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Why Do You Want To Have A Clear Skin?

 
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(@natashagirl)

Posted : 10/26/2011 11:00 pm

I know, it might sound stupid question for you, but try to think deeper, and answer. Why do you want to have clear skin? What is your purpose? What could give you clear skin, how would it change your life? Do you really need it?

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(@amy91)

Posted : 10/26/2011 11:08 pm

I want to get clear, 'cuz I'm sick of feeling ugly and insecure, 'cuz I'm tired of all those diets, regimens, facials and other procedures, I'm fed up with mean pple who stare at my face every day and make stupid comments, I want to get clear,'cuz I want my life back. Acne doesn't let me be ME! Becoz I wanna feel pretty again.

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(@acnesux7)

Posted : 10/26/2011 11:29 pm

Don't look at me

 

Every day is so wonderful

And suddenly it's hard to breathe

Now and then I get insecure

From all the pain, feel so ashamed

 

I am beautiful no matter what they say

Words can't bring me down

I am beautiful in every single way

Yes, words can't bring me down, oh no

So don't you bring me down today

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(@s0overit)

Posted : 10/27/2011 12:13 am

I want to have clear skin because

-I want to get a job!

-I want to have a high self-esteem

-I want to go to sleep with out crying

-I want to like at people in the eye when I talk to them.

-I want to have a boyfriend.

-I want to go out in the day time.

-I want to wear a bikini! :P

-I want to wear my hair up in a pony tail!

-I want to wear dresses!

There's more but yea acne has taken over my life :( !

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(@dukebluedevils)

Posted : 10/27/2011 12:14 am

So I can have my life back. 3 years of my life, ruined, thanks to acne and my acne has no end in sight so the years of my life that are lost are probably going to keep adding up. My life is dictated directly around my acne.

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(@paulh85)

Posted : 10/27/2011 6:31 am

My experiences in life - or lack of, as the case may be - and how I feel about myself are down to how I responded to having acne, not due to the acne itself.

The only thing not having acne and not having to worry at all about my skin would give me is that sense of being like so many I know of who don't pay attention to what they eat or to maintaining a regimen and so on. It just takes that stress away I suppose, not having to give it any time or thought at all.

Otherwise, everything else - lack of confidence, lack of self esteem, lack of experiences, lack of social life, feelings of loneliness and depression - is down to me. The acne may have been the reason to start with, but it just formed a series of habits and behaviours. Rather than facing up to that and tackling it, I placed all the blame on the acne and used it as a crutch. I let the acne dictate what I did and how I felt for so long that I genuinely have forgotten how to be in charge of and accountable for my own feelings and happiness.

In that respect, you could give me the most perfect skin but it wouldn't actually change anything about me or the way I feel. It would probably give me a bit of confidence, taking away that main insecurity, but the rest of it is about my perception of myself and how I've been too scared to face up to my fears and make changes in life. The fear of failing or getting it wrong or being laughed at is what has stopped me for such a long time, and only by reaching a point where my skin has finally started to improve after thirteen years have I realised that they are in fact two separate issues and the acne is actually the smaller of the two. In fact, that one actually seems like the easiest to fix for me. With the self esteem and confidence issues, it feels like that's going to be quite a tough journey.

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(@Anonymous)

Posted : 10/27/2011 7:34 am

pfft isnt that obvious, you need to be pretty.

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(@amy91)

Posted : 10/27/2011 12:34 pm

pfft isnt that obvious, you need to be pretty.

 

This tongue.png

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(@tritonxiv)

Posted : 10/27/2011 12:49 pm

I know, it might sound stupid question for you, but try to think deeper, and answer. Why do you want to have clear skin? What is your purpose? What could give you clear skin, how would it change your life? Do you really need it?

 

Great question.

Regardless of how we personally feel about our skin, the fact remains that the world we live in is based off of, and judged by appearances. That is simply the reality of our society at this point in history and I don't see it changing anytime soon. In order to maximize our success in life, we have to try and maximize ourselves in every way, always striving to improve upon who we are mentally, spiritually, and physically.

I don't see it as vanity or obsession. I see it as a desire to achieve everything we know we are capable of.

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(@livelaughfart)

Posted : 10/27/2011 2:39 pm

So I can feel beautiful everyday

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(@mm97)

Posted : 10/27/2011 4:34 pm

I think that the replies to this post prove just how good of a question it is. A lot of the answers people are giving are things that wouldn't necessarily be given to them by having clear skin. I think that to some people, 'clear skin' represents them being the best version of themselves, and they assume that once their skin is clear everything else will fall into place.

I have had issues with my confidence and my appearance and socializing and all that long before I had issues with my skin, so I know that clear skin won't give me those things. I suppose the question to ask yourself is what did acne really, honestly, with no deflection or exaggeration, take away from you? Because that is what having clear skin would give back to you.

What acne has taken away from me is just the ability to not worry about my face. Acne is very unpredictable, you never know when or where or to what extent it's going to happen, and for someone who always needs to be in control, that is hugely distressing. It would take away the distress of always worrying about what my skin will do next, and all the time I spend looking at it and reading about it and thinking about how to fix it. ...And that's about it.

Yes, acne hurt my confidence, but I didn't have much to begin with, and my real problem was that my confidence was too easily taken away. It could have been so many things other than acne - a bad relationship, a bad semester in school, some other thing I wanted to change about my appearance, etc. - those would have made me less and less confident as well. It just happened to be acne that I got stuck with, but when the acne is gone, I won't magically be more confident. Maybe I'll feel a little better about showing my face in public, but my confidence overall, how I talk to people, how I present myself - those things won't change when my skin is clear. The change needs to come from emotional, not physical, transformation.

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(@amy91)

Posted : 10/27/2011 5:20 pm

My experiences in life - or lack of, as the case may be - and how I feel about myself are down to how I responded to having acne, not due to the acne itself.

The only thing not having acne and not having to worry at all about my skin would give me is that sense of being like so many I know of who don't pay attention to what they eat or to maintaining a regimen and so on. It just takes that stress away I suppose, not having to give it any time or thought at all.

Otherwise, everything else - lack of confidence, lack of self esteem, lack of experiences, lack of social life, feelings of loneliness and depression - is down to me. The acne may have been the reason to start with, but it just formed a series of habits and behaviours. Rather than facing up to that and tackling it, I placed all the blame on the acne and used it as a crutch. I let the acne dictate what I did and how I felt for so long that I genuinely have forgotten how to be in charge of and accountable for my own feelings and happiness.

In that respect, you could give me the most perfect skin but it wouldn't actually change anything about me or the way I feel. It would probably give me a bit of confidence, taking away that main insecurity, but the rest of it is about my perception of myself and how I've been too scared to face up to my fears and make changes in life. The fear of failing or getting it wrong or being laughed at is what has stopped me for such a long time, and only by reaching a point where my skin has finally started to improve after thirteen years have I realised that they are in fact two separate issues and the acne is actually the smaller of the two. In fact, that one actually seems like the easiest to fix for me. With the self esteem and confidence issues, it feels like that's going to be quite a tough journey.

 

I can relate my thoughts to these sentences. The clearer I get, the worse I feel about my whole life. It's ridiculous. I should smile and enjoy "clear times", but no, I think about how has acne dictated my life, how much damage I've got, I realize that I have no self-esteem and very poor social life. So either I'm worried about new breakouts,either depressed about emotional consequences of acne. Seems like a vicious cycle. And yeah, if I get the most perfect skin, I guess my life wouldn't change significantly. There are millions of pple who have some reasons to feel insecure and unfulfilled in life(nose,weight, social status,sexual orientation), our reason is damn acne. But I'm not sure if having clear skin would change my low self-esteem, insecurity and other super-personal issues. My mom always says that I am my own worst critic, that if I hadn't acne, I'd probably find something to be insecure about,lol. I agree with her.

In other words, if I finally get clear skin somtime, I'd probably get rid of one of my insecurities, but not from all.

I think that the replies to this post prove just how good of a question it is. A lot of the answers people are giving are things that wouldn't necessarily be given to them by having clear skin. I think that to some people, 'clear skin' represents them being the best version of themselves, and they assume that once their skin is clear everything else will fall into place.

I have had issues with my confidence and my appearance and socializing and all that long before I had issues with my skin, so I know that clear skin won't give me those things. I suppose the question to ask yourself is what did acne really, honestly, with no deflection or exaggeration, take away from you? Because that is what having clear skin would give back to you.

What acne has taken away from me is just the ability to not worry about my face. Acne is very unpredictable, you never know when or where or to what extent it's going to happen, and for someone who always needs to be in control, that is hugely distressing. It would take away the distress of always worrying about what my skin will do next, and all the time I spend looking at it and reading about it and thinking about how to fix it. ...And that's about it.

Yes, acne hurt my confidence, but I didn't have much to begin with, and my real problem was that my confidence was too easily taken away. It could have been so many things other than acne - a bad relationship, a bad semester in school, some other thing I wanted to change about my appearance, etc. - those would have made me less and less confident as well. It just happened to be acne that I got stuck with, but when the acne is gone, I won't magically be more confident. Maybe I'll feel a little better about showing my face in public, but my confidence overall, how I talk to people, how I present myself - those things won't change when my skin is clear. The change needs to come from emotional, not physical, transformation.

 

....then is it worth all of our depressive thoughts and stress?

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(@hotburrito)

Posted : 10/28/2011 12:48 am

^I don't think it's a question of it being worth all the emotional crap. People really just can't help it most of the time :(

On top of all the great answers already given: because acne doesn't belong on a human face the way eyes, a nose, and a mouth do . It's framed as a skin disorder/disease and almost automatically signifies everything from ugliness to uncleanliness to unluckiness.

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(@hiimmatt)

Posted : 10/28/2011 10:06 pm

-Old life back

-Confidence back

-Have a girlfriend

-Walk out in public with no fear of people staring or making fun of me

-Feel good looking

-Make friends

-Get a job

The list goes on. smile.png

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(@notanoutsider)

Posted : 10/28/2011 10:22 pm

To me it's not about feeling pretty but feeling normal. Who doesn't hate washing his face every hour because it gets oily and disgusting? Who doesn't hate not being able to look people in the eyes? To get sunlight without feeling intimidated?

What I want is just to be able to enjoy life like a normal person, without having to worry about my skin so much, when other people don't care about it at all.

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(@beentheredonethat1)

Posted : 10/30/2011 8:30 am

My experiences in life - or lack of, as the case may be - and how I feel about myself are down to how I responded to having acne, not due to the acne itself. The only thing not having acne and not having to worry at all about my skin would give me is that sense of being like so many I know of who don't pay attention to what they eat or to maintaining a regimen and so on. It just takes that stress away I suppose, not having to give it any time or thought at all. Otherwise, everything else - lack of confidence, lack of self esteem, lack of experiences, lack of social life, feelings of loneliness and depression - is down to me. The acne may have been the reason to start with, but it just formed a series of habits and behaviours. Rather than facing up to that and tackling it, I placed all the blame on the acne and used it as a crutch. I let the acne dictate what I did and how I felt for so long that I genuinely have forgotten how to be in charge of and accountable for my own feelings and happiness. In that respect, you could give me the most perfect skin but it wouldn't actually change anything about me or the way I feel. It would probably give me a bit of confidence, taking away that main insecurity, but the rest of it is about my perception of myself and how I've been too scared to face up to my fears and make changes in life. The fear of failing or getting it wrong or being laughed at is what has stopped me for such a long time, and only by reaching a point where my skin has finally started to improve after thirteen years have I realised that they are in fact two separate issues and the acne is actually the smaller of the two. In fact, that one actually seems like the easiest to fix for me. With the self esteem and confidence issues, it feels like that's going to be quite a tough journey.

lol dude, gtfo. I don't even get why you are here. Your pic shows no sign of acne, the aftermath or whatsoever, and you are here posting everyday. It's starting to annoy the shit outta me. What the hell is wrong with you? Maybe the thing you need is a haircut?

Op, it is all about the confidence it gives, which is, in this case, feeling normal.

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(@paulh85)

Posted : 10/30/2011 8:52 am

Thank you for that, I really appreciate you taking the time to insult me for no reason at all.

Show me where it states in the rules of the board that all users must suffer with constant acne and I'll gladly go away. Otherwise, shut up.

It's funny, since I posted a new picture in my gallery, quite clearly stating that I was doing so to show the progress my skin has made on the medication I'm taking, a few people have seen fit to call me out about it and now I'm being insulted. Why is that? This place is all about support, right? But once things actually start to work out, it looks as though some people seem not to like it. What's that all about?

Maybe I do get stuck in my own troubles sometimes and yes, I post here often, but I like being here. This place has helped me figure a lot of stuff out this year and I've also gained the knowledge I needed to start to clear my skin. That's what the picture is all about. Because this place has helped me, I like to help people in return. I believe I have done that and will continue to do so.

If you don't like me being here, that's your problem I'm afraid. I guess you'll just have to ignore my posts or something because I'm not going anywhere. Sorry to disappoint you.

Look around the Org, check out photos. You will see a lot of people with almost clear or near perfect skin. That's because they have found what works for them. Does that mean they are in the wrong by being here? No, of course not.

The ironic thing is, you have a go at me and then start talking about confidence. Read my post again. My 13 year struggle with acne has destroyed my confidence. That's the whole point! Just because you can't see pictures of my skin at its worst, doesn't mean it didn't happen. By the same token, I could question why you're here, on the basis that I don't know what your skin looks like, but I wouldn't do that because that would be stupid and ignorant.

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(@colostomus)

Posted : 10/30/2011 3:07 pm

i want clear skin because i have enough to worry about in my life without my looks, dont get me wrong i love my life but it takes a LOT of work to keep it smooth-ish, and every now and then a breakout or a comment from someone just shatters my confidence completely.....

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(@facevalues)

Posted : 10/31/2011 12:16 am

I used to want clear skin for different reasons than I do now, reasons that are more or less the same as what has been previously mentioned.

Now I want clear skin because it's something I haven't had for 7 years. And when I had it, of course I never expected it to be altered. It's like enjoying your favorite flavor of ice cream and then one day, poof! there's no more of that flavor left in the entire world(if your flavor of choice is polar bear, this may be you in 50 years).

So what if some people off the internet told you there was more ice cream? And it was a way you'd never thought of attempting?

I want what I used to have but ignored. Like a lover I neglected but whose absence I now dearly miss. And I'm going to keep believing it's possible to get them back through diet change, because, well, what's the other option? Wallow in threads like these? Keep using medication that causes imbalances and even harm to my body? Or maybe religiously using some new topical I haven't tried yet. Nah.

I mean no disrespect to this thread or forum, I whole-heartedly believe people have a lot of feelings that ought to go expressed rather than keeping it inside and experiencing what certain ones can do to us (acne, anyone?). I'm just saying, even if your favorite flavor disappeared forever, there are tons of others to choose from besides the double-churned "hopeless", the chunky "I don't have any options", or a personal favorite, "I have no control".

TL;DR ice cream=feelings

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(@woah44)

Posted : 10/31/2011 1:08 am

I want to have clear skin because I hate disappointing my friends and family. I'd hate to have to take my senior picture looking like this. I want to be able to make it up to a girl that I lied about not wanting to be in a relationship because I didn't feel secure about my looks whenever I was with her. I want to be able to make eye contact with a person without them glancing over at my acne. But really, the biggest thing I want back in my life is being able to think clearly...not having acne in my head 24/7 and constantly trying to avoid any type of socialization.

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(@jr0615)

Posted : 10/31/2011 3:42 pm

I want to have clear skin because i want to be confident, and i dont want to be worrying about my face 24/7 in stead i could be worried about school and because of acne im slacking in school.

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(@natashagirl)

Posted : 11/01/2011 10:15 pm

Okay, in other words what opportunities in life have you missed because of acne? Does acne hold us back from success,joy and happiness? I asked why do we want to get clear,in order to know what does acne hold us back from. Actually we CAN have that all with or without acne,if we are able to set ourselves free from our own insecurities and anxieties.

I'm personally one of those emotional victims of acne. When I realized how many opportunities I've missed just becoz of acne and my low self-esteem I felt sorry for myself. We should not let it control our mind and life. We MUST NOT let it bring us down. I know easier said that done, but otherwise we're just wasting our time on this earth, we are just wastin' our youth. And as ironicly it sounds, the more I think about acne, the worse it gets. Here is the list of opportunities that I've missed becoz of acne, but mainly becoz of my own insecurities:

1. Makin' convo with a wonderful guy from my college

2. Performing better in my speech class

3. Hold myself confident in public

4. Being afriad to go to job interview becoz of the way my skin looks.

5. Living my life for 100%. Enjoy every single day of it,instead of locking myself in my room and isolating from pple.

6. Making excuses in order to hide myself again, missing parties,family gatherings and not going out with friends.

7. And the most important, not loving myself just the way I am,becoz I have acne.

What are your missed opportunities?

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(@paulh85)

Posted : 11/02/2011 7:35 am

I reckon anyone who hasn't quite been strong enough to make the most of things and just enjoy life despite their things would list very similar and perhaps identical things as you, Natasha.

I know that the biggest impact on me was the realisation that I'd actually stopped myself from experiencing pretty much everything - enjoying life, being happy, loving myself, having friends, meeting girls, and so on - for exactly half my life. All that time was wasted and I'll never get it back. Added to that is the feeling I get of being left so far behind and feeling inferior as a result.

I certainly think that I went through some kind of grieving process when I got closer to 26, marking 13 years since all this started for me. That triggered depression and some pretty negative and harmful feelings and I totally lost my way. Still here though so might as well battle on and win the war. Even as my skin gets better and better all the time now, the feelings seem to get worse because there's less and less to hide behind and less acne which I can use, essentially as a crutch, in order to avoid the fear of these experiences which many people seem to have had long ago.

Facing up to it is the hardest part I suppose. Once that's out of the way, it's then all about learning new thought processes and new behaviours, ignoring the fears and the doubts, and giving yourself positive messages until they become habit instead. The fact that people have done this, and the fact that we have plenty of people here who live happy and fulfilling lives with partners and so on, despite acne, prove that it can be done if you have the right attitude and that we can learn to do it too. smile.png

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(@amy91)

Posted : 11/02/2011 4:00 pm

Paul, I'm glad to hear that ur getting clear, but why doesn't it make you more confident? What does still hold u back? For example, when my skin gets better, I feel like I can do whatever I want, I can talk to anyone and be social,confident and etc. But as soon as I get new pimples-I close myself in and don't wanna even leave the house.

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(@paulh85)

Posted : 11/02/2011 4:23 pm

To be honest Amy, it's because it makes me see that my skin isn't the biggest problem and it shows me where I've gone wrong all this time.

The issue is a lack of experience in things and a lack of friendships. I shut myself off from people years ago when my skin was first bad, was totally off the radar for about three years. Since then, I never really regained any confidence, haven't had anyone to hang out with and I've no friends to call on so I don't really have much to do in terms of things which could help me build up my confidence around others.

I just feel like I get left behind sometimes. I mean, there are people maybe eight years younger than me who have social circles and go places with their friends, they have partners and all that kind of thing. I've never had that and have no experience of being in a relationship. Never put myself out there and I feel like I don't know how. Seems scary having to go it alone as well.

So the more my skin clears, the more it becomes so obvious that my skin wasn't the biggest problem, it was just the initial cause.

I'm working on it though, I started group therapy sessions today and the first one was good. I don't suppose it will turn me into a totally new person or anything magical, but if I can start to learn a few things, build up a bit of confidence and some social skills, I can take it from there and see where it leads. smile.png

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