HOW ACNE MAKES US FEEL!
Do you remember a moment in time when you looked forward to an Amazing event coming up, a dream vacation, or a special date with the person who gives you butterfly’s and you can’t wait to see them? An event that you were super excited about and waiting to be at your best. You were planning what to wear, how you were going to do your hair, and rehearsing what you were going to say. Then it hits you 2 or 3 days before your big event, you feel the itch! The dreaded itch that makes us realize it might be the beginning stages of a pimple forming. All the excitement you had now turns to dread, fear, panic, “OMG”! you only have a few days and by that time this sucker is going to be so big, and this triggers the vicious cycle of anxiousness.
We begin to map out how are going to address this huge pimple, rationalize all the what if’s? We either run out to the drugstore, go online and search feverishly for acne remedies. We are overwhelmed by the number of messages enticing you buy this, try that, Get Clear in 24 hours, reduce or banish that pimple in 48 hours, all these incredible before and after pictures. How do we choose, who do we trust, the feeling overwhelms, and we can only hope it magically lands in our favor! What are these products are trying to tell us? Where do you start? We frantically continue reading the reviews about the products, get hypnotized by the pictures, and how they worked for them and it hits us, we can emotionally relate to a certain story, decision is made, that is the product we choose. We run out and buy it, or even better since now in some cities we have it delivered with same day delivery. We are somewhat relieved, we can take a break from the Freak Out, while waiting for the product to arrive. If we go to the store to pick them up, we rush home to read the directions and begin our journey with our fast fixing pimple product. During our panic and desperation, we follow the directions and continue having high hopes. Our event will not be ruined because this remedy will be the be all, end all, of the gigantic pimple. The misery that you are about to embark on will be a harsh reality because the pimple is not going to go away in 24/48 hours.
The reality is just that reality, however we ignore the common sense and convince ourselves that it will work for us because it worked for all those other people, You read the reviews and there were hundreds of them. As our event is knocking at the door the panic and anxiety with the fear of realizing that we are going to have to go through this experience, having the gigantic pimple staring us back in the mirror. What we thought would be the most amazing experience is becoming a dreadful possibly the worst experience all because you have a gigantic pimple, in the middle of our forehead, nose cheek or chin. It is screaming “LOOK AT ME”! As if a bright red arrow is pointing on a billboard sign to get everyone’s attention. This moment becomes knock the wind out of you dread and embarrassment. These are the most difficult times and situations to be in. Looking back, they might be comical or matter of fact, in ten or more years, but not very funny at the time going through this. These kinds of ongoing events lead us to more anxiety, depression, and fear, that every future event you have will end with the historical pimple that will never let you live it down. How shameful and self-beating are these negative thoughts? This can happen to anyone at any time, but when it happens frequently it is devastating to the person’s self esteem and even their self-worth.
Acne make us feel less of what are our full capacity is. We become self-loathing, depressed, self-pity, poor me statements repeat over and over until we believe them. Why does this happen to me? What did I do to deserve this? Why Me? The beat down is prevalent and there is not any rhyme or reason for why it happens, when it happens, it just happens. How we deal with it makes all the difference. Dealing with acne is an individual battle that goes unnoticed and silent due to the shame and guilt we bestow on ourselves in the first place. It is difficult to talk about because in history it seems, when you do, the eye roll or the it’s just a pimple, it will go away, comments do not serve our need for compassion, understanding, and empathy for how it makes us feel. Unless you have experienced acne on a consistent level even minor consistent break outs it is difficult for someone to understand the emotional ramifications that acne can have on one’s psyche. People that suffer with acne repeatedly, and if it is severe enough will avoid, social situations of any kind, they will lie, and make up elaborate excuses if necessary, to avoid further ridicule, or judgement for missing an event because of your pimple. As silly as that may sound, when you are living with it, it is not silly, it’s real torcher, and the self-sabotaging thoughts are real. It can trickle down and affect so many other aspects of your life. A lot of us that suffer with acne on a regular basis become experts at dodging and avoiding life. We muster up the strength to do normal things but feel ugly, and ashamed about the way we look. Our physical appearance is the first thing people see and sometimes people can make quick judgements about you and your appearance that really is not fair. However, people do judge and sometimes there is no way around it!
Do you know how it feels to see the glances and disgust on someone’s face when you know they are looking at your acne or acne scars? When they back up as to not get too close as if they could catch it or something. What if you notice someone moving to another line because they were grossed out by your acne? We can try and convince ourselves that just did not happen, but the reality is you know in your heart it did, it has happened before. If that happens more than a few times, it can hold us back from going into public places. Imagine what it might be like to decide if you have the strength to go into public today based on how bad your acne looks today. This kind of thinking can debilitate someone from living their lives and builds a lifelong of angst, negative feelings, escalate fear, anxiety, and depression. The more this happens the more your beliefs become real and the memories linger for years. Even with strong self-esteem we battle with am I good enough? As women we can apply make-up, cover our acne, and continue to pretend as best we can that the acne is not there. However, severe acne sufferers, even when covered with make-up, can feel the throbbing pain of acne, as a constant reminder that it is there, and we are different.
You daydream about the day that you can let go and be free of the negativity that surrounds your acne. You image what that would look like, feel like, and it gives us hope. Imagine the freedom that comes with acne free skin!
I can teach you how to manage your acne condition and other skin issues alike. I can help to minimize the negative self-talk and give you the tools to combat the acne. Imagine targeting your skin results before they happen, so there is less chances of you having a gigantic pimple or a full blown break out, especially at the worst possible time. When I work with my client’s the education part is vital to their success and I simplify it as much as possible. Know why you are using what your using and what it does to the skin…I can open a path way to success much faster that trial and error with minimal to no results with the overwhelming amount of information you can find online.