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I don't think I could count the days I've spent hiding in my room because of my acne/breakouts. Staying in on my weekends. Too nervous and self conscious to go to the store or just out in public. Embarrassed and ashamed to show my face to the world. It sucks, and it hurts. But what if you said f*** it and just went out and did whatever you want no matter how you looked? Clear skin or horrible breakout. What if you lived everyday with confidence and were brave enough to just walk out of the house without looking in the mirror or think about what your skin looks like? It's difficult to do that. Not because of "society" and how looks are "everything" (I don't believe they are), but because we are so hard on ourselves, we are our biggest critic. It's hard not to be though. When you have redness and painful bumps on your face it's hard not to think about it and hate it.
I guess what I'm trying to get at is have you gone out when you felt your worst? Have you went out when your face was just going crazy? Have you been able to go out in public and just be yourself without thinking about your acne? Can you go out of the house without makeup? It's hard doing these things. It takes a lot of work. Ups and downs. Frustration. We're all tired of acne controlling our life. No one wants to sit in their room on a Saturday night and let the opportunities fly by. No one wants to hide their face from everyone else.
So my question is... What do you guys do to gain that confidence or bravery to walk out of the house and not give a damn about your acne?
Well, when you don't have a choice it makes it impossible.
My face can't really handle makeup all that well right now because of the stage of The Regimen I'm currently going through, but I still have a job to go to and I can't just call out because my acne is making me feel crappy that day. I definitely have those days, but there's nothing I can do about it.
I think a routine and responsibility helps a lot. As in knowing you HAVE to leave the house so staying in isn't an option. That actually helps me forget about it a little bit.
I often find myself feeling less confident because of my acne, but I think that websites like this are great because they give me a chance to relate to people who are going through the same thing. I love being in control of what is going on in my life, so acne can be horrible because I feel as though I have no control of it. So I would suggest organizing and gaining control of other aspects of your life, as that makes me feel better because then I feel as though at least I am in control of something. Furthermore, I do have a great set of friends that are supportive of me and my family has been great helping me through this time. Always remind yourself that there are far more important things in life than what your face looks like, and the people who judge you for what you look like aren't the type of people you want to know or be friends with anyway!
Good luck my friend!
~ Ben
I agree with Devo, the need to pay the mortgage gives me the bravery to go out into the world, even though I wish I could say that confidence was propelling me forward. Wow, I very much agree with you, Ben, that one of the most frustrating aspects is feeling helpless and feeling like you can't control this thing. I, too, whenever there's a problem, want to take care of and resolve the problem as soon as possible, but no matter how hard I try (And I have tried EVERYTHING), I can't seem to shake this ailment.
I agree with Devo, the need to pay the mortgage gives me the bravery to go out into the world, even though I wish I could say that confidence was propelling me forward. Wow, I very much agree with you, Ben, that one of the most frustrating aspects is feeling helpless and feeling like you can't control this thing. I, too, whenever there's a problem, want to take care of and resolve the problem as soon as possible, but no matter how hard I try (And I have tried EVERYTHING), I can't seem to shake this ailment.
I agree, I wish I could say it was confidence as well. I can fake confidence regarding how I carry myself and interact with others, luckily that comes easy. I guess I either trained myself to do it or I remember actually having REAL confidence before I had acne, but I'm still always thinking people are staring at my acne. I only let my guard down around the people I'm really close to.
Oh, and a random question... I don't want to be a Debbie Downer, but I'm really curious since this is a topic along the same lines. You know the whole theory of how people don't notice our insecurities because we exacerbate them and make them seem worse than they are? Well, for me, since I'm insecure about my acne, I take notice to every single person's complexion and I only know TWO other people who have it about the same severity (moderate) as I do. Does anyone else do the same thing?? I don't understand that one whatsoever and it drives me nuts since stats about adult acne say otherwise.
I think we do exacerbate our insecurities because of how relentless acne can be - we develop complexes. If acne was temporary like a cold, I'm sure we'd just think "Ok, got a few pimples, no biggie, I'll be better in a few days", and still be able to live our lives normally because there is a light at the end of the tunnel. With acne, as soon as one breakout heals, another one starts developing, stretching uncomfortable days to months, and even to years. So it consumes us. A normie would just have a two-second thought, "Huh, that person has problem skin." and that would be it, considering most people are self-centric. I'm not saying that pejoratively (notice I didn't use the term 'self-centered' since that has derogatory connotations), I'm just saying they worry more about their own problems than what's on our face. From our perspective, however, it feels like they're looking at each pimple with a magnifying glass. As far as you noticing other peoples' complexions, that's totally normal for us acne sufferers. I do the same thing. I think if I see someone with skin problems, it makes me feel that the ailment is more common and that maybe I'm more normal than I give myself credit for. That being said, I don't really know anyone that has acne like I do. So I definitely share your confusion about adult acne stats.
I cant spend 1 minute outside, without thinking about my acne (no joke). Its really out of hand. I do go out when I have to, and I'm on Accutane now.
I didn't pay much attention to it at first, but after I came to the realization that its not going away, I just cant leave it alone. it will be a glorious day when I'm done. Worst thing is I don't really got a low self confidence or low self esteem, just mentally torturing myself.
Thanks for the replies guys.
I agree that a routine and paying the bills is a good way to find the courage you need to walk out of the house in the morning. My job has defiantly forced me to muster up the courage of getting out of bed and showing myself to the rest of the world. Setting up a daily routine or schedule which includes getting out of the house has helped me a lot too. If I break the routine I feel guilty and bad which leads me to try extra hard of following it the next day. If I really don't want to be in public but still want to get out I usually go for a jog on some trails or go for a nice nature walk. Peaceful and relaxing, and usually no one is there. 
After having acne for three years I am kinda obsessed with looking at other people's skin. I can't help it really. :/ When I see other people with acne, whether it be worse or less than my own I don't really think much about it though. It's almost as if I don't see their acne but just their face. As if I just look past it. It's kinda hard to explain but I hope that makes sense. Thinking back to my high school years, before I had acne, I knew a handful of people who had acne and I never gave it a second thought. It never bothered me and I never thought about it when I was looking at the person or talking to them. I wish I could feel the same about my face.
