Skincare can be a very sensitive subject for most, especially if you are coping with a skin condition that already is weighing on your confidence. If you think back to 10, 20, 30 or more years ago there were not as many people that were dealing with the skin issues we are encountering now. Many aspects of our environment, food processes/sourcing and medicines have changed drastically within the last few decades. Advancements are always a good thing right? But what about the deeply rooted issues that feel impossible to fix. This give us the feeling that we have no control over and naturally you start to lose hope. So what do you do? Here is my guide to coping while not losing hope on your skin recovery.

Number 1 : Don’t blame yourself.

I ate like a monster growing up. Everything I ate was covered in sugar and/or processed. It was the way kids my age ate. After many years of just feeling terrible I started to just feel like maybe this is what my life will be like - feeling bloated, depressed, anxious and covered in a skin that didn’t feel or look healthy. Thinking this was my fault in some way made everything worse. I “deserved” to feel and look awful because I was the one eating the bad food and always getting sick. The truth is, I never deserved it and it wasn’t my fault. I never learned how to cook until I decided to learn. The food I was raised on is just now getting a reevaluation, so my parents aren’t to blame either. We put trust in a system that is being proven to not work. So instead of blaming anyone, it was time to take action.

Number 2 : Don’t blame others.

We are all so quick to blame our parents for how we turned out and in all honesty, that’s just as unfair. Our parents are products of their parents and their parents are products of your great-grandparents, and it goes back like this for a long time. We have every right to choose our outcome based off of the guidelines our folks set us up with. My parents now come to me with health advice because they come from a generation where they were told they were crazy for unknown ailments. Can you imagine experiencing symptoms and the solution is to just grin and bear it? The advancements in their time was something to get excited about and promoted better parenting habits. My parents were one of the first generations to have both parents be able to work and support their families. The idea of fast foods and microwaves were groundbreaking because they could feed us for cheap and we got a toy with almost every meal (think cereal boxes and happy meals!). In hindsight, if most parents would have known about the dangers of these types of foods, I’m certain they would have done things differently. Case in point, whenever I was sick I was taken to the doctor. The doctors prescriptions of antibiotics completely ruined my gut that I am still in the process of repairing as an adult. My parents just wanted me to get better so I wouldn’t miss any activities and school that I loved as a child. They did the right thing to the best of their knowledge because they didn’t want their child to be in pain. Letting go of any blame helps us learn how to make more educated decisions for our future generations.

Number 3 : Don’t give up.

There is always an opportunity to heal. I don’t care if you have been struggling for years and years, our bodies are actively working on healing otherwise they would have given up. Think about how strong you really are to know that your body can be as resilient as it is regardless of how terrible you may be feeling. I use to think that my body was so weak and worthless since I was always feeling sick. To know that all these years, my organs were actively working to keep me in as healthy of a state as it could makes me incredibly grateful. Even if I struggled with acne for the length of a decade, it took me just a matter of a few years to recover and regenerate my skin. People always ask how I don’t have scars from my years of acne and it’s because we have the power to regenerate and heal. I worked on healing from the inside out and slowly my skin started to reflect that. It takes time but it’s completely doable. The first step is finding gratitude. Express gratitude for your experience of pain and suffering because you will not be one to take your health for granted anymore. It will be hard at first to make the necessary changes but you are absolutely capable of achieving this feat. Your body has gotten you this far so don’t give up now.

When we are in a position of suffering, it can be incredibly difficult to have faith in the future. But the truth is that once you redirect your energy towards gratitude, you will be granted with the solutions to heal. Start making a plan for yourself on how you want to feel and work towards that feeling. Esthetically you may not look how you want immediately but if your goal is to feel healthy and happy, the rest will come.

Find more ways to discover Your Best Skin, Your Best Self with Therapeutic Skin Coach