Although very different situations, there are a surprising number of similarities between the struggle to get healthy skin and the struggle to get a healthy body. I’m going to map out similarities and differences here with the intention of giving people some insight into their own emotional reactions when dealing with difficult challenges of life.

We’ll start with interesting similarities:

1) Emotional imbalance will eventually develop in all cases.

-sooner or later, long term obesity and chronic acne can tweak the mind of any normal human being. Once an emotional problem has set in, treatment becomes even more challenging.

2) They are both 100% treatable:

-All Obese patients can get in shape as proven by the show “The Biggest Loser”

-All Acne Patients can safely get clear as proven by the medical project, “The Acne Practice”

3) Both Obesity and Acne are Self-Vicitimizing Situations:

-Obese patients have been blaming “Glandular and Genetic Problems” for their obesity for decades.
(This notion has since been disproven by the show “The Biggest Loser”)

-Acne patients display the exact same type of self-victimization using “Hormonal Imbalances or Bad Genetics”
(This notion has since been disproven by “The Acne Practice”)

4) Western Medicine often fails them both:

-5 minutes with the doctor is often not enough to “cure” obesity.
-5 minutes with the doctor is often not enough to “cure” chronic resistant acne

5) Eastern Medicine often fails them both also.

-An enthusiastic caring practitioner seen once a week or once a month is sometimes not enough. These two conditions can be very stubborn.

6) The Situation is Underestimated

-Frustration develops when obese patients can’t get victory. This frustration is generated from an expectation that it “should” happen from whatever efforts they are making.

-Frustration develops in acne patients when a 20 dollar bottle of cream does not transform their entire life. Acne patients are notorious for underestimating the difficulty of their situation. (large companies have been catering to this magical thinking for decades)

7) Both utilize a losing mentality to protect themselves from more heartache and pain:

-When beat down many times by failure despite great efforts, both obese patients and acne patients can become apathetic or defeated. When this emotional phenomenon takes hold, it takes an enormous amount of energy to wake them up to the reality that these situations are always treatable. (and thus the need for the show “The Biggest Loser” and the 120 videos in “The Acne Practice”)

These similarities can make obesity, acne, and all other treatable chronic conditions behave like the same chronic condition.
The emotional reactions are rooted in both Control Issues and The Agony of Defeat.

However, despite the similar heartache and reactions, acne and obesity have many differences that should be illustrated here as well.

1) Hands Down, Chronic Acne is trickier.

From Richard Simmons to that Tae Bo guy, there have been successful practitioners of fitness that have proven over and over again that anyone who really wants it can get fit.
However, until this recent project started in 2007, there has never been an acne expert who could really prove all forms of acne are safely treatable.
Poorly backed up claims and imaginative theories have ruled this field mainly due to the difficulty of getting solid results without taking chemotherapeutic levels of medications.
For this reason alone, Acne has proven to be the tougher condition to beat.

2) Motivation:

While there are still many motivated obese patients temporarily losing the battle of fitness at this time, the motivation of a chronic acne sufferer is often times more comparable to that of an olympic athlete. Acne suffers will often do anything to get clear including extremes of nutritional restriction, application of topicals, avoidance of aggravating situations, and spending every hard earned cent they gather. When referring to the ultra-motivated group of patients, Acne sufferers are very different from obese patients.

3) Cost:

-While fitness may require great personal training and coaching for some people, no group of suffering souls has collectively spent more money on themselves than the acne patients. On numerous occasions, I’ve had patients tell me they have already spent over 20 thousand dollars unsuccessfully trying to fix their skin.

Bottom Line:
While Obesity and Acne have remarkable emotional and self-vicitmizing similarities, Acne has proven to be a much trickier situation to conquer.
Fortunately, due to shows like “The Biggest Loser” and “The Acne Practice”, we all now know that both situations are treatable in 100% of cases.
There are no exceptions to this rule and no amount of self-vicitmization or hopelessness will ever refute what these two projects have already proven.

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©2010 “Acne vs. Obesity: A study of our humanity” by Dr. Neal Schwartz

There is nothing tougher than trying to plan the perfect wedding with skin that is completely unpredictable. Fear of being the center of attention during a very romantic celebration is often times too much for an acne sufferer to bear.

The lesson of this blog post is that skin that feels unpredictable is not really in good control.

Real control comes with it a sense of confidence and a lowered level of anxiety, allowing one to focus on other aspects of life. (like the flowers and catering for the reception…)

When you watch this video, you can really feel how her anxiety vanishes once her skin is in total control.

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©2010 “Wedding Day Anxiety?” by Dr. Neal Schwartz

One of the earliest posts on this blog was called, “My skin is Special”

It talks about the emotional phenomenon of categorizing oneself in a hopeless situation based in prior heartache and failure.

After seeing this next unbelievable case, I will ask you whether you still think your case is special and untreatable.

Pay close attention to every detail of a case that seemed unbeatable for years.

History:

Acne for 18 years!
Flares mostly with Menstrual Periods
Never had a clear month (”no vacation”)
emotionally affected
life choices and dreams affected
compensatory life skills were developed to overcome the challenges.

Prior Failures:

Multiple Dermatologists
Accutane
Oral Antibiotics
Rx Topicals (multiple)
OTC Topicals (multiple)
Lifestyle Modification
Food Changes
Home Remedies
“Everything”

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©2010 “My Skin is Special (Part 2)” by Dr. Neal Schwartz

Last year I wrote a post called “Control Issues” which discussed the core emotional struggle of chronic acne.

After reading that philosophy, watch these videos below and witness how similar the suffering is for so many people.

It’s amazing how many people truly believe their case to be special and untreatable.
It’s been witnessed, written about, and revisited once again in high definition.

The many emotional phenomena of chronic acne are being broken down and illustrated here in a way that will bring a new sense of awareness to this type of relentless suffering.

Once the entire blog is read, one can learn how to react less and observe more.

Witness the powerful transformation of “Control Issues”

After another month of total inactivation, his mind had reset and you can feel that he is no longer painfully suffering.

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©2010 “Control Issues” (Part II) by Dr. Neal Schwartz

When was the last time you felt momentary pure joy???

The kind of smile you can’t hold back, the kind of laugh that goes up an octave accidentally.

How powerful has your vast knowledge been in regards to finding happiness in a single moment in time?
(Hint** Your intellect can’t always save you from depression. Mood is a visceral sensation and can’t be fixed from the mind)

This is biggest medical tip I can give anyone in the world:

Your Doctor, Psychiatrist, Therapist, Holistic Healer, Nutritionist, Dermatologist, or Spiritual leader can never fully fix your Depression or Anxiety. Ever…!!!

Its really all up to you and your actions…

They can give you a turbo boost or a step by step path to a new destination, but it’s really all on you.

The sooner you take 100% accountability for your life, the sooner you will develop the needed skills for this world.

As conscious human beings, we are all predisposed to depression and anxiety. Some will crack early and some won’t feel its rath until they get older. The more you alienate or isolate yourself as a “Special” case, the lower your chances are of seeing the truth.

The Truth is that only tenacious self-starters can rebound and pull themselves out of a hole.
To dig out from the bottom, It takes four times the energy of getting through a typical day.
(Fortunately, energy can be aquired step by step as an artistry in itself. follow the blog here for a map of how to escape the dungeon)

I can see in retrospect how my uncomfortable skin and my imbalanced mood ruined many joyous opportunities in my 20’s. I became hesitant to do many fun activities including the beach, skiing, outdoor sports in general, and general daytime social activities. This is what troubled skin has done to millions of others. A huge group of repressed sufferering souls who are missing the best years of their lives. It’s horribly painful to experience and equally troubling to witness as a prior sufferer.

Here’s the up side:
Its never too late to re-capture your youth. You’ll need to swiftly and effectively fix your skin and mind and start living before it’s really too late. 20’s, 30’s, 40′, 50’s, and on…. it moves fast…

I’m 34 now, feel like I’m in my early 20’s only through creative physical activity that has exponentially gone up in the last few years.

After having needlessly suffered for long over a decade, I have re-entered the “World of the Living” in full regalia.

Check this out.

As an expressive necessity of being a sensitive person came to a head, I finally found the guitar and my voice at 29.
(We all have this same need. It’s never too late to find it)
(learn how to play guitar here)
Original songs will be coming on this site to help inspire people to express themselves. It’s vitally important, especially if you consider yourself to be a sensitive individual)

As the possibilities of the world re-opened for me, I found a childhood dream in Mexico 3 years ago:
(I loved the beach as a kid and lost this amazing aspect of life somewhere along the line)
This photo is from my first time surfing a few years ago. I improved last year and this summer will be bringing surf videos here to inspire the most sluggish of minds.

After a complete mind transformation from surfing, skiing magically came back into my life.
(I had skied as a kid and somehow through the rigors of becoming a doctor had completely lost it in my twenties and early thirties)

And last but not least, This video is from yesterday, day 1 of a new adventure in physicality. This last one is the inspiration for the “pure joy” of this post.

It’s the artistic search for the “balance point” that magically clears the heady mind. I strongly believe that the stress caused by the energy of our overly-conscious minds is one of the biggest causes of all disease.
Our greatest strength as humans, our consciousness, is often the cause of our own demise.

(They make these things in Adult sizes also!!)

I am feeling good today and it is no accident. My actions will dictate my life. Your actions will dictate yours.
There is no western medicine or eastern herb that can really save you.

Like all real arts, finding happiness, physical balance, and mental wellness can never be mastered. Only improved upon.
If you do not yet consider yourself an artist of life, know that your knowledge and intellect may not have enough power to save you.

As a former “know it all” non-artist, follow me as someone who has transformed and found the light of life. New possibilities arose only when I began to move away from the imbalance created by the stress-inducing “heady” identity.

Engaging in the daunting challenges of artistic balances rather than patting myself on the back for the simple task of gathering and storing knowledge.

Find the art of movement and your mind will finally release.
(your therapist can’t help you with this)

At this rate, I imagine I’ll be younger by 35…..

I promise to help you all find “pure joy” in this very short lifetime.
Stay tuned for the next level…

-Dr. Neal

©2010 “Pure Joy” (part I) by Dr. Neal Schwartz