days until the weekend." -It's sad that I look forward to the weekend to hide my face when I should be looking forward to it to have some fun.

I'll add more later...

I'm trying to avoid these thoughts or get away from thinking them but it can be very difficult as many of you know.

If you'd like to share your 'daily thoughts' good or bad feel free. I wouldn't mind hearing them.

I'm glad I was able to give a few laughs.

Thanks for all the replies, I appreciate you guys sharing them.

I've found a routine that works for me and my skin is clearing up finally but thank you for the suggestion kelly.