Acne has undoubtedly been one of my least favorite chapters of life. About a month before my 18th birthday I all of a sudden developed acne all over my cheeks and chin. I had been happy with the way I looked previously and my aesthetics contributed to a large amount of my confidence. Every time I looked into the mirror, however, all I would see was red spots populating my face. This began affecting my self-confidence and I began to realize that acne doesn't just have a physical impact, it has a significant psychological impact also. I have had acne for 15 months now. I've learnt that getting and curing acne is a very slow process and the only way through it is to accept acne as a part of you. There are a few ways you can do this;
1. Wear it with pride
In this step you accept yourself, you look at yourself in the mirror and say "yes, I have acne, whatever, I'm not going to fight you and deny that I don't, but I'm not going to let you take over me or defeat me. I'm not going to think about you, feel self-conscious because of you and I'm going to get on with my life." In this step you come to accept in yourself that you have acne and you do not constantly worry about it or let it dictate your life. Correcting it is a slow process and you have to learn to live with it.
2. Accept your acne
You have to realize that acne isn't the end of the world. As humans, we tend to allow problems to dominate our lives and view them as lot worse then they are. Every person has their own bodily unhappiness. For some it might be their nose, the size of their head, the shape of their chin, their weight, the shape of their jaw or acne. Often when we correct one, another simply takes it's place. Most people see themselves as having a flaw or flaws that they view as being catastrophic to their body. Everyday we look at ourselves in the mirror and we look at the flaws and over-analyse them and make them much worse then they actually are. But this perception of yourself is far from the truth. Have a look at the attached YouTube video below showing how we see ourselves as less beautiful then we actually are. I found it quite helpful to me!
Acne is never as bad as you think it is and the majority of people see right through it and see the overwhelming beauty that you possess. It's only natural, most people get acne and know what it's like to have it. Others see right through your acne and never see it as being a major part of you and coming to realize this is a powerful gift.
1. Wear it with pride
In this step you accept yourself, you look at yourself in the mirror and say "yes, I have acne, whatever, I'm not going to fight you and deny that I don't, but I'm not going to let you take over me or defeat me. I'm not going to think about you, feel self-conscious because of you and I'm going to get on with my life." In this step you come to accept in yourself that you have acne and you do not constantly worry about it or let it dictate your life. Correcting it is a slow process and you have to learn to live with it.
2. Accept your acne
You have to realize that acne isn't the end of the world. As humans, we tend to allow problems to dominate our lives and view them as lot worse then they are. Every person has their own bodily unhappiness. For some it might be their nose, the size of their head, the shape of their chin, their weight, the shape of their jaw or acne. Often when we correct one, another simply takes it's place. Most people see themselves as having a flaw or flaws that they view as being catastrophic to their body. Everyday we look at ourselves in the mirror and we look at the flaws and over-analyse them and make them much worse then they actually are. But this perception of yourself is far from the truth. Have a look at the attached YouTube video below showing how we see ourselves as less beautiful then we actually are. I found it quite helpful to me!
Acne is never as bad as you think it is and the majority of people see right through it and see the overwhelming beauty that you possess. It's only natural, most people get acne and know what it's like to have it. Others see right through your acne and never see it as being a major part of you and coming to realize this is a powerful gift.
3. Your self-perception
In defining yourself, define yourself by your beautiful personality, confidence, sense of laughter, kindness, your indie taste in music, your weirdness, your friendships, your online gaming skills, your fresh sense of clothing, your beautiful body or anything at all you love about yourself. Confidence comes from within, it comes from acceptance of all the gifts you have to offer. Every single human being has many gifts to offer. When you walk down the street, walk like you are the most beautiful human being to have ever walked the planet and everyone is thinking the same. Psychology tells us that people actually see others as being more physically attractive when other parts of their being such as personality traits are more attractive! So be confident in that trait and project it! Confidence is also a very attractive trait to possess.
4. Mirrors
I would go to and from how I saw myself in the mirror while having acne. I would constantly look at mirrors to try and see how I was looking from someone else's perspective to check in to see that I was looking okay and my pimples were behaving themselves. I soon told myself to stop, I was going to over analyse my face for no reason, the only way my beauty is going to change is in how I define myself. So I followed the above steps and I just told myself that I know I'm beautiful and I chose to see myself that way. I decided to myself that I was beautiful and that's it. I stopped always looking at mirrors and just lived with knowing within myself that I'm beautiful. Every time I see a mirror now, I look at it like I'm beautiful. Some days I'm better then this than other, I'm only human, but I have grown to accept myself.
Although curing acne is a physical journey, it is also important to help yourself emotionally. I have had acne for 15 months now and I've found that helping myself emotionally has had such a significant impact upon my life.
Amateur Adolescent
In defining yourself, define yourself by your beautiful personality, confidence, sense of laughter, kindness, your indie taste in music, your weirdness, your friendships, your online gaming skills, your fresh sense of clothing, your beautiful body or anything at all you love about yourself. Confidence comes from within, it comes from acceptance of all the gifts you have to offer. Every single human being has many gifts to offer. When you walk down the street, walk like you are the most beautiful human being to have ever walked the planet and everyone is thinking the same. Psychology tells us that people actually see others as being more physically attractive when other parts of their being such as personality traits are more attractive! So be confident in that trait and project it! Confidence is also a very attractive trait to possess.
4. Mirrors
I would go to and from how I saw myself in the mirror while having acne. I would constantly look at mirrors to try and see how I was looking from someone else's perspective to check in to see that I was looking okay and my pimples were behaving themselves. I soon told myself to stop, I was going to over analyse my face for no reason, the only way my beauty is going to change is in how I define myself. So I followed the above steps and I just told myself that I know I'm beautiful and I chose to see myself that way. I decided to myself that I was beautiful and that's it. I stopped always looking at mirrors and just lived with knowing within myself that I'm beautiful. Every time I see a mirror now, I look at it like I'm beautiful. Some days I'm better then this than other, I'm only human, but I have grown to accept myself.
Although curing acne is a physical journey, it is also important to help yourself emotionally. I have had acne for 15 months now and I've found that helping myself emotionally has had such a significant impact upon my life.
Amateur Adolescent