It’s normal to suffer from acne in your youth, but it can be a surprise if the same acne makes you suicidal. That’s what happened to a young girl in Illinois who was fed up with severe acne and tried to commit suicide, but then managed to find a cure.
Table of Contents
- The beginning of acne in a young girl
- What is cystic acne?
- Depression due to severe acne
- Support of friends during severe acne
- The beginnings of acne treatment
- Psychological impact of acne
- Suicide attempts due to acne
- A journey to get rid of acne
1. The Beginning of Acne in a Young Girl
Isabella Miller began struggling with severe acne in her early teens. The 20-year-old girl was diagnosed with cystic acne in 2014. Eventually her spots and cysts worsened to the point where she would often wake up in the morning with blood stains and pus on her pillow. She says:
“I first noticed acne during my freshman year of high school, where I had the most acne on my forehead, which spread to my entire face by college and was extremely painful and itchy. Because my skin was very bad.”
2. What is Cystic Acne?
Cystic acne is the most severe form of acne that affects very few people. In this condition, the pores of the skin become blocked, leading to infection and inflammation. Cystic acne can be painful as well as it also causes emotional distress. A major cause of cystic acne is hormonal changes during puberty. It is not caused by chocolate, nuts, or fatty foods, nor is it caused by poor hygiene practices.
3. Depression Due to Severe Acne
Initially, Bella tried to talk to her mother about her problem, but her mother dismissed it as just teenage acne. But Bella was well aware that it was far worse than that Bella says:
“I was very conscious of my face because I felt like it was dirty even if I had just showered, I couldn’t leave the house without a full face of makeup and Sometimes I didn’t recognize myself in the mirror, which caused me a lot of anxiety because I always thought that one day my face would be fine.”
4. Support of Friends During Severe Acne
When you’re going through a tough time, having someone with you can make your tough times easier, says Bella. I always knew my acne was very serious and would require regular treatment. But it hurts me a lot when I go out and people look at me with hatred and contempt, she says. People outside of my immediate circle treated me very negatively, and I remember one time in high school where a guy asked me, have you washed your face today. This hurt me deeply.
5. The Beginnings of Acne Treatment
A year after her acne problems started, Isabella was diagnosed with cystic acne, for which a dermatologist prescribed some medication that only made her skin burn but did not improve. Other experts also suggested various treatments, but it seemed that Bella’s acne was incurable.
Different dermatologists gave him different medicines but in 2015 his skin cleared up within three months of using the medicine, but the doctor told him to stop the medicine and his face got severe acne again. It affected his self-esteem badly.
Then, in 2017, doctors prescribed her another drug that balanced her hormones, but that too was not a permanent solution, she says.
I regularly used recommended face washes and lotions to keep my skin clear, I remember one face wash that affected my eyes badly, but I had no success.
6. Psychological Impact of Acne
It is natural that repeated failures make you feel down, and you lose hope, at that time negative thinking dominates you and you become stressed, such is the case with this young girl Bella, she says:
“I started to feel completely helpless, no matter what I tried, it didn’t make any difference and instead of getting better, my acne was getting worse.”
7. Suicide Attempt Due to Acne
In October 2019, the acne worsened causing her to suffer from stress, depression, and anxiety, and she attempted suicide due to her condition, after which she was admitted to a mental hospital.
8. A Journey to Get Rid of Acne
In April 2020, a friend of her mother told her about a sensitive skin treatment, it was a very simple treatment, a cleanser, acne clearing cream and a sensitive skin cream. The treatment was life-changing for Bella.
She says that after a month, my skin started to clear up and I felt calm for the first time in years. And now she shares her story on social media to help people with acne in this regard. Take courage, she says, reminding yourself that you are beautiful with or without acne.