Day Two: Stress, meditation and sleeping on your back.

Last night I did something I have tried to do on many prior occasions - I slept on my back. Another thing that I learned from Acne Rx that friction and rubbing can exacerbate your acne. I have noticed as of late that the side of my face I sleep on generally gets a few more blemishes then the other. Hence, my goal is to sleep on my back from now on - something that, for me at least is more easily said then done.

It is now day two using the Boscia skin care line and so far I have noticed my skin is much less “tight” after I wash it (you know, that feeling of intense dryness after you wash your skin with harsh cleansers). Also, the flakiness around my chin has almost completely disappeared. Well, so far so good, but will it help with my acne? I hope that the most important thing is that I really believe that it will.

I just want to take a minute here to note a very important aspect of acne that many of us might overlook (or at least try to forget about), and that is stress and the mind-body connection. I have believed for some time that you are what you think about all day. If I’m stressed from work or school and/or my general mental state isn’t great it will be reflected on my face. Want to know how my week is going? Just count those blemishes (am I the only one here that hates the word ‘zit’?). However, knowing what is the root of your problem is not going to fix it, you have to proactive. So, in conjunction with my new, more gentle approach to skin care, I will be gentle with my body too. That means no alcohol, no chemically processed foods (like chips, candy bars, sodas (both diet and non), etc.), regular exercise and, most importantly, meditation. Now, don’t get me wrong, I am not one of those people that can just give up all these things at the drop of a hat. I fully intend on minor (okay, and major) slip-ups. Also, in order to be happy, you can’t completely eliminate these things from your life so an occasional treat is fine. I hope you all will be with me, encouraging me to keep it up.

Meditation is something that I have been attempting for many years now (at least 6!), off and on, with no luck. You see, I’m great at thinking. I can over-think anything and I find it so hard to turn off this ceaseless process I can barely pay attention to conversations with others! That is why meditation has always been so appealing. The ability to ‘turn-off’ one’s brain and drift into tranquility... aaaaaaaaaaaahh, sounds like heaven. Perhaps, in prior attempts, I have pushed myself too much. I struggled for 20 minute intervals, hoping to pay attention to my breathing for at least two cycles before I was sucked back into my own thoughts. This time I’ll start with 5 minutes per day and I will use a mantra (which I have yet to come up with) and hopefully I will succeed!

I’ll keep you all up to date on my progress. Good luck with your own endeavors!