Just curious how do you handle your job or school? I'm lucky to work in a small office with only a few people but that has not stopped me from calling into work due to the embarrassment of my acne. i don't suffer from to much acne but i do suffer from cystic acne and when its bad its bad! so bad that i don't want to leave the house. i have severe anxiety and depression because of this. Its only when I'm going through a breakout that the depression hits. when I'm clear I'm fine and happy! not all my breakouts are bad and some go away fairly soon but that cystic ones last a while and take what seems forever to go away. i'm currently going through recovering from not one but two of these cystic breakouts and they have me feeling bad. i'm tempted to call into work for a while. i have sick days so i can do it but a part of me is saying just suck it up and go to work. but i can't shake this feeling of just wanting to hide for a few days. this is not the first and i doubt the last time this will happen but I'm curious to see how do other people handle these situations?
I just started working at a book packaging factory. Been there for about a week. So far things haven't been as bad as it has been in my previous jobs. I feel I get ridiculed a lot less about it. Although I never go into the lunch room during breaks. Instead I just chill with my phone and go to my car. I socialize with whoever wants to talk to me. In an effort to show that im mentally stable despite my bad skin. I try to come across as the laid back guy. the reason I wont go into the lunch room is because.I don't want to be seen under all that light the walls are made of glass so a lot of sunlight comes in
That's a very easy thing to say: go on accutane. A lot of people can no. It's not an option.
Now I am on the same boat. I am 25 so I feel that people do not take me seriously. I also hate sunny days. If there is a work function and I have a bad breakout I will not go. It's sad that I cancel going out with friends bc of this.
I also never leave the house without makeup. I know you can see bumps but at least it's not bright red. As soon as I get home I take it off.
yep agreed, I was on accutane, cystic acne and it didn't work, so I worked hard on finding my triggers
no dairy, no gluten...and I have a crazy topical routine, but it works, and I've been working on the scars for some time now
Im in a much better place now, it's hard, but keep going and keep fighting- find your triggers, journal everything to find what is triggering the cysts
and good luck to you...keep the stress down, get some sun, find friends who love you for you, and live
I can tell you from my experience that STOP caring about what others say. Everybody has an insecurity, be it acne or anything else. If we have acne, it doesn't make us less of a person. There are others who don't have acne but they have some other problem. NO ONE IS PERFECT. The only thing that makes others look confident is that they are good at hiding their insecurities.
Please stop caring about what others think of your acne. You didn't decide to have it in the first place.
Go out there in the sun, hang out with people. Please.
One thing that helps me is to tell myself that "it's been worse and I persevered" when I'm having a breakout. I can always think back to a time when my acne was much worse compared to whatever current breakout I'm experiencing and I still ended up going to work back then. It's just about gathering up all the courage you have and going out there to face the world/general public because otherwise you'll just start to isolate yourself more and more and that's not a good path to go down.
Depends on the job and your amount of social interaction with people in your work or the public. Back in the day it was minimal for me which made the hard times not so hard because i was not in a busy area as i am now.
Now is different as i do not suffer as i have in the past. The damage is done though. I do believe for some it goes away with age, but when it does reappear it can make work alittle offsetting because i get the flashbacks of what i used to go to work like and how i feared people would look and treat me.
Now, as a person in a particularly influential and authoritative role it can drag down yourself confidence and ability.This in a sense is devastating because i am to fulfill a role, but be a person who is in a sense "without flaw" in order to be a role model, professional one. I mean really, who wants to admire a nurse who has a red, uneven scared face that makes a gravel road look smooth? But personally i know that because people count on me i cannot worry so much about what i look like as much as i need to care for them.
Its not that easy though. I know if i have a bad day and have a flare up i blame it on that. I will become stubborn on certain tasks and my interaction/communication somewhat suffers as i tend to be more straight forward. I guess its how i deal. I can't really get mad and walk out....
I just know (as a way to rationalize) that im not the only nurse with acne and i blame it on the stress of the job. Makes me feel better i guess. It works and i think believe do to...
Like i said depends where you are in your life and what job you have.
Sigh fuk I just got fired from job number four. Idk what the fuk im gonna do .. I don't fit in anywhere I go. Things are getting bleak fast man. I hate this slavery system shit.
Why you got fired? You must of done something wrong?
I was showing up to late. Ik it was my fault, but to my defence. It's hard for me to keep jobs for long. With my mentality the way it is and on top of that the way im usually treated by people at the work site. I haven't been to a single place were I haven't heard people call me ugly more then once. Even the managers do it, at this point I may need to brush up on my homeless skills. Good thing I don't give a fuk about my dignity anymore, im willing to steal and dumpster dive.
I hate this sh!t planet, I hate people too.
Sigh fuk I just got fired from job number four. Idk what the fuk im gonna do .. I don't fit in anywhere I go. Things are getting bleak fast man. I hate this slavery system shit.
Why you got fired? You must of done something wrong?
I was showing up to late. Ik it was my fault, but to my defence. It's hard for me to keep jobs for long. With my mentality the way it is and on top of that the way im usually treated by people at the work site. I haven't been to a single place were I haven't heard people call me ugly more then once. Even the managers do it, at this point I may need to brush up on my homeless skills. Good thing I don't give a fuk about my dignity anymore, im willing to steal and dumpster dive.
I hate this sh!t planet, I hate people too.
Lol bro homeless?
We all have to tolerate crap from people and do stuff we don't like, that's pretty much life.
My uncle when he was in high school would get bullied by his school mates but he never let them stop his education, he went to school everyday til he got his diploma.
We all have been called names and been mistreated you just have to go thru the motions like everyone else and deal with, don't be a pussy and give up. The only reason we need a job is for the money, do it for the money forget everyone else.
To be honest i would like to be homeless for a day lol
I used to get this all the time. My school attendance would be so bad because most days I just couldn't bare the thought of having to look in the mirror to get ready. My acne triggered a large aspect of my anxiety, and made me feel entirely insecure all the time. In my highest breakout point of my Accutane treatment, I was so depressed and disgusted with myself that one day I sat in my room and cried and yelled all morning until my Mum let me have the day off.
Work was the biggest problem. I knew that I had to go, no matter what. The only thing that got me through it was just self-motivation. I told myself "Acne does not define you, and one day when it's all gone, these people will be so shocked and amazed that you'll be thankful."t's hard to think that when you have volcanoes sticking out of your face, but you really just have to brave it up. It was difficult at that stage because it was the worst condition my skin was ever in, but if I ever feel down from it now, I just think back to that stage and realize that it could all be a whole lot worse.
I used to get this all the time. My school attendance would be so bad because most days I just couldn't bare the thought of having to look in the mirror to get ready. My acne triggered a large aspect of my anxiety, and made me feel entirely insecure all the time. In my highest breakout point of my Accutane treatment, I was so depressed and disgusted with myself that one day I sat in my room and cried and yelled all morning until my Mum let me have the day off.
Work was the biggest problem. I knew that I had to go, no matter what. The only thing that got me through it was just self-motivation. I told myself "Acne does not define you, and one day when it's all gone, these people will be so shocked and amazed that you'll be thankful."t's hard to think that when you have volcanoes sticking out of your face, but you really just have to brave it up. It was difficult at that stage because it was the worst condition my skin was ever in, but if I ever feel down from it now, I just think back to that stage and realize that it could all be a whole lot worse.
very true.it could always be worse and it actually has been before. i can recall at least 5 MAJOR times i had a really really bad breakout that had me feeling depressed and anxious because i had to be around people and there was no way out of it. I however got through it. It sucked but i got through it. something about this time around i just couldn't take it and I ended up taking a whole week off. i hated it. i actually like going to work most of the time but i was just to depressed and my anxiety over my skin was just to much. i guess i got tired of fighting and wanted a break for a little bit. i will go back tomorrow and although my skin isn't 100% better it is better then where i was last week. i'm just going to suck it up or at least try to and go back to work. i can't live like this in hiding. i feel like it will destroy my life if i do. it sucks.. but if i doesn't kill me i suppose it makes me stronger. everyone who is struggleing i empathize with you. it's hard but you are not alone in this fight. i guess i gotta keep telling myself that too, that i am not alone in this.
Well I skip lectures on days where I have particularly bad acne.
I have bad scarring so I tend to shy away from most people, but I pretend that I dont speak english that well (im a japanese exchange student) so that people wont come up close to me.
I have not show up somedays to work to hide acne and scars.My scars are bad and in bad places, and i cant just wait for them to dissappear.
Its bad when flatmates want to go out as a group and I cant because acne. I stay in room, most time i cant even work or revise as i am too busy being upset about skin. I even ring my university nightline just to talk to someone who will not judge me on looks, but will listen to what i have to say and how i feel. How sad
the sad truth is i really don't think people care about other peoples skin. i think we or at least myself worry so much about what other people think but in reality other people could care less. i know for me anyways whenever i go out and see people with bad skin i don't judge them. maybe its because i know what it feel likes. for example last night i went out with my husband and kids somewhere fun. i saw one lady with acne all over her face and no makeup. she seemed fine. who knows what her story is and maybe inside she is hurting like so many of us but it didn't seem to bother her and even more, other people weren't staring at her. sure you have those rude and ignornat people out there that will comment and make you feel bad for a while but for the most part i don't think other people really care. i know i don't judge people based on their flaws. so many people have their own issues and insecuroties to worry about i doubt they are literally sitting their thinking about how bad your skin is. its hard to be confident especially when the media puts out what "beauty" is suppose to be but i believe most of us are beautiful. it makes me sad to see so many people on this forum who have fallen so low in depression because of this disease. i shouldn't talk because I've been there and still am somewhat depressed because of it but i'm trying and trying to be stronger and not let it get me down to much. i know this will not be my last outbreak and I'm sure i will never ever have clear skin but i can't keep wasting my life feeling sad over it. life is short. no body is perfect. i need to remember that.
My job involves standing up and giving lectures to theatres full of students, leading smaller seminars, attending meetings, travelling and giving presentations - so there's really nowhere to hide. It's hard and it's horrible to have to face the world with acne and dry skin but I don't have a choice - I love my job and refuse to let acne ruin it for me.
I've learnt that people don't care about acne when it comes to me as a person and my ability to do my job. The only area it does have a negative effect is when it comes to attraction - women are never interested in me and I have no love life to speak of. But my career has not been affected, not really,
I work in a pre school with kids age 2-5 and they couldn't care less what you look like or if you have spots but I still feel incredibly insecure and self conscious about it. I know it's because of what I think and that probably no one else cares but I hate going to work and facing my colleagues and the parents when my skin is breaking out.
I've been on Disability for the last two years due to panic disorder largely induced by acne.
I also have major depressive disorder so there are literally weeks where I just stay in bed sobbing, unable to get up out of bed or to eat or get dressed.
I just had a recent hospital stay in December after a suicide attempt and was kept on the ward for observation before being sent home into an outpatient program. Unfortunately my panic attacks have become so severe I can't even leave my house so seeing a therapist for counselling and particpating in the "oupatient" group therapy has proven impossible.
I concur to those who said people generally don't care how your skin looks. It might be on their minds for a few seconds, but they'll get distracted by something else. Remeber hearing about the experiments where the vast majority of the audience didn't notice the man in the gigantic gorilla/pink bunny/duck, etc. in the background or foreground? Chances are, people won't really notice, or at the very least focus on it. They'll pay more attention to your facial cues rather than your skin.
I'm an artist, and I absolutely cannot create when I have a cyst or a severe break out. It kind of just puts my life on hold. I can do physically demanding jobs, but when I have to tap into my creative side, I find it really hard because it makes me upset and sad. It's like my mind is obsessed with my skin.
Luckily, I've found ways to clear up my skin, outlined in my log. But I currently going through a cyst after slipping up for so long. I had to go into work yesterday, working the public. What helped me ge through was:
1) Take care of yourself
Drink a lot of water, eat right, exercise, get outside, do whatever makes you feel good, live healthy. Don't pick!
2) Remember a time when you went out with acne
This has helped me a lot. My acne was much worse before. But I managed to go out.
3) Acne is socially acceptable
You will find that actually no one cares. If I dare say it, it's "cool" to have acne. It makes you different. Of course, depending on the severity. I find that people treat me all the same as I am without it.
4) Represent the people with bad skin
In a way, you're kind of like a model for those with bad skin. And there are a lot of them! And you are courageous enough to not hide inside all day. Go out there and represent us!
I am open and honest about my acne. I sit in an office with a couple of other ladies (i'm the youngest) and we're not super close but I tell them when I have issues with my skin. I'll sook about having a bad breakout and find they'll be supportive, saying that they've been through that etc etc.
When I started on Accutane I jokingly told them to beware that I might be going crazy suffering from all the side effects. Even my boss when he asks me how I am I'd tell him that I'm having crazy dry skin coz of my acne medicine.
I'm sure I'm over-sharing and that they probably don't care but at least I know that by being up front and letting them know i'm doing something about it, I know they won't be chatting behind my back discussing my skin (although I really doubt anyone does this, everyone has their own issues to deal with).