What Did You Let Acne Take Away From You?

[dreamerhigh 8]

hmm?

[DaileeH 16]

Hmm...
Definitely took away my confidence.

I am now a college student studying Broadcasting which means I have to work with a bunch of different people. Having confidence and communication skills is ESSENTIAL in order to work in the broadcasting industry. I use to be a very social person till acne came into my life... and in class I just don't talk to people cause all I could think about in class is "I want to go home and hide in my room"

[cvd 118]

Acne took many many years (decades) of my life away from me because I was consumed by how I looked, by how much my skin hurt, and fears about what others thought about me. It took decades to get a regime that worked and I could use without damaging my body (...can't take accutane or full strength antibiotics forever!). When my skin finally cleared up and healed it felt like my life was restored --- a rebirth --- like I had been on hold and now could be alive again. When my skin was breaking out with deep painful infected cystic lesions I was so anxious and sad and without hope. Now I'm happy and look forward to life. It may be late in my life but everything is relative --- I feel whole...like I felt as a child before acne. I wish I could have had an adulthood without acne but acne taught me great humility and empathy for others. I don't take things for granted and I feel blessed each day. When I had acne I tried to be positive and overcome how I looked but it was very hard, if not impossible, to do. I lived with an underlying anxiety that never went away. I hid my feelings...and regardless of acne still accomplished a lot in my life. But sometimes I wonder how much more I could have done if I'd felt more secure, more sure of myself...like when I got up in the morning I could rely on my skin not to be broken out like a teenagers! How amazing it would have been to grow out of acne in my 20's, to be able to concentrate on things other than my skin. I have seen this happen for my own kids, for my nephews, for others. But for me acne just got worse and worse. It never went away despite all kinds of treatments. Needless to say I am thankful beyond belief for my current derm, for his expertise with adult acne, for finally finding a regime that works.

[dreamerhigh 8]

Acne took many many years (decades) of my life away from me because I was consumed by how I looked, by how much my skin hurt, and fears about what others thought about me. It took decades to get a regime that worked and I could use without damaging my body (...can't take accutane or full strength antibiotics forever!). When my skin finally cleared up and healed it felt like my life was restored --- a rebirth --- like I had been on hold and now could be alive again. When my skin was breaking out with deep painful infected cystic lesions I was so anxious and sad and without hope. Now I'm happy and look forward to life. It may be late in my life but everything is relative --- I feel whole...like I felt as a child before acne. I wish I could have had an adulthood without acne but acne taught me great humility and empathy for others. I don't take things for granted and I feel blessed each day. When I had acne I tried to be positive and overcome how I looked but it was very hard, if not impossible, to do. I lived with an underlying anxiety that never went away. I hid my feelings...and regardless of acne still accomplished a lot in my life. But sometimes I wonder how much more I could have done if I'd felt more secure, more sure of myself...like when I got up in the morning I could rely on my skin not to be broken out like a teenagers! How amazing it would have been to grow out of acne in my 20's, to be able to concentrate on things other than my skin. I have seen this happen for my own kids, for my nephews, for others. But for me acne just got worse and worse. It never went away despite all kinds of treatments. Needless to say I am thankful beyond belief for my current derm, for his expertise with adult acne, for finally finding a regime that works.

yes you should feel blessed. congrats ! hope your living everyday to its fullest

[dreamerhigh 8]

Hmm...

Definitely took away my confidence.

I am now a college student studying Broadcasting which means I have to work with a bunch of different people. Having confidence and communication skills is ESSENTIAL in order to work in the broadcasting industry. I use to be a very social person till acne came into my life... and in class I just don't talk to people cause all I could think about in class is "I want to go home and hide in my room"

yeah when I first got it i was sort of in denial lol it was mild at first and im like no theres no way i can have acne lol anyway listen i wanted to hide in my room to ad i did but your not gonna okay? live your life try not to let this curse control you talk to people and try to put the acne in the back of your mind. If you apear as if it is not there people will feel extremely secure around you. so when you get to class talk and act like its not there and soon you'll forget about it and feel good but thats just my advice to you

[OllieJR 15]

Self belief. Confidence. Bits of my social life.

A better question would be what hasn't it taken away.

[LeadingForce 96]

lets say it bought me to hell

[dreamerhigh 8]

Self belief. Confidence. Bits of my social life.

A better question would be what hasn't it taken away.

Please believe in yourself and have confidence you are beautiful

[OllieJR 15]

Self belief. Confidence. Bits of my social life.

A better question would be what hasn't it taken away.

Please believe in yourself and have confidence you are beautiful

The only positive I can take is that it has made me a good person on the inside even if I feel ugly on the outside.

[dreamerhigh 8]

Self belief. Confidence. Bits of my social life.

A better question would be what hasn't it taken away.

Please believe in yourself and have confidence you are beautiful

The only positive I can take is that it has made me a good person on the inside even if I feel ugly on the outside.

from what I see in your picture you are very beautiful and I think it really does change us for the better on the inside

[OllieJR 15]

Self belief. Confidence. Bits of my social life.

A better question would be what hasn't it taken away.

Please believe in yourself and have confidence you are beautiful

The only positive I can take is that it has made me a good person on the inside even if I feel ugly on the outside.

from what I see in your picture you are very beautiful and I think it really does change us for the better on the inside

Thank you, I'm sure you are too

Where you from?

[absurdities 2]

The biggest thing I've let it take from me is my love life. Dating with acne just scares me way too much.

[dreamerhigh 8]

Self belief. Confidence. Bits of my social life.

A better question would be what hasn't it taken away.

Please believe in yourself and have confidence you are beautiful

The only positive I can take is that it has made me a good person on the inside even if I feel ugly on the outside.

from what I see in your picture you are very beautiful and I think it really does change us for the better on the inside

Thank you, I'm sure you are too

Where you from?

Florida

The biggest thing I've let it take from me is my love life. Dating with acne just scares me way too much.

If a guy cant accept you with a skin condition that is not permenant then he is obviously not really looking for love, just surface lust so in a way acne will let you know what guys and really after

[Harry1993 22]

My sex life

[OllieJR 15]

Self belief. Confidence. Bits of my social life.

A better question would be what hasn't it taken away.

Please believe in yourself and have confidence you are beautiful

The only positive I can take is that it has made me a good person on the inside even if I feel ugly on the outside.

from what I see in your picture you are very beautiful and I think it really does change us for the better on the inside

Thank you, I'm sure you are too

Where you from?

Florida

Very nice!

[AlexanderJ86 159]

Acne itself didn't do much. It did / does cause rampant and out of control bullying. As soon as you have acne, other people will stop seeing you as an equal human being and you become a zero in their eyes.

The biggest thing I've let it take from me is my love life. Dating with acne just scares me way too much.

I'll date with you everyday

Why do you have a picture that only shows your acne and not your entire face?

Edited September 9, 2014 by AlexanderJ86

[lilblubutterfly 4]

My confidence, my ability to look people in the eye, hours of my life trying to cover up the scars, seeing doctors, trying treatments, etc.

[Randall Flagg 360]

My confidence, my ability to go out and be social with friends like any other young guy...but most importantly it took away my ability to find a relationship (that's probably what hurt the most)

[AlexanderJ86 159]

My confidence, my ability to go out and be social with friends like any other young guy...but most importantly it took away my ability to find a relationship (that's probably what hurt the most)

That is quite bad, but it can be worse. I have become so severely disordered that I am incapable of getting a relationship. Even having sex is impossible for me. I hang out with people, but I don't know whether I have friends or not. I cannot see people as a friend. I like to, but I trust nobody these days. What I have learned is that people can turn their back on me, just for being more quiet than the average person of having more acne.

Edited September 12, 2014 by AlexanderJ86

[User410314 69]

a stable income, being able to give of myself and be fully present in my relationship, a real social life, lots of $ I could have used to travel, even get a house...

basically all the memories you can create in the first decade of adulthood shrank by at least half. It gets to the point that when you're clear, you're not yourself anymore. You've become insecure with PTSD.

Edited September 30, 2014 by ZhenZhu

[mazgan 7]

everything. friends, opportunitys for girlfriends, looks, confidence, sense of peace.

[KittyVine1 8]

definitely my confidence & social life.

[User410314 69]

Self belief. Confidence. Bits of my social life.

A better question would be what hasn't it taken away.

Please believe in yourself and have confidence you are beautiful

The only positive I can take is that it has made me a good person on the inside even if I feel ugly on the outside.

from what I see in your picture you are very beautiful and I think it really does change us for the better on the inside

Thank you, I'm sure you are too

Where you from?

Florida

Very nice!

The person in this profile pic is not the person on this board, fyi. Reverse Google image search.

[OllieJR 15]

I knew that haha.

[Pudelisrudelis 0]

My social life definelty. Soooo many things. Basically acne crashed my confidence, I was always shy even in childhood. When I turned 13 I got my first zits. During puberty my acne was mild but still I looked worse then my classmates. My derm at that time was telling me that I will grow out of it, that my skin will clear up. But it never happened. At age of 19 my acne got so much worse. I am 29 years old now. Had terrible breakout this winter. Now its much better, have only 1 infected whitehead. So much money I had wasted on acne products that claim will clear my skin but they never do. Anyway my life would be much easier if I wouldn't have acne. But u all know that.