You touch your forehead. There is a sore bump. You look in the mirror. Yup, it's a zit forming. You can't stop touching the red spot. It gets bigger.
You want to cover it up, but you don't have bangs because your mom won't let you. She wants your forehead to breathe and not become an oil slick. You put on a baseball cap and pull the brim down so far that you can't see. If you push the brim up higher, you can't cover the zit that has now grown to monster size status and is demanding to be named. You yank on a knit beanie, but it is too hot (since it's summer after all.) and itchy.
You throw off your hat and touch your forehead again and feel more zits growing. You now have a zit colony.
You reach for your phone to text your friends that you can't go out tonight and maybe not ever.
Social isolation.
Next step, depression.
The news this week had a story about the acne drug Accutane and depression. There was no evidence that the drug caused depression, but teens who have zits tend to be depressed as you can see in the example above.
As a survivor of cystic acne and Accutane, I can tell you that it does get better.
But until then, realize that your true friends will enjoy being around you for your personality, even if that includes a monster zit you named Geoffrey.
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