7 replies to this topic

[risc]

Well, it's looking like my CFL run is going to be a short one. I simply cannot deal with my complexion. One whitehead goes away, three more arrive by morning. I honestly don't know how those of you that have gone down this road handle it. You certainly deserve a lot of credit.

One month ago I stopped taking Minocycline (oral antibiotic) and stopped using Differin (topical gel) cold turkey. I also quit washing my face with Cetaphil. All of these things kept my face in-check for the most part. I'd have very small break outs every now and again, but nothing crazy.

Since then I switched to trying the OCM and now wash with organic honey twice a day. I have significantly increased my daily vegetable and fruit intake. I have never been a junk food eater, but I have also cut out any desserts (cookies, candy, ice cream, etc). I don't have any dairy in my diet at this point.

Since reading CFL I have also started meditating at least once a day.

I realize it has only been one month and I have introduced quite a bit of change to my system internally and my skin. I'm sure all of this is going to take quite a bit of time to level out, but I don't think I have the willpower to deal with my skin in the interim.

I started reading Skin Deep last night in an effort to tie my acne problems to something emotional or psychological. While I understand that this is a very real possibility it seems to be a bit of a catch 22. I suppose this issue is probably addressed in the book though.

I'm not sure if this is a call for help, request for encouragement or just a testament of my lack of willpower, but I figured if nothing else other CFL users will see that they aren't the only ones who struggle to get clear.

[Seppo]

Sorry to hear that you are struggling. Sorry for my late reply. Been sick for the past few days with some bug my girlfriend brought from her trip to Hong Kong.

Really to me this doesn't sound like a skin problem at all. It does sound to me like you don't really like who you are. And you think that if you would just clear your skin you would like yourself and feel better. While there's some truth to that statement I don't think trying to get over acne is your best bet. If I were you I would start working on the emotional issue. Like, what is it about yourself that you don't like?

I know these things are hard to go through. I've struggled with them myself a fair bit of time. But it does get better once you start digging in and start uncovering what you really think about yourself.

[risc]

Ah, no worries. I appreciate the response.

After reading through the first third of Skin Deep I am beginning to think you are correct. I'm going to keep reading and see where it takes me. It looks like this is going to be a much longer process than I ever anticipated.

It is certainly an interesting problem to consider though. On the surface I have absolutely nothing to not like about myself. It's going to be tough to break down all of these parts of my life that seem to be "good" that are really hiding something else. Hopefully I can learn a lot about myself through the exercises in Skin Deep and sort this out.

[Seppo]

You are for sure going to discover a lot about yourself. I do want to stress that I don't want to put problems into your head, so to say. I just got the impression after reading your first post in this thread. You know yourself better, but it's an angle I recommend you investigate. If nothing else it should at least help you to feel better.

I also have nothing to dislike about myself. Most of the time I'm quite happy about myself. But I also know that I used to (and still to some degree do) think of myself as small and unimportant little boy that nobody likes. It's a relic from my childhood. I don't consciously think of myself like that, but it comes out when I do journaling and do exercises like in SkinDeep.

[risc]

Well, it has been a few months. I've certainly had plenty of ups and downs over the last few months. I've been using raw honey exclusively to wash my face. While my skin feels much better than it ever has I'm still seeing breakouts. One thing I did notice was that during my break between semesters (Graduate school) my face cleared up considerably. Two weeks ago I had a lengthy exam to take and my face broke out significantly. These events seem to suggest that my acne is very much stress related. (I realize it's only two events)

I suppose the only way to deal with this stress is to meditate.

[Seppo]

Sorry about my late reply. Been sick and injured lately

Your experience certainly suggest your acne is related to stress. Not a big surprise, really. I remember one study that looked at high school students. It showed a clear spike on acne around examination periods.

The best remedies for this are meditation and journal writing. Try to investigate why you feel stressed about the exam. What does it mean to you if you get a bad score?

What about your diet? You want me to give you some feedback on that?

[risc]

Seppo, on 07 December 2011 - 04:03 AM, said:

Sorry about my late reply. Been sick and injured lately

Your experience certainly suggest your acne is related to stress. Not a big surprise, really. I remember one study that looked at high school students. It showed a clear spike on acne around examination periods.

The best remedies for this are meditation and journal writing. Try to investigate why you feel stressed about the exam. What does it mean to you if you get a bad score?

What about your diet? You want me to give you some feedback on that?

Oh no worries. I hope you're feeling better by now.

So the semester for school has ended and my skin seems to be getting worse. I suppose it is very possible that this is related to stress from work.


I feel that my diet is pretty good. My meals consist mainly of chicken or fish with steamed vegetables. (carrots, broccoli, spinach, green beans, etc) I usually add some white rice a couple times a week as well. Occasionally I'll do pasta with a marina sauce. I don't keep salty snacks (chips, crackers) around the house at all. When I do snack i typically do a piece of fruit or Greek yogurt. Throughout the day I drink roughly 9 - 10 glasses of water, never any soda.

Is there anything else in particular that I can provide to give you some more insight into my diet?

On a side note - I did see a dermatologist last week. This was mostly because I was curious if seeing a different dermatologist would have any different or new information for me. Unfortunately he did not. His solutions were the same old routine (antibiotics + topical treatments). He also suggested I start an Accutane program. Needless to say this does not sound like a round I want to go down.

[Seppo]

I don't see anything that alarming in your diet. Looks like you are on a paleo-type diet. Those usually help with acne. You are probably not going to get much help tweaking your diet further.

As you mentioned earlier this is probably linked to stress.