a few words about acne

A few words about acne. I've never had a problem with acne throughout high school. I had the occasional breakouts now and then but never to the point that I would care to cover up blemishes or look for treatments for acne. Then college happened and I've never been the same again. I've been dealing with acne for the past 10 years, have tried multiple treatments, over the counter and prescription. I've been in out out of dermatologist's offices. I was on antibiotics for years at a time, which worked great for me but after a certain period of time, it always came back.

There is a certain mentality that comes about from having to deal with skin problems for such a long time. You become overly self conscious. You start to develop image distortion disorder, thinking that your skin is worse than it really is. You become super cautious about what you eat, what you do to your skin, what touches your skin, what products you use, how often you are in the sun, you get the idea...

Then there are the misconceptions out there about acne. Some people think it's a matter of how clean you are, whether you have a good "skin regimen", whether you eat a healthy diet, or whether you are slovenly. I find most people that have acne tend to be super ocd, are super clean, super careful about their skin care regimen and what they eat. However, the misconceptions are out there and, after a while, it does take a toll on one's self confidence.

I'm still dealing with it. I still have a problem with it. I keep some of it at bay with some products that I've found useful. But it's still a struggle.