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Is Anyone Else's Acne Crushing Their Confidence And Self Esteem?

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(@adamhasacne)

Posted : 04/21/2015 8:47 pm

I'm 17 and about 90% of the guys at my school have really clear skin. It makes me so self conscious. I mean does anyone else know how it feels to look around and only see clear skin. Sometimes I look at myself I the mirror and think about how much better I'd look with clearer skin... Whenever I'm around an attractive girl, I get super anxious because 1. Talking to good looking girls is basically impossible and 2. My acne makes me feel like I have no confidence. Sometimes I look at my face straight on and I look alright. But when I look at the side of my face I realize it's literally covered in acne. In the mornings I put a scrub on my face that makes the acne die down a bit. But by the afternoon it's back in full force, sometimes even with a lot of whiteheads popping up on my cheeks.

Another thing, at 6'2", I'm taller than most people. So I realized that when the are close to me and talking to me, they generally are looking up. So they usually see the bottom of me chin and neck as well as my face. I realized that my chin and neck are covered with spots as well....its crushing me. I haven't been able to have a healthy relationship in so long because of this...I don't know what to do. It's driving me into depression. The other week was prom and I went with a group with all my closest friends...we took pictures and when they came out, I was the only person with acne... I looked terrible. Everyone else's face was so smooth...and even from afar you could see the acne all the way up my face. And it also doesn't help that my teeth are terrible. They have a undying yellowish tinge that won't go away, and I have 2 incisors growing In all weird...sometimes I like to think I look alright. But then I realize how it looks to see me from another person's standpoint. I'm really kind of ugly.

 

I know this is really just a rant, but I want to see if anyone can relate or has been through this...advice and conversation is welcome.

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(@brunzsax)

Posted : 04/21/2015 9:38 pm

Wazaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!!!!

Hey, Adam, Im Bruno, nice meeting ya. I know how you feel, I've had acne since 4 years from now and it certainly changes your way of seeing things. I have breakouts on a regular basis and I suffer of Hyperpigmentation, aaaand have the horrible habit of picking, skuezing and so.

 

First let me tell you how I live with acne and then I'll tell you some advices.

 

I'm 25 y.o. I work as a Business conaultant and its hard to look at the client's eye and beeing more worried for hopeing he dont notices the big red zit between your eyes, or the one in your chin, or thr cheek. You get the point. Its hard for me to look at the mirror every morning to cone my hair, to brush my theet, most of the time i do it when the mirror is blured by the steam of the shower.

When i go on a date, I choose places where the light is warm, or semidark places, I avoid places with white light, (i know you know why). I always intend to people see my not-so-clean good cheek, the other one is terrible.

 

And the list continue, but, lets go to the adivices:

 

Dont pick (only the white heads, and do it with extreme caution, in your bathroom, and clean it very good after)

 

If you can, go to a dermatologist, and ask for a treatment not to agressive, ask for side effects, and do everithing he/she tells you.

 

Dont drink to much, and dont smoke to much

 

Clean your face twice a day, make it in a gap of 10 to 12 hours

 

Use non comedogeninc products (its says on the label)

 

Know your acne, type of skin, and if you know certain things that make your acne increase, avoid them

 

Be confindent (cheese but believeme) with your words, with your movement, with you! Dont be aggresive, and if some one bullies you, be polite. Groom yourself, dress well, and if you dont like to go outside, stay at home and read, read and read.

 

Have activities that boost your mood, like drawing, play some instrument, play Magic the gathering (works for me!) Learn new skills.

 

Sorry for the long post, and my bad english.

I hope it works for you!

Cheers, ese.

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(@melloman)

Posted : 04/21/2015 10:53 pm

Haha, of course! Back when I was in school, I used to be aggressive. I wasn't really a bully, but I fought a whole lot. I loved fighting, and even fought other kid's bullies when there wasn't anyone left to fight. But then acne came, and let me tell you, it's hard to stand up for yourself if someone thinks your face looks like shit and you agree. I didn't talk to girls. I only felt comfortable around friends. And I wasn't bullied, because when someone tried, I was so far detatched that it was just impossible and weird, and they just couldn't continue.

But I've seen some cyst faced kids and people who have all the confidence in the world. I have so much respect for them. Some even had sex with attractive people which was something I wouldn't think I would enjoy with cystic acne. Their main attraction was their personality. I think the best way to regain confidence is not to try. Be happy and be with friends, and get the most out of life. You'll get comfy and the confidence will come.

I've also seen this one giant kid with a face full of horrendous acne. He sat alone, and when he was asked if he was going to the prom, he hopelessly said no with some morbid sounding joke. Something like "Not with this shit on my face." Part of his childhood is gone. Just stay optimistic, and learn what you can about acne if it bothers you that much. And I mean learn. Learn about yourself, and what might be causing your acne. I suggest staying away from acne products. Good luck, and welcome

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(@leelowe1)

Posted : 04/22/2015 3:22 am

Adam, I so sympathize with what you're going through. Worse than having bad skin as a teen, is having bad skin as an adult which is the situation I find myself at at the age of 31.

 

My only advice to you is to just put one foot in front of the other and keep on going. I have tried the 'I'll wait till my skin clears up' approach but I have learned, life doesn't work like that. Sometimes it's just about faking it till you make it. Look people in the eye even when you don't want to, smile as often as you can (good teeth or not) and avoid looking at mirrors as at this stage of the game, it'll only make you feel worse. I wish I could tell you it will get better soon but after dealing with this for 16 years, there's no definite timeline. Your best bet is to spend time building your confidence.

 

Good luck Hun

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(@kloclaw)

Posted : 04/22/2015 3:25 am

In the mornings I put a scrub on my face that makes the acne die down a bit. But by the afternoon it's back in full force, sometimes even with a lot of whiteheads popping up on my cheeks.

May I ask if you have perhaps called for an appointment to your local skin specialist doctor yet? With acne a simple scrub may not be enough, because as in my case the problem didn't lie with insufficient hygiene but with overactive oil glands. So the more I washed and dried out the skin the more whiteheads I got, but I didn't know it at the time.

 

Think of acne as a rash instead. If you had an annoying and itching rash on your chin you'd most likely take contact with your local healthcare and ask for help, perhaps some medication if necessary. Well, it's pretty much the same thing with acne.

 

In different forums people give a myriad of hints on how to get rid of acne, but the causes are rarely the same for people. Which is why contacting a doctor is really helpful because you can take a more methodical approach with different remedies and he can answer any questions.

 

In your age I was very reluctant to do this because for some reason I felt so shy about it, but meeting a professional is not scary in any way, in my experience I learned that all they want to do is help you, not judge you. Perhaps you can start by sitting down with your parents and explaining how you really feel, and if they don't understand at first and say: 'everyone your age has zits, they'll go away eventually' - then just keep pushing the matter. Explain the rash simile.

 

Please feel free to ask anything if you have any thoughts or such. :)

 

Ps. As for myself I had really severe acne (step 4 out of 5 cystic), and I was sure that it would never go away, but alas after trying different things with the guidance of my doctor, it is now night and day compared to before. Now I barely ever get a zit.

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(@melloman)

Posted : 04/24/2015 12:47 am

 

In the mornings I put a scrub on my face that makes the acne die down a bit. But by the afternoon it's back in full force, sometimes even with a lot of whiteheads popping up on my cheeks.

 

Think of acne as a rash instead. If you had an annoying and itching rash on your chin you'd most likely take contact with your local healthcare and ask for help, perhaps some medication if necessary. Well, it's pretty much the same thing with acne.

That's what I've been saying! Don't think of acne as a rash, because acne is a rash. I've been dealing with rashes my whole life, even before acne. I've had all kinds of rashes. And not only is acne a perfect example of a rash, but it is a rash. It's gotten so bad that a huge percentage of doctors don't even know it's a rash. It's sad.

Well, what rashes are is reactions. Some rashes indicate something is wrong with the body, such as acne, I have a fungal rash called pytorisis thyrosis (?) which is an over production of bacteria. My bacteria isn't balance. This, for me, is also the same problem area my acne stems from; the gut. My leaky and damaged gut is what ultimately lead to my cystic acne. And the unbalance of bacteria centered in the gut and stomach area is what lead to this fungus rash. Both of these are rashes. I mentioned my rashes to my doctor, and he got all smart. "Are you talking about that stuff on your face? Because that's acne." - points finger in my face*

How rude.

P.S.

Antibiotics and maybe even Accutane would probably have only made my rashes worse, as they wipe out the good bacteria and leave behind a full list of other problems that are just plain awful.

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