When my skin was bad I used to think that as soon as I cleared my acne then I’d be happy. I somehow managed to blame any unhappiness I had on my blemished skin, which doesn’t sound logical at all now that I’m writing it down. But in the midst of despair when I was staring at my skin in the mirror and thinking how ugly I looked, it seemed as though clear skin was the only answer to my eternal happiness.
This is of course not always true, and in my case it certainly wasn’t. As soon as I cleared my skin I managed to transfer my negative thoughts and emotions onto another problem. And when that problem went away, I found something else to be depressed about.
I now realize how important it is to acknowledge the emotional and psychological side of having acne, and realize that perhaps much of that emotional anguish is caused by an underlying issue that’s manifesting itself into a side effect of your current condition.
Two nights ago it all came to a breaking point for me and I had my first ever panic attack. I’ve always suffered from mild anxiety but I’ve never had a panic attack before. I used to think that people who had panic attacks were being big babies about them, and surely they’re not as bad as everybody makes them out to be. Until I actually had one, thought I was dying and asked my flat mate to take me to the hospital (luckily he was experienced in such events and helped to calm me down instead of taking me to the emergency room).
I panicked because of a bunch of ordinary problems in my life (like everybody has), that all put together with extreme lack of sleep felt like really big deal. Really, why I panicked is irrelevant. I just wanted to write about it to first help you understand that if you suffer from anxiety and panic you’re not alone - a lot of us do too. And to encourage you to start acknowledging any depressive thoughts and feelings you may be having about your skin and realize that perhaps they may not be solely about your skin.
You may find that when you start working on your overall stress levels and your happiness, that not only your acne goes away but your toxic thoughts and feelings go away with it, instead of sticking around like mine did.
I’ve already included information in my mini-course and acne treatment guide about the importance of being happy and stress free. But I want to elaborate on this point a lot more because I now realize how significant it actually is.
In the new year I’ll be talking more about working towards being stress free and happy, and as I work towards a anxiety free life, I’ll be blogging about my experiences and hopefully making some discoveries that I can pass onto you.
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.
9 responses ↓
Did you try any meditation techniques or did all that go out the window when you panicked? You’re lucky for that friend of yours.What exactly does it feel like when you have a panic attack?
Oh all that goes out the window. I haven’t been doing any yoga or meditation since I’ve been back and I think that’s half the problem. So this is a good kick in the butt to get back into it!!
It’s different for everybody, but for me I felt like I couldn’t breath which was horrible.
Hey Fran, Its sammantha I love your videos and your blogs they are amazing really informative and i was just wondering when your next video will be i think that your back home now in australia arent you lol did you enjoy the travelling I was just wondering how long will it take for the red marks after spots to fade because my face right now is completely spot free however i have lots of red marks on my face and it looks really really bad so i was just wondering are these permanent or can i get rid of them are they any remedies i could do, if you could reply that would be really helpful and appreciate. im gonna stop rambling now haha, hope to speak to you soon bye and Merry Christmas !
Hi Samantha, Merry Christmas
I’ll try to start getting back into videos this week. In the meantime check out the acne scars thread in the forum, it will answer all your questions - http://www.highonhealth.org/forums/showthread.php?t=2
Hey Fran; thanks for writing about this. I’ve never had a panic attack, but I’m familiar with chronic stress; I went to a very conservative, suffocating (pardon the pun) high school which exacerbated my skin problems. The month I graduated, my skin almost completely cleared and I hardly have problems now.
Hi, Fran!
Just stopped by to say - I’m with you…
They all promised that ‘raw’ will bring happiness only..
Well.
Cheers, my Tiny Big Girl!
Fran,
I suffer from bipolar disorder (Manic-Depression) and I can feel for you. I have a feeling your not interested in trying a medication, but I can recommend one for your type of problem. Klonopin. If I know that I’m going to be in a situation where I need to be anxiety-free or if I feel like you feel when you drink too much coffee… take a Klonopin.
I have had anxiety/panic attacks in the past and I know that while they are happening they are reality. Focus on your breath. I really feel for you. Nip it in the bud and think about seeing a psychiatrist for Klonopin.
I’ll be praying for you because I can relate and I have suffered for 13 years with my condition.
This proves to me that you are not weak but that you are a sensitive human being. Next time it happens just remind yourself that it will pass and ask yourself what the worse thing that can happen… whatever the worse thing is you can even deal with that.
andy.
Hi Fran, I’m really sorry about that, and on Christmas Eve too! I think I had a panic attack once before an ACT. I didn’t have trouble breathing but I was so utterly sad and depressed, and crying, which is something I rarely do.
Just in case you are afraid of seeing a psychiatrist because you have the conception that psychiatric medicines may cause an unhealthy child if taken during pregnancy, I reassure you that a medicine that both me and my sister take is called LAMICTAL.
It has helped both of us very much and my sister has two healthy twins… Noah and Nicole. Her psychiatrist, a top doctor in NYC, reassured her that she could take LAMICTAL during her pregnancy. This is not true of most psychiatric medicines.
I’m not sure if you are wondering about this issue, but I can tell you that you can have healthy children even if you need a psychiatric medicine.
Another root I took, which is my passion, is Bach Flower Remedies. I can help you with them because I have experimented with them for 5 years. You need to know which of the 38 to use, and in what combination. They really help a great deal. You might want to start with Larch for self-esteem.
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