I got an awesome question from a reader:
Is it possible to cure acne or does it all come down to managing symptoms?
My answer:
It depends.
Some people believe that acne is curable (me), while other people believe it comes down to managing symptoms…
Who’s right?
All of us.
Because whatever we believe becomes our reality. Our beliefs literally shape out experience…So let’s look at some beliefs.
Acne The Life Sentence
For some people acne is more than just their body asking for a change — it’s a life-sentence.
Some people literally believe that their acne is genetic or that it’s based on some innate quality they have that cannot be changed.
I mean, people still in this day and age believe that they don’t have influence over their genes or their hardware…
These people struggle with acne the longest, because often they don’t believe in any “cure” they try…
They often bounce around from one solution to the next, never being consistent enough to see the results they want. They use phrases like, “I’ve tried everything, but nothing works!”
Other people use acne like an excuse for everything that is going wrong in their lives…This becomes a terrible cycle of fear. It becomes too terrifying to cure the acne…
Some people try so hard to find a solution that they end up creating more problems.
Like in the attempt to balance hormones they throw off their hormones, or in attempt to clear up the acne for good they use pills like antibiotics and experience a host of other unexpected side effects…and ultimately make their skin and overall health MUCH worse.
Some people go on birth control pills only to create melasma (been there!), or try various diets only to hate their unsustainable STRICT unfun lifestyles…that ironically stress them out to the point of creating MORE ACNE.
Some people identify with their acne, they sleep and breathe acne. It’s all they think about, talk about, read about…And so they experience more acne to think, talk, and read about.
Acne The Teacher
But then there’s other people who see acne as an opportunity for growth. I consider myself to be firmly in this camp although I started out briefly in the one above.
Acne the teacher freed me from my bad choices and taught me how to accept myself, forgive myself, and love myself unconditionally.
Acne the teacher made me into a powerful creator creating my reality — choosing options that serve me, my happiness, my health, and ultimately my skin.
Acne the teacher made me take care of myself from every possible aspect out of sheer love, because I deserve nothing less.
Olena, what the off are you even saying?
In the words of John Galt, a character in my favourite book Atlas Shrugged by Ayn Rand, “Check your premises.”
I’m saying that your perception of the situation, the premises that you’re working with play a huge role in you finding the solution or creating a perpetual problem.
If you premise that acne is genetic and that genes are fixed, then the acne will stick around…(read this article about epigenetics!)
If you premise that acne is curable, and that all you need to do is take better care of yourself, then the acne will be cured.
Once you heal your relationship with yourself and start taking care of yourself out of sheer love, then the acne will go away…
You won’t have to reach up each morning before getting out of bed to feel along your forehead. Because you will trust that there’s nothing there — and therefore there will be nothing there for you to find and obsess over.
Final Thoughts
To recap, is acne curable or are the symptoms meant to be managed forever?
Depends on you.
Love,
Olena
