A caregiver often has the hardest role when there is a medical concern. They must bear the same anguish as the sufferer, but feel even more helpless.
When you see acne beginning to take a psychological toll on your loved one’s self esteem, it can add an almost intolerable amount of stress to an already difficult situation.
The good news is that you do not have to stand by idling watching the acne destroy their self esteem and lead to depression. With nurturing and firm guidance, you can help them learn to care for their skin and remove acne.
You can teach them how certain activities and habits influence their complexion and help them make the right decisions. Together, you can beat the acne and reclaim that lost self esteem.
How You Can Help
Sometimes tough love is the most productive when there is a problem to solve. All of the sympathy in the world will not heal the skin and may actually increase self esteem issues.
When you are trying to combat chronic acne, you will have to set aside all feelings of pity in order to achieve a greater good.
The most important thing you can do is to make sure the acne sufferer stops picking at or popping their acne. There are many reasons. First, it may surprise you to know that the pressure of simply picking at a pimple actually drives the infection further into the skin.
A few days after picking the one pimple, there will be several more in the area that are deep rooted. This makes removing acne extremely difficult.
Another problem with picking at acne is that it increases the chances that there will be a scar left behind. It agitates the wound and can even cause damage to inner layers of skin that may have been originally healthy.
This prolongs the healing process. The longer a wound stays open the more the body will rush to heal the wound. Instead of natural healing with regular skin cells, the body will rush to make thick collagen scar tissue.
You will have to make skin care a priority. Once you have settled upon a certain routine, you will have to make sure they stick to it.
Make sure that their skin stays clean throughout the day and that they do not damage their skin experimenting with the latest “miracle” product.
Of course, it is not all tough love. Sometimes, tenderness and a shoulder to lean on are just as effective. Make sure you listen as they talk about their individual struggles from acne.
Never make them feel as if their problem is insignificant or unimportant. Offer them support if they are uncomfortable being in public. Always make sure that you make them feel attractive, even if they resist the idea.
Ensure them that others find them worthwhile and want to be with them. No one wants to feel undesirable and as a caregiver this is one of your main hurdles to overcome.
Be Proactive and Pursue A Cure
The fact is that you can treat your loved one’s acne and you can give them the nurturing they need, but it will always be a source of strife if you do not try to permanently stop acne.
Even when a breakout goes away, there is always the knowledge that a new breakout could occur at any time. This type of constant fear and impending doom takes its toll.
As a significant event approaches, it’s common for your loved one to fear the possibility of a breakout that could spoil the day. Unfortunately, more often than not, those fears become a reality.
It is a cruel, self perpetuating cycle. Each time it repeats, it is worse than the time before. Too many people fall victim to this cycle, feeling more helpless and hopeless everyday. If you have finally had enough, then it may be time to commit to curing the acne.
What you need to know is that curing acne is not a small feat. While an acne free program is relatively easy to understand and uncomplicated to do once you are committed to it, it will take dedication.
You will be required to make major changes in almost every part of your loved ones life.
This may seem like an easy commitment to make, but it is not. Many activities and habits that the acne sufferer is accustomed to will have to be broken. You will have to be very strict.
If the sufferer is very set in their ways, there may be times when it seems like it is easier to deal with acne rather than do what it takes to cure it.
To make this commitment, it is important that you understand the nature of the changes that are required. You will have to learn to only eat nutritious foods, including organic meats and fresh fruits and vegetables.
You must avoid processed foods. Skin care must be diligent. You will have to get physically fit, exercising several times a week. If there is excess stress in your life, it will have to be dealt with.
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