Skin and Mental Health

I know there are a lot of people who talk about how much acne upsets them and disrupts their daily life. But I don’t think many people are aware of the extent it can effect someone suffering. I started this blog to talk about my skin journey and how I cleared my skin through a healthy lifestyle. So I thought it would only be just to talk about the mental health side of things when it comes to acne.

No one really knows the actual effect my skin had on me to be honest. When my skin was at its worst, I had just moved back to London to be with my boyfriend, it was supposed to be a very happy and exciting time for me (which it was). But at the same time, I couldn’t look at myself bare faced in the mirror without bursting into tears.

It was a challenge in itself to not let my skin disrupt my daily mood. It was mentally draining to try and stay positive, and mentally draining when I broke down and failed at this. It is a vicious cycle of trying to lift myself up and using all of my energy for this, leaving no space for anything else (aka healing my skin). Instead of taking action I would pity myself and feed this cycle, which just fed my acne. It took a complete life change to overcome this and a 360 in my diet, which I talked about in my first blog post. Looking back on it now, it was so worth it, and my skin improving was just the surface of how my body improved and started thriving.

But in this post, I wanted to talk mainly on the reasonings why we experience these thoughts, feelings and mental disruption when it comes to suffering from skin issues. It is sad to say, but it all comes down to society and how we feel others perceive us. I always thought because I didn’t have perfect skin, I wasn’t beautiful - even still sometimes I face this with occasional breakouts and scarring, but it is something I am working on. A quote that I love that really resonates with this, is a quote from Dr Seuss lol - “the people who mind don’t matter, and the people who matter don’t mind”. it is so true, if someone is going to judge you based on your skin, if you seriously think about it, how utterly shallow are they, because it is a horrible thing to do, and they simply do not deserve a second thought, care/attention from you, or quite frankly a place in your life.

I personally have found that to be honest, none of my friends, family, or anyone really, ever noticed my skin. Usually we construct the false reality thinking that people care, and this leads to our negative thoughts and mental health issues. So go gain self-esteem boosters from your friends and family, let them tell you that your skin looks good, and that you don’t need to worry and that it isn’t as bad as you think, because most of the time, it is really not and they are being genuine - even if we think they are only telling us what we want to hear to feel better. Quite frankly, it still works. Our mind is such a powerful thing, we can create anything, but it is easy to fall into negative creations. Try and use that power to create a positive image of yourself, and I promise, more good things will start happening, the first being your skin clearing up.

Another thing that truly helped me was the support of my friends and family. Especially my boyfriend, he makes me feel beautiful every single day no matter what, and my skin never ever seemed to be an issue for him. No matter how awful I felt about my skin, as soon as I spent time with him I would just forget that I was struggling - I have never actually shared this with him so George if you are reading this tysm and I promise when we move in together to cook you endless meals to try and repay you <3 hehe.

I guess from this, what I am trying to say is - view yourself how those closest to you view you. You are so so much more than the texture of your face. Trust me.

Lastly, this is an important one, do not compare yourself to what you see on social media. The whole platform is basically fantasy. If you think, “wow omg her skin is so flawless why can my skin not be like that” - gal pal is probably looking at her own pic thinking the same thing! The pic is probably highly edited, airbrushed, filtered, makeup and the list goes on. Just focus on being the best YOU - this is your super power, because there is no one like you.

I know this is so hard in the world of Instagram, but maybe just do what I do, basically only follow food accounts for food inspo lol. If you can’t see it, there’s no comparison hence no rumination. And I get a lot more satisfaction from looking at food posts than I do from looking at fake beautiful girls. #foodielife

Anyway, I think this is all I am going to say on this topic for now. I know it can be such a struggle, but nothing is permanent, you will get through it, and when you are out the other side, I promise you will be stronger, better, healthier and think to yourself - that is the reason I went through that. Because everything does happen for a reason, I really believe that.

Thanks so much if you have read this post, again it is another raw ramble by myself, I might actually make this a feature. A bi-weekly or monthly ramble sesh with Tash on topics that I think are important or that you all want me to touch on. Thoughts on this?

If you have anything specific you want me to talk about, please let me know in a comment below, message me on the blog, or on insta, my handle is @tashlankester

Seeing as I have just got my PT qualification (YAY), my next blog post on Sunday is going to be all about growing muscle when you are just starting out, and what I think works in terms of building strength and gaining size - as now it is winter, its time to groww and lift heavy to keep warm hehe.

Thank you so much for reading, I hope this has helped at least one person in some way xxx