Dealing with Acne Anxiety - You don't have to wait for clear skin to feel more confident !
Acne anxiety is real! You aren’t imagining it! It really does exist and it can be incredibly debilitating and confidence zapping. It can make you feel miserable and question your self worth - but I’m here to tell you that you are not alone and that you don’t have to continue to deal with it.
I should know because I personally suffered with it for way too long.
I avoided being in photos - so much so that I barely have any photos of me at the peak of my acne.
I avoided bright lights and natural lighting that showed my skin in all its entirety
I tip-toed around in the dark at my boyfriend’s house to remove my makeup so he wouldn't see my skin (even though he of course knew I had acne & *shock horror* he didn't even care).
That familiar drop in the pit of my stomach when I would wake up and see a new breakout (cry emoji).
I felt constantly on the verge of tears on a bad day (this made my anxiety even worse like a vicious cycle as it put extra pressure on my poor adrenals).
Feeling like it was all anybody would see (the funny thing is of course my friends & family don't even remember me having acne... total mindf*ck).
Now, the good news is, that you don’t need to wait for your skin to clear up to kick that acne anxiety to the curb. You can feel confident WHILE clearing up your skin and I want to help you get there.
But first, what is acne anxiety and how do you know if you’ve got it?
I’m sure we can all agree that acne is a pain in the a**. It plays with our emotions, sends us into self doubt spirals, makes us feel less than what we are and basically makes us want to crawl away into a dark hole until it’s all over. Can you relate?
Here is a handful of ways that acne anxiety shows up:
Compulsive picking and popping
You’ve been told a million times over - “don’t pop the pimple”. And yes you know that popping and picking your skin is not doing you any favours, but when you have acne anxiety sometimes you just can’t help it. There are many reasons why you might pick at your acne. It can feel like by doing so you are taking control, or perhaps a case of a nervous habit. Either way any form of compulsive picking or popping is a sure sign of acne anxiety.
Not wanting to leave the house and turning down social invites
Let’s face it, there are a million reasons why you might not want to leave your house, and in the age of covid I think we are all a little bit more privy to this. But, if you are finding that you are avoiding leaving the comfort of your home because you don’t want anyone to see your face (and the breakout currently taking up residence there) then this is a sign of acne anxiety.
Checking your skin ten times a day
Are you running to the nearest mirror every chance you get? Hoping with bated breath that your breakout has calmed down? Or maybe you are looking for any excuse to sneak away to the bathroom to take a peak? Hello compulsive acne anxiety behaviour number two. This is not normal behaviour for confident and sassy girls.
Waking up and touching your skin
It’s like that movie scene where the girl wakes up after a sudden body switch and in a panicked state starts feeling if her face is hers. The difference here is that you are waking up each morning and feeling if your skin is still the same skin you went to sleep with. This is another one of those compulsive behaviours I mentioned before - and likely brought on by a sense of acne anxiety. This should not be the first thing that comes to your mind each morning - so if it is then you likely have acne anxiety.
Feeling like everyone is looking at you
Do you have a constant feeling that wherever you go people are staring at your skin? This is one I’ve personally felt a lot. Their glaring eyes looking my face up and down and judging me. At the local supermarket, at the gym, even walking my dog. But the reality is SO far from this. In fact 9/10 people I guarantee wouldn’t even notice your skin.
Feeling unworthy of love
This one is a biggy and it really breaks my heart how many of my clients are feeling this. Your skin is not tied to your self worth, but in the age of instagram and comparisonitis, feeling unworthy of love because of a breakout is way too common and one of the biggest indicators of acne anxiety. If you are feeling less than the total babe that you are then please get in touch as I know I can help you.
Calling in sick because of your skin
Hands up if you’ve ever called in sick because you felt too ashamed to be seen with your current breakout? That feeling of hopelessness, thinking how on earth you will ‘cover’ it up? Or wondering if it will get worse if you do actually manage to cover it up can lead to just avoiding being seen altogether.
Crying because of your skin
It is not normal to want to cry every time you look in the mirror. And if you find that you are crying at the sight of your skin then please get help. I recommend seeking assistance from a qualified mental health professional at the same time as working with a skin specialist naturopath (and by that I mean me) so that you are focusing on the inside and the out simultaneously.
There are also a range of practices that you can do to help regain your confidence and keep your acne anxiety at bay which include:
🔥 Breathwork (using your breath to send a message of calm & safety to your brain which is currently freaking out over your skin. This might be diaphragmatic breathing or alternate nostril breathing)
🔥 EFT Tapping (a way to reprogram your thoughts & feelings about your skin and mjove from panic to acceptance. My clients & course students learn ALL about this and get my unique guide to tapping away acne anxiety)
🔥 Feeling your feelings (the quickest way to get through a bad feeling is to FEEL it. Acne bites. You’re allowed to feel sad about it & you don’t have to be positive all the damn time)
🔥 Grounding down into the present (focus on what is real. AKA not the stories in your head)
🔥 Practising acceptance (you can’t always control your skin but you can accept it)
🔥 Positive distraction techniques (bring back stress balls)
The effects of acne on mental health can be severe - from anxiety and self-consciousness to suicidal ideation. I cannot underemphasise the importance of seeking support from a qualified mental health professional if your skin is affecting your quality of life or ability to function day to day. There are services available to you like Lifeline, Beyond Blue, psychology and counselling services.
Remember that you are ultimately responsible for how you feel about your skin. I LOVE to use these tricks and more with my course students - they get the resources and tools they need to feel better whilst they clear their acne.
If you are ready to regain your confidence AND clear your skin then you are going to LOVE a little special something I have coming up for you over the next couple of months! Spoiler: it’s been described as the biggest game changer when it comes to dealing with acne. It also happens to be the most forgotten aspect of treatment by most practitioners…
I’m going to leave you there on the edge of your seat but let’s just say that I’ve had fellow acne sufferers (even the one’s who are ALSO naturopaths) say that they have never thought about things in this way and it has made an immense difference to their self-image and confidence.
Want to get a taste of this special sauce for transforming acne anxiety into unshakeable self confidence? Get all my Clear Skin Secrets by clicking the image below.
