I self cared today by getting Microneedling done on my entire face but especially my forehead scar, and got lip injections in order to work on my self esteem and just do some self care during this pandemic. Part of me feels sad though because I’ve lost friends over the years and I haven’t spoken to many people since the pandemic started. I feel alone and it’s like I have no one to show my results off to when my skin does heal. Very sad and lonely times 😞

Can we chat? I’m having a hard time with OCD and you seem awesome

Hi! I remember we talked about your difficult experience which resulted in a scar. Your post is actually quite poignant to me, it sounds like your focus has been on reducing and 'making up for' something which makes you feel angry and vulnerable, and sometimes it's possible that preoccupation is at the expense of the very things you don't want to lose because of it, like friendship and acceptance. I think that's a really common thing that happens when we have OCD, we tend to isolate and we so want to prevent something bad that everything else is sacrificed, when we probably wouldn't accept those sacrifices as worth it if we had the choice upfront, e.g. between (not to be harsh) "no scar but no friends and you suffer all day" and "scar but friends and content". I've seen it happen a lot with BDD and eating disorders, people get so focused on being thin so that they'll feel in control and confident and not be abandoned, but along the way they push everybody out which hurts their self esteem and confidence until all that's left is a desperate struggle to get that feeling of control even though the worst has happened. They don't want to be "too fat" for their partner and be dumped so they revolve everything around their ED even though it causes arguments and deteriorates the relationship, they don't want photos taken of them so they don't get out and do anything, etc. Everything is always put off until some unknown future date where they'll feel good enough, and that day has never come for anyone afaik. At some point you just have to push through and get some focus back on the things which make life worth living. Try to remember that you're still safe and loved. Your friends care so much more about being around you than they care what your skin looks like. If your results end up feeling inadequate to you, don't fall into the pattern of continuing to self-isolate and spend all your thinking time on it. Self care is good, but sometimes self care means laughing with a friend or doing facemasks together, being around people. It's really important self-care.

I think it's awesome you did this for yourself. What was the micro-needling like? How long til you see results from it?

That's cool! I'd like to do it someday, I think. I can see my face changing as I get older. I don't mind aging, but some of the wrinkles are getting really deep!🙃