On my second day in Manhattan I stopped in central park for a rest and sat beside one of the smaller lakes. There was a lady sitting on the rocks under a tree not far from me, peering into a small mirror and picking at a spot on her chin.
She continued to peer and scratch at that spot, then moved onto another area. She must have been focused intensely on her face for a good 10-15 minutes.
And on the subway in Toronto just yesterday, I was sitting next to a girl who was examining the skin on her face with the back of her iPod. It surprised me that she wasn’t embarrassed enough to do that in front of a subway full of people.
That used to be me …
I used to be just like these two women. I once carried a pocket sized mirror around with me in my hand bag and secretly stole glances at my skin when I thought nobody was looking. And I made extra trips to the washroom in the hope that my acne had magically disappeared in the last 5 minutes. Or maybe if I could somehow scratch or pick the bad stuff away then I could make it go away faster.
I also used to go straight to the mirror first thing when I got up in the morning. My stop to the mirror came before going to the washroom, or even just drinking a glass of water. I was always so hopeful that my skin had cleared up in my sleep.
Spending all of this time focusing on your face is destructive. It’s stressful and a constant reminder that you’ve got this acne on your face.
How to stop focusing on your skin
One of the best things you can do for yourself and for your skin is to simply stop thinking about it so much. This is a lot harder than it sounds, so there are some basic steps that you can follow which will make it a little easier.
Step 1 - Spend less time looking in the mirror
My pocket sized mirror that I used to carry around with me was gorgeous. It had a drawing of a cute little red haired girl in Paris on the cover. I loved it but I knew it was destructive carrying it around with me so I had to give it away. I also gave away my hand mirror that I used at home to get a closer look at my skin. And in the times that my skin was at its worst, I even draped or taped pashminas over all the mirrors in my house so I didn’t look at or focus on my skin.
This may seem excessive but it made a difference. If you’re one of those people that can’t stop thinking about your skin and just can’t leave it alone, then getting away from looking at it is one of the best things you can do to clear your mind.
Imagine if mirrors didn’t even exist. You wouldn’t even know how much acne you had. You’d only ever know about it when you had a sore spot. Wouldn’t that be so much better?
Step 2 - Change your thoughts to happier topics
When we focus on an area on our body, our energy naturally goes there. So if you’re constantly focused on your skin and your acne, you’re just going to be giving it more energy and more attention. What a way to make your acne really stand out!
Every time you have a destructive thought about your skin, or you find that you’re mulling over it too much, tell your mind to think of something else. Preferably something that makes you feel happy.
Learn to remind yourself to be patient and that you’re doing the best treatment for your skin that you can. Then switch your mind to your happy thoughts. I love to think of the beach. I love the ocean, the sun, the salt and the warm sand.
Step 3 - Spend time in nature
One of the most healing energies for well being and de-stressing is nature. So spend as much time as you can out in nature. Take a visit to a park, the bush, the beach or the forest ..whatever is accessible to you.
I used to visit the Botanical Gardens in my city in Brisbane. There are a few bush walks with gorgeous creeks and large ponds right next to the parkland. I always left the walks feeling energized, relaxed and happy. Even if I’d gone in there with a dark cloud over my head. It’s amazing how much the beauty and serenity of nature can help us both physically and emotionally.
Fran Kerr is the founding editor of High on Health. To cure your acne, sign up to Fran's FREE acne cure mini-course or download her latest how to guide, Eat Away Your Acne.
5 responses ↓
The draping of stuff over your mirrors seems like if there was a ghost in your house.I turn the lights off in my bathroom when I go to wash my hands cause the cabinet above the sink has a mirror above it and I couldnt stand looking at myself.Today however I left home for school thinking my acne was fine and today I used a bathroom that used natural light instead of a lightbulb and in the mirror my skin looked terrible.The lighting in my room was must be excellent cause I saw spots in the natural light that I didnt even know I had.My mild acne is all of a sudden back to moderate cause of lighting, that is like so stupid huh.
This is a HUGE problem for me! Okay this is what happens literally every night; I will lay in bed about to go to sleep for 5-10 minutes then I will just start thinking about my skin over and over, again and again and then I will get up about 20 different times and walk over to the mirror and just stare at my face and skin for about 10-15 minutes just staring like something is going to happen. But this just started as my skin has been getting better. I didn’t start this til about 3 months ago. There are some nights that I will keep doing this until the sun comes up. I can’t control it no matter how tired I am. I even try to physically hold myself in bed but I can’t. BTW Fran Just found a natural, organic, non-comedogenic skincare line that I think you should check out it is called Pevonia Botanica! Hope you ike it! BYE!
Zack- oh I’ve been there too. Maybe all night but I did used to get up and do that.
The best thing I used to do for that (apart from telling myself it was silly doing it) was to go to bed with earphones on listening to relaxing music. So I focused on the music while I started to fall asleep, nothing else. By the time I the music stopped I would just fall asleep.
As well as looking in the mirror often, I have a bad habit of touching my face to see if it feels better. I’m actually pretty bad with this at the moment as my acne has nearly gone and I love the smooth feel of my skin.
Of course, I’m no doubt putting crap on my face by doing so, so I really must try harder to stop doing this. Otherwise, a straitjacket may be the only option.
Fran, your right
I get so much out of going to the park to walk around the lake and say hello to people. I look at the trees and the ducks and the water. I have had issues with mental illness in my life and I find that the park restores my centeredness and elevates my mood.
My skin lately is acting up for some reason, but if I get active in nature I find that people notice how I glow with a vortex of earth energy that distracts them and myself from superficial flaws.
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