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"i Have Acne, But I Went Outside And It Went Great!" - Topic

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72
(@alexanderj86)

Posted : 11/03/2013 7:55 am

I really hate the negative topics in this section. I even hate the "how do you feel about your acne today" - topic. It insinuates that you have to feel something about your acne every damn day and it "motivates" the active users here to keep focused on their acne.

So, hereby I introduce something else. I introduce this thread to share positive experiences. If this doesn't become a success, then it says something more about the users here than this thread.

I'll begin. I have acne on my face (around my mouth), scarring, acne in my neck and on my back. I went to eat with a bunch of people and I sport with another bunch of people last week. Actually, I do this every week and every week it is a success, because people treat me nicely and I felt great :)

Please share your positive experiences in this thread.

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1
(@swappibkt)

Posted : 11/03/2013 8:24 am

I totally agree with you Alexander. I think if people started to think less about their acne, they would start feeling better. And as a matter of fact, I think your acne problems start to get better if you stop thinking about it all the time. If you think about it 24/7 that means you're stressing yourself about it, which itself could cause more acne than you already have! So think less and have more fun! :)

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31
(@kalinka)

Posted : 11/03/2013 9:09 am

Nice idea! Positivity is good :)

So, when I was in hermit mode about my acne I figured if I went out in public everyone everywhere would stare at my face. This is totally untrue. I realised that people aren't the monsters I was making them out to be. They may think about my face, but they don't make a huge deal about it.. staring, giving advice etc. Although it may not seem like it, other people deal with self esteem issues about their appearance all the time.

Confidence helps. Whenever I go out I try to dress my best and I always feel great, despite my skin!

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7
(@solaire)

Posted : 11/03/2013 1:04 pm

I like this topic, thanks for posting it. I agree, there are a lot of posts that are negative and I admit I am guilty of it. I have had days where I said screw it, I'm gonna go out and enjoy myself, not even think about my acne or be bothered by it. The day went by fine, in fact people were more interactive with me since I wasn't trying to hide myself from them. Women were smiling at me more, which was nice. :) I just felt like a whole different person. It's hard to have these kind of days, but the more you put yourself out there and not think of your acne in a negative way the easier it will get.

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568
(@leelowe1)

Posted : 11/03/2013 5:29 pm

Great thread Alexander. i think that once in a while its ok to feel down but we should try not to make it a habit. When my acne was at its worse last summer, i still went to work EVERYDAY, did my job 100% and even though i felt like shit inside, i didn't give in to those negative thoughts to quit. This year, i like where I am in my job cheer.gif

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18
(@frankl)

Posted : 11/03/2013 7:38 pm

hey man i have been reading your recent posts and have noticed you are much more positive now in days and im very happy for you! you probably dont remember me or know me, matter of fact we never corresponded on this message board but i remember you and it seems you are in a better place now in days which is awesome.

sorry i dont have much to add to this topic but this is a great thread idea.

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197
(@lilly75)

Posted : 11/03/2013 7:56 pm

I've often felt that this site (not just any one particular thread) is a bit of a love / hate relationship for me :P Absolutely love the support and knowledge etc that I've found here, but at the same time, I've never obsessed over my skin as much as I have since being a part of this site. It makes you so much more aware of your skin / acne. But I wouldn't leave. It's great to have a place to vent and to talk to people who can understand / relate to what you're dealing with

Completely agree thinking less / worrying less about your acne / skin is one of the best things you can try to do for yourself - to make yourself feel better and to try and be in a better state of mind and to just try and get on with life and enjoy it regardless of acne! I know it can be hard but it's worth trying.

I'll often have days where I wake up feeling bad about myself because of my skin (my skin has improved a lot since using the regimen but still have breakouts and a lot of PIH and dryness/flakes sometimes) and I just don't want to leave the house. But I have to because I need to go to certain classes at uni - so I get ready and go out for the day. And majority of the time everything is fine. I always end up feeling better once out and doing something - distracted from your skin - If I had stayed at home I would have kept going to the mirror and obsessing over my skin - which I don't do when I'm out and with friends. I have made some really great friends at uni and so it's always good to go see them when we're at uni together - always end up having a good time and laughing

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31
(@kalinka)

Posted : 11/03/2013 8:12 pm

I've often felt that this site (not just any one particular thread) is a bit of a love / hate relationship for me tongue.png Absolutely love the support and knowledge etc that I've found here, but at the same time, I've never obsessed over my skin as much as I have since being a part of this site. It makes you so much more aware of your skin / acne. But I wouldn't leave. It's great to have a place to vent and to talk to people who can understand / relate to what you're dealing with

Completely agree thinking less / worrying less about your acne / skin is one of the best things you can try to do for yourself - to make yourself feel better and to try and be in a better state of mind and to just try and get on with life and enjoy it regardless of acne! I know it can be hard but it's worth trying.

I'll often have days where I wake up feeling bad about myself because of my skin (my skin has improved a lot since using the regimen but still have breakouts and a lot of PIH and dryness/flakes sometimes) and I just don't want to leave the house. But I have to because I need to go to certain classes at uni - so I get ready and go out for the day. And majority of the time everything is fine. I always end up feeling better once out and doing something - distracted from your skin - If I had stayed at home I would have kept going to the mirror and obsessing over my skin - which I don't do when I'm out and with friends. I have made some really great friends at uni and so it's always good to go see them when we're at uni together - always end up having a good time and laughing

I totally agree about the site. It's definitely helpful to have others to talk to, who understand.. but I've gotten myself so worked up with horror stories that have made me so much more worried about my skin. I remember back in highschool when I had my first issues with acne. I didn't know about this site and I didn't obsess about my face (even though it was pretty bad, and you know how girls are about looks in highschool! it was kind of tough.)

Since going back to school and actually having stuff to do in the day, I'm on here a lot less. It's really helped because I don't get wrapped up in crazy negative thinking about "what's going to happen if I have the same problem as 'user x' and my acne gets 10% worse!??"

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7
(@stella-the-diver)

Posted : 11/06/2013 2:36 pm

I really hate the negative topics in this section. I even hate the "how do you feel about your acne today" - topic. It insinuates that you have to feel something about your acne every damn day and it "motivates" the active users here to keep focused on their acne.

Good point :)

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1
(@solis1)

Posted : 11/08/2013 12:51 pm

Yup I've been in hide out at my house for about 2 months, since this year my acne got to its worse during summer. But it's true the other day I had to go pick up my nephew from school and I was dreading it so much thinkin about how people may react to my face and stare but no they didn't. And I actually enjoyed going and picking up my nephew it reminded me of how he's growing up and reminded me of my childhood I loved it standing there waiting for him to come out the doors and then him seeing me and running to me. Since then I have gotten more courage to go out more and looking forward to picking up my nephew again.

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197
(@lilly75)

Posted : 11/08/2013 9:19 pm

I'm going on a beach holiday for a few days this coming week with a couple of friends to celebrate finishing uni - but I'm a bit worried about it because of my skin. I'm going to go of course, and I'll be out at the pool or on the beach regardless of my acne / how my skin is doing but it doesn't mean I'm not a bit worried about my friends / random people seeing me with bare skin / no makeup. Especially when in the apartment with my friends (at night before bed or after waking up in the morning). My friends obviously know my skin isn't great but I've always had a little makeup on around them so they don't know how noticeable the PIH I have is.

So I guess I'm feeling a bit more self-conscious about all this than normal... but my friends have never said anything about my skin before and I shouldn't really worry about what random people on the beach are thinking anyway :P

Going to try not to worry about it and focus on relaxing / having a good time!

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72
(@alexanderj86)

Posted : 11/29/2013 4:30 am

You are really not doing more stuff?

- I have been on vacation with a group of people => nothing happened

- I have been to a swimming pool with a group of people => nothing happened

- I have been standing naked outside while getting a pan full with water all over me => nothing happened

It is all in our head guys.

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5
(@mazgan)

Posted : 12/17/2013 12:33 am

You are really not doing more stuff?

- I have been on vacation with a group of people => nothing happened

- I have been to a swimming pool with a group of people => nothing happened

- I have been standing naked outside while getting a pan full with water all over me => nothing happened

It is all in our head guys.

thats exactly it, nothing happens.

i can go outside everyday and talk to people, but nothing will happen regarding the chance for finding real happiness and love, as long as i have this curse.

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5
(@ilovemesomevanity)

Posted : 12/17/2013 1:55 am

You are really not doing more stuff?

- I have been on vacation with a group of people => nothing happened

- I have been to a swimming pool with a group of people => nothing happened

- I have been standing naked outside while getting a pan full with water all over me => nothing happened

It is all in our head guys.

thats exactly it, nothing happens.

i can go outside everyday and talk to people, but nothing will happen regarding the chance for finding real happiness and love, as long as i have this curse.

pick up the pom poms and cheer up, youll find happiness and love when you just let go and try to have a good time with people you like being around. your life will never feel like a movie or a love story if you spend all of your time comparing it to that

and i dont mean this offensively because we all struggle with this, but the real curse is that we let something like zits bother us so much

to go with the topic:

I feel like I enjoy socializing more when I'm not wearing any makeup and just dont care. it really helps to bring me out of my shell, im normally really shy

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MemberMember
5
(@mazgan)

Posted : 12/17/2013 2:34 am

You are really not doing more stuff?

- I have been on vacation with a group of people => nothing happened

- I have been to a swimming pool with a group of people => nothing happened

- I have been standing naked outside while getting a pan full with water all over me => nothing happened

It is all in our head guys.

thats exactly it, nothing happens.

i can go outside everyday and talk to people, but nothing will happen regarding the chance for finding real happiness and love, as long as i have this curse.

pick up the pom poms and cheer up, youll find happiness and love when you just let go and try to have a good time with people you like being around. your life will never feel like a movie or a love story if you spend all of your time comparing it to that

and i dont mean this offensively because we all struggle with this, but the real curse is that we let something like zits bother us so much

to go with the topic:

I feel like I enjoy socializing more when I'm not wearing any makeup and just dont care. it really helps to bring me out of my shell, im normally really shy

first of all, pom poms not really my thing ..u see.. im a man.

and ive never compared anything to a movie or whatever.. where did u get that idea from?

if im comparing myself, its to an average person, like the hundreds i see everyday in real life.

and tbh zits dont bother me, because its nothing compared to scars... maybe u barely have any real scarring so u cant possibly understand.

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MemberMember
72
(@alexanderj86)

Posted : 12/17/2013 8:04 am

You are really not doing more stuff?

- I have been on vacation with a group of people => nothing happened

- I have been to a swimming pool with a group of people => nothing happened

- I have been standing naked outside while getting a pan full with water all over me => nothing happened

It is all in our head guys.

thats exactly it, nothing happens.

i can go outside everyday and talk to people, but nothing will happen regarding the chance for finding real happiness and love, as long as i have this curse.

Are you actually going outside and talk to people?

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MemberMember
5
(@mazgan)

Posted : 12/17/2013 11:43 am

You are really not doing more stuff?

- I have been on vacation with a group of people => nothing happened

- I have been to a swimming pool with a group of people => nothing happened

- I have been standing naked outside while getting a pan full with water all over me => nothing happened

It is all in our head guys.

thats exactly it, nothing happens.

i can go outside everyday and talk to people, but nothing will happen regarding the chance for finding real happiness and love, as long as i have this curse.

Are you actually going outside and talk to people?

yes...

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MemberMember
72
(@alexanderj86)

Posted : 12/18/2013 4:30 am

You are really not doing more stuff?

- I have been on vacation with a group of people => nothing happened

- I have been to a swimming pool with a group of people => nothing happened

- I have been standing naked outside while getting a pan full with water all over me => nothing happened

It is all in our head guys.

thats exactly it, nothing happens.

i can go outside everyday and talk to people, but nothing will happen regarding the chance for finding real happiness and love, as long as i have this curse.

Are you actually going outside and talk to people?

yes...

What does happen? What are you trying to do and what are the results of it?

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MemberMember
5
(@mazgan)

Posted : 12/18/2013 4:47 am

You are really not doing more stuff?

- I have been on vacation with a group of people => nothing happened

- I have been to a swimming pool with a group of people => nothing happened

- I have been standing naked outside while getting a pan full with water all over me => nothing happened

It is all in our head guys.

thats exactly it, nothing happens.

i can go outside everyday and talk to people, but nothing will happen regarding the chance for finding real happiness and love, as long as i have this curse.

Are you actually going outside and talk to people?

yes...

What does happen? What are you trying to do and what are the results of it?

that depens on the situation of course... ur question is to general.

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MemberMember
72
(@alexanderj86)

Posted : 12/18/2013 6:53 am

You are really not doing more stuff?

- I have been on vacation with a group of people => nothing happened

- I have been to a swimming pool with a group of people => nothing happened

- I have been standing naked outside while getting a pan full with water all over me => nothing happened

It is all in our head guys.

thats exactly it, nothing happens.

i can go outside everyday and talk to people, but nothing will happen regarding the chance for finding real happiness and love, as long as i have this curse.

Are you actually going outside and talk to people?

yes...

What does happen? What are you trying to do and what are the results of it?

that depens on the situation of course... ur question is to general.

Can you give examples?

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MemberMember
5
(@mazgan)

Posted : 12/18/2013 7:26 am

You are really not doing more stuff?

- I have been on vacation with a group of people => nothing happened

- I have been to a swimming pool with a group of people => nothing happened

- I have been standing naked outside while getting a pan full with water all over me => nothing happened

It is all in our head guys.

thats exactly it, nothing happens.

i can go outside everyday and talk to people, but nothing will happen regarding the chance for finding real happiness and love, as long as i have this curse.

Are you actually going outside and talk to people?

yes...

What does happen? What are you trying to do and what are the results of it?

that depens on the situation of course... ur question is to general.

Can you give examples?

when i go to the university i talk to people from my class there, and sometimes on the phone.

i even sometimes find myself conversing with complete strangers on the bus or the train. even on online games which i barely ever play nowdays i start talking to strangers about real life stuff.

there's no 'goal' here, i simply did it cuz i felt like it in the moment. so whats ur point?

it still didnt make my horrible skin any better and i never felt getting closer to finding love. i will always feel unsatisfied with the way my life evolved to a hell on earth.

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MemberMember
96
(@hitea)

Posted : 12/18/2013 12:22 pm

 

I have a few good stories for this thread!

1. I was having the worst breakout of my life on July 6 of this year. It was so bad-- I literally got cysts upon cysts in ONE day. Anyway, I wanted to exercise with my mom because she invited me to go to a spin class in the morning. So, I slapped on some makeup (which hardly covered anything...), put on my workout clothes, and went to the gym with my mom. Well, I sweated off all the makeup in that hour-long spin class, but I felt amazing afterwards! I even talked to the instructor after because I wanted to tell her what a great job she did. And guess what! No one even looked or cared about my acne. Literally. Everyone was just talking about the class and their exercise goals. Then I went home and took a shower and it was all good (besides the cystic acne that lingered for months afterwards... haha).

2. It was the day that my fiance was going to propose to me. I had a cyst or two on my face with lots of PIH. Of course, I put on makeup but you could still see the spots especially on my neck. We spent the day together, and even though I was aware of the painful spots on my neck and chin, I decided to not let it ruin my day. We went out to eat and shared a bottle of wine. He walked me over a bridge as the sun was setting, and he asked me to marry him. We got lots of attention from others and no one glaced at my acne or stared at me in a disgusted way. In fact, I think the fact that I didn't mention it or worry about it made other people not care, either.

3. I was going backpacking with 2 of my aunts, my boyfriend, and my mom. I was having a pretty bad breakout. My makeup wasn't doing a thing-- so I just decided to put a little concealer on my PIH and then leave my big zits to get some fresh, camping air. My aunts and mom all have beautiful skin that requires nothing more than moisturizer, so I was afraid they'd judge me. Maybe they did in their heads, I'll never know, but we all bonded and had such a nice backpacking trip and not once did my acne get in my way. I swam in the river with my dog, sweated my butt off, and tried to just feel "natural" while hiking and camping. Funny thing is, when I got in the car the next day, my acne seemed a lot better-- or maybe my perception was better.

 

Sorry this was so long. The path to accepting your own face is long and difficult, but it's so worth going down. Don't let it define who you are; don't let it dictate your life. I'm still working on it, but I'm so much better than I used to be.

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