I'll do my best to keep this short. I always had great skin growing up and had no issues with acne. Two years ago, just after I turned 25, I changed my birth control and developed extremely severe cystic acne. I'm talking BAD - if you Google image search 'severe cystic acne' you'll find skin similar to how mine was.
I lived with the acne for about a year and it devastated me. I went from feeling confident and attractive to feeling hideous and deformed, every single day. People around me were shocked by the change in my appearance and personality. Needless to say, I developed social anxiety and struggled to leave my house.
Two years on, my skin is now clear and I'm just left with some scarring which is slowly improving. It does bother me, but I have hope that it will get better and I'm just so grateful not to have acne anymore. The only problem is that I still have terrible flashbacks and anxiety surrounding the acne. If I do anything that reminds me of that time or if I get a small pimple or two, I panic and become extremely anxious. I had therapy to treat the social anxiety and that helped me a lot, but I don't think it did anything to address the PTSD-like symptoms that I still struggle with.
Has anyone else experienced this? What helped you?
This is the way I was thinking just this past week. I have been cyst free for almost a year! And the week of my graduation i start my period and get two cysts! I've had about 2-3 cortisone shots already and nothing helps.
But the worst feeling was the anxiety and "flashbacks" to my worse days. I know it is not that bad but for me right now, but it feels like the world is ending and I think because it is like being traumatized. A state of panic begins because then I start thinking, is this the beginning of something worse to come?
Sorry to hear about your cysts! I really hope they go away soon. <3
It's comforting to hear that someone else feels the same way - I totally agree with feeling like it's all going to happen again, that's my biggest fear and as soon as I get one tiny pimple I manage to convince myself that the acne is coming back. I feel bad for my boyfriend because it makes me snappy and distant.
We're definitely traumatised by it. I'm thinking maybe the cure is just giving it time?
There's a reason why the phrase "Time heals all wounds" exists, its not for only emotional wounds, but for all wounds. And by the way, stressing about it and having anxiety about it will make it worse, so be more aware of it. Not only that, but you're letting acne win your mind and happiness, so be more conscious 
On 8/18/2016 at 8:56 AM, Jennahxx said:I'll do my best to keep this short. I always had great skin growing up and had no issues with acne. Two years ago, just after I turned 25, I changed my birth control and developed extremely severe cystic acne. I'm talking BAD - if you Google image search 'severe cystic acne' you'll find skin similar to how mine was.
I lived with the acne for about a year and it devastated me. I went from feeling confident and attractive to feeling hideous and deformed, every single day. People around me were shocked by the change in my appearance and personality. Needless to say, I developed social anxiety and struggled to leave my house.
Two years on, my skin is now clear and I'm just left with some scarring which is slowly improving. It does bother me, but I have hope that it will get better and I'm just so grateful not to have acne anymore. The only problem is that I still have terrible flashbacks and anxiety surrounding the acne. If I do anything that reminds me of that time or if I get a small pimple or two, I panic and become extremely anxious. I had therapy to treat the social anxiety and that helped me a lot, but I don't think it did anything to address the PTSD-like symptoms that I still struggle with.
Has anyone else experienced this? What helped you?
Yes. But, it was linked to the fact that I never accepted myself with acne. I despised myself with acne so it is not surprising I was so afraid of it. As I move away from this way of thinking and accept that I can not control my skin, and that I am awesome no matter what, this panic whenever I have a pimple slowly fades. Besides, when I had acne I felt like I had no control, now I do. I will seek treatment when I see it getting too bad.
On 24-8-2016 at 3:20 AM, IronMotivation said:There's a reason why the phrase "Time heals all wounds" exists, its not for only emotional wounds, but for all wounds. And by the way, stressing about it and having anxiety about it will make it worse, so be more aware of it. Not only that, but you're letting acne win your mind and happiness, so be more conscious
But it's a bad reason. I don't like people who give others false hope.
I so totally relate to this! I always had mild/moderate acne as a teen. Then when I started taking a particular medication at universityI broke out with full blown severe cystic acne like you, and it made life unbearable, I genuinely didn't leave the house for 3 months solid! I'm not lucky enough to be clear now, I still break out, but very rarely get cysts anymore *touch wood*. But I still have nightmares about waking up with my acne severe and cystic again and I still suffer really bad anxiety about my skin to the degree that I struggle with social events and constantly feel people are looking at me and judging me on my skin. I also get really wound up over really small spots because I'm so scared they're the start of it coming back the way it was. I don't really have any advice on how to help, but just wanted to chip in to say that you're definitely not alone and I've had a very similar experience. Severe acne can be very mentally scarring as well as physically, in a way most people would never understand.
6 hours ago, AlexanderJ86 said:On 8/23/2016 at 6:20 PM, IronMotivation said:There's a reason why the phrase "Time heals all wounds" exists, its not for only emotional wounds, but for all wounds. And by the way, stressing about it and having anxiety about it will make it worse, so be more aware of it. Not only that, but you're letting acne win your mind and happiness, so be more conscious
But it's a bad reason. I don't like people who give others false hope.
LOL I didn't ask what your opinion is, I am talking to OP, in no way did I quote you. Don't drag anyone under the rain with you my friend.
