How to improve mental health

[Felh0710]

I had terrible acne when I was growing up and now at 28 I have pretty bad and visible acne scarring. 😓 It never used to bother me too much as before the pandemic I was rushing about with my normal life and work.

Since lockdown however my mind has tended to fixate on it. It's like the state of my face is constantly on my mind and my brain defaults back to thinking about it. It pops into my head constantly and it's always the same thoughts over and over again. "You did this to yourself", "This will never go away", etc. I can't afford and don't want to have surgery for it, I really want to try and change my mindset about it but I don't know how so was wondering if anyone had any tips. It really gets me down so much that I'm so young yet this scarring is permanent and will never go away and it's really difficult for my mind to process. I constantly beat myself up about it saying that no one else has it and that I did it to myself by picking at it etc. 😓

Any tips on how to help change your mentality would be amazing. Any books, podcasts, film recommendations would be amazing. Anything that can potentially help my thoughts.

Thanks

[Tomas20202]

I have the same problem, I was not bothered by it before lockdown.

But what may help you is meditating, everytime you feel bad about it, relax and meditate

[DolaChangingFacesUK]

Hello Felh0710 and thank for posting here. It's interesting that you say that your acne scarring never bothered you prior to lockdown as you were busy with normal life and work. Lockdown does seem to be taking a toll on people in various ways, and that's besides the reality that many have been infected with the coronavirus while others have died. Apart from the constraints on normal life, lockdown appears to make people more aware of other things around them that used to be lower down on their radar pretty much as you are experiencing. It is difficult not to fixate isn't it? Changing Faces has some factsheets that may offer some help with managing your thoughts around living with a visible difference. They are available at changingfaces.org.uk/advice.... You can also check out mind.org.uk/coronavirus-we-... for support with living in these pandemic days.

Take care

[Rohit008]

Start going to gym , it’ll help improve body and mental health as well. Include fish on your diet. Hope that helps.

[younique]

Hi Felh0710 ~ isolation due to the pandemic is also a very serious health concern people are facing. A quick internet search using a combination of keywords like, self isolation, covid, pandemic, emotional health.. will show you that you aren't alone in struggling to keep a balanced outlook. The first important thing I see is that you recognize it's not how you normally think. Realizing that this is temporary and situational could help to relieve some anxiety around it.

As for what to do... distract yourself! I'm the worst - the absolute worst - about obsessing on my flaws. It never really gets me anywhere though and I find being engaged in constructive pastimes helps a lot.

So some suggestions: a) distract yourself with a new hobby. Now is a great time to learn a new skill or reawaken a passion you may have put to the side. b) distract yourself with entertainment. Geek out over a genre of music, art, film, tv, cuisine or books, which keep you endlessly intrigued. Learn everything you can about it. c) distract yourself with nature. Go outside for long walks, explore or go hiking. Running, rock climbing, surfing, swimming, biking, gardening, beekeeping... obviously only when the season or weather permits. d) distract yourself with friends and family; have virtual checkins or even just FaceTime random life stuff.

I'm sure you see a pattern here lol. Simply replace the previous activities you did - that kept you from obsessing about things you can't control - with new ones. Hope that helps! ♥️

[younique]

Oh also! If you don't already have a pet, that's also something to consider.