Stop Outsourcing your Power: Heal Your Skin Once and For All.

'Accutane is an option.' I was told. But every instinct within me knew that was a bad idea, my mum had previously been on it and had bald patches, along with other issues from taking the drug.

Accutane (Isotretinoin) is a drug that's used for Acne and it's often made out to be the only way to heal severe Acne. The only problem is, it's concerningly intense in my opinion and can have serious side effects. I'm all for body autonomy, so if you decide to go on any drug then I believe you have every right to do so.

I've been on multiple drugs (such as the birth control pill for over 10 years, antibiotics and anti depressants) and so I understand the need for medication.

Having said that, I feel we should all be able to make informed choices when it comes to what medication we take. I feel we should be able to make decisions based on the deep knowing in our bodies along with the help of a health professional, rather than outsourcing all our decisions to someone else who may or may not know what our body needs to heal. Find yourself a Doctor who listens to you and respects your gut instincts and autonomy.

Outsourcing our power can look like: going along with a treatment plan that we don't really understand. Take me as an example, a 14 year old girl going on the birth control pill for Acne without any understanding of the long term impacts of the pill, and doing no research to try and understand it. I don't remember even reading the drug leaflet you get given inside the box of pills.

Outsourcing our power can also look like: going against our own wisdom and instincts, and doing what a friend or family member tells us is best for us. Perhaps they went on Isotretinoin and it was fine for them, and now they're pushing you to go on it too. The truth is, no one knows your body better than you. Whilst that medication may have been ok for them, it may not be ok for you.

One persons medicine is another persons poison.

Our bodies weren't built to be taking medications 24/7, it's toxic for the body. Not to mention that most medications are treating (or masking) symptoms but not getting to the root cause of the issue. Someone I used to work with took paracetomol every single day for headaches, not only is that a nightmare for the liver when done long term, but it's not looking at the problem at hand; why were they getting headaches every day in the first place?

Healing your skin holistically, once and for all, means discovering the root cause and healing from all angles. This will look different for every person.

If your instincts, intuition, logical research and your health professional tell you to go on Accutane, then by all means, go ahead. But, if it doesn't feel right to you, then I challenge you to find a different route by taking your personal power back and finding the healing route that does work for you.

Thanks for reading,

By Mehgan Weatherley

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