Acne, spots, bumps or not, we want you to feel encouraged and empowered. Truthfully, we don’t expect you to look in the mirror and say, "I love you, pimples" or grab your guitar and sing kumbayah when you get a breakout.

Pimples suck, acne is no fun, and no one wishes for a breakout. You want pimples that pop up to go away and we hear you and we see you. But even though your skin is your body’s largest organ, and our personal favorite, you are still more than your skin. WAY, WAY more!  There are strategies you can use to help!

Do you freak out when you break out? I know I have! It is natural when we have a break-out to look in the mirror and think things like “These pimples are gross!” “I hate my skin!” “Things are never going to get any better!” Even though it is natural we think this way, it is harmful too.

Repeating negative thoughts, particularly feelings or emotions that we state as if they are truths, can cause an increased heart rate and shallower breathing. Feelings of hopelessness can strip of the bravery to try new things, or to continue trying to make things better.

One of our dearest friends at A Children’s House for the Soul is Rick Guidotti a famous and very skilled photographer and founder of the amazing nonprofit Positive Exposure.

Rick says, “Change how you see, see how you change.” We want to suggest that you change how you see, or rather, what you say to yourself in the mirror. Because how you talk to yourself matters and you have the power to talk to yourself in a way that leaves you encouraged and empowered, while still being honest about your thoughts and feelings. After all, you can’t be kind to yourself and inauthentic to yourself at the same time.

To be empowered means to feel capable of completing the task ahead of you, to be full of the power to accomplish your goal. To be encouraged means to have the courage or inner strength to move forward in using that power or capability. 

So as my favorite skin doctor says, “let's flip the script!”

Instead of thinking “Those pimples are gross,” what about “ I am not a fan of these pimples, but I know some things I can do to try to make them go away?” Rather than, “I hate my skin” try “I wish my skin would clear up, but I do like this fantastic smile of mine!” Finally, replace, “Things are never going to get any better,” with “My skin isn’t healing as quickly as I wanted, but I will keep trying this regimen that my doctor recommended.”

By changing how you see yourself, changing how you think, you are creating a space within your heart and mind that believes that you have the courage to do the things you want to do and the power to accomplish your goals. It is like this if you tell yourself, you can you might be right. If you tell yourself, you can’t you’ll always be right. When we say you were made a masterpiece, we don’t just mean that you were made an incredible work of art. You aren’t just the Mona Lisa, you are a microchip! Beautifully functional, imperfectly awesome. So, even though acne is challenging, you can empower and encourage yourself through it. Because you were made a masterpiece.