I've had acne since I was ten, and for the past 3 years it's grown into an extremely severe condition. Overall, I've managed to keep my emotions and feelings towards my face under wraps. But recently I looked into a mirror and I completely broke down. I hysterically cried for about an hour. Now it's not like this is the first time I'venoticed how bad my acne has gotten in the past three years. In fact, prior to this day I looked at my face very closely in the mirror, every single day, and just analysed it, looking at how bad it was. Thing is, for the past year I have tried every single thing to get rid of my severe acne, you name it. I spent hours on forums like these, trying out every single little thing that could help my acne. Every single diet, every single skin care routine. I tried each for at least a month. I tried eating vegan, no gluten, no fat, no sugar, completely raw. I tried every single skin care product and combination I could, ones that would dry my skin out completely and exfoliate it, others that would do this while hydratingit. I tried exercising every single day. I tried drinking gallons of water every single day. For a few months my diet was so, completely clean, I was exercising everyday, drinking a lot of water, and meditating to keep my mind in a healthy state. But did my acne get any better? Hmm maybe a little, but no where near close to being clear. However, I persisted, I never lost hope. I kept sticking to my clean diets and exercising, while trying new skin routines to see if anything worked. However, a few days ago I completely broke. The years of severe acne had finallybroke down the wall between my emotional stability and an emotional free fall. I looked in the mirror and I didn't see a human anymore, I saw a monster. I spent an hour crying and muttering the word 'why' over and over again. And inside my head begging for someone to tell me what else to do or to tell me where I went wrong. Ever since that day I've been too scared to look into a mirror.

Now that I've gotten my head back, I can think logically again. If I had been able to do this back when I completely lost it, I would've realised a few factors that stopped my skin from clearing. 1) I'm fifteen and in my prime teenage years, so I'm guessing my hormones are going crazy, 2) I live in a hot and humid environmentand those two things don't go well with an oily skin type, 3) Both my parents had severe acne that went away after a fair few daunting years, so it's also probably genetics, 4) I have ibs and I know for a fact that my acne is seriously linked to the foods I eat and what irritates my bowel.

A lot of you who are reading this are probably thinking "you're a teenager, it's completely normal, you're overreacting". Now I'd agree if I had a few pimples on my face, heck I'd agree if half my face was covered in zits. Thing is, my whole face is covered in acne, there is no acne-free spot on my face. I wouldn't call this normal. I strongly believe that if my body and state of mind was at its healthiest possible level, my acne would decrease a lot. Now I just have to find this secret level that I've been searching for the past months. And I strongly believe you can find it too, don't give up, it exists. Don't say that that there's no curefor your acne, cos there truly is. Don't say it unless you have tried every single thing on this earth that can help your acne.

I know what I've been doing wrong the past few months and what I've been doing right. I will make sure I change the things that I've been doing wrong and continue doing the things that I've been doing right.

Now, I would love anything that would help motivate me on my clear skin journey. Please leave your own stories with your acne journey, in the comments, and what things you changed in your lifestyle that improved your acne. I applaud anyone who reached this far into the post.

If any of you guys are curious this is what I'm going to be doing to clear my skin:

1) Exercise 5 times a day for 30 minutes

2) Do yoga 5 times a day for 30 minutes

3) Maintain a vegan, gluten free diet. Low sugar, low fat, high fibre and protein

4) drink 5 litres of water a day

5) Maintain a healthy and positive mindset by being productive through out the day and journaling

6) Avoid mirrors and obsessing over acne

7) Washing my face with a gentle, non-drying skin cleanser, exfoliating 3 times a week, moisturising when needed