I'm a guy and I had really cystic acne when I was 16 (now 18). I'm on my second treatment of acutane right now. The first was for 8 months and my current treat is on its 5th month. I just feel like shit all the time. I feel bad about myself. I can't look into the mirror and like what I see. I've already seen a therapist about this problem but it didn't really help much. I've learned to deal with it better, but I still struggle. Any advice?
I’m so sorry!! It’s really unfair just how much acne can affect ones self image. I had a really hard time with mine when it was bad, and I don’t think I can say that I know how you feel, but I went through a long period of self hatred just because of my skin. I definitely understand that it can take a toll on you and your happiness. I think the best advice I have is that in the long run, dealing with something like this can make you a much better person. It makes you understanding of others, less judge mental, and more accepting. That’s mostly how I got through dealing with my skin, but I know it’s not as simple as that. Just know that we are all here for you and you are so so so much more than your skin. Don’t forget that you have a personality and all the potential in the world to do what you want. And honestly, when I see someone dealing with acne it makes me relate to them more and have respect for them. When mine was at its worst I really reached to people that had similar problems and t made me feel better to have an unspoken similarity. It helped a lot to not feel judged because who I surrounded myself with understood what was happening. Another thing is that when accutane comes up with people I know, the people can’t seem to remember what my skin used to look like, because when it isn’t your skin it isn’t a big deal. Don’t worry, you’ll get through it and you’ll come out on top. If you ever need anything I’m here, and I’m sure tons of other people apart of this community and your life are there for you too :)
GUYS
MARIE KONDO HAS HER OWN MANGA BOOK
AND IT IS LIKE SO ADORABLE
JUST LIKE MARIE HERSELF
A collection of categorized links for your Yule needs! What is Yule? [X] Yule is celebrated on slightly different days depending on who you ask, but the broad spectrum is: December 20th to January 1st.
Elements, foods, crystals and more! / Yule correspondences
Celebrating Yule
Yule: A very merry sabbat
Yule - ‘tis the season
Yule practices
50 Yuleisms
Yule potpourri recipe
Witch balls / more witch balls
A twelve-herb sachet for Yule
Mini herb wreaths
Yule log
Yule craft ideas
Pine protection balm
Dried orange slices
Herbal shortbread
Bread dipping oil
Chocolate yule log
Yuletide muesli
Yule tea
Yule Punch
Non-alcoholic mulled wine
Winter sabbat wine
Merry Yule jar spell / Let it snow! jar spell
Yule bath spell
Blessed Yule - For a positive holiday season
Spell for a happy family gathering
Happiness sachet for winter
Holiday home blessings
Bringing in the season
Yule spread (3 card)
Tarot spread for Yule (3 card)
Winter solstice spread (3 card)
Yule reflection + advice spread (5 card)
A Yuletime tarot spread (6 card)
Music ideas / Yule playlist / Winter witch playlist
Altar/celebration ideas / Yule altar guide
Yule plants / Mistletoe Lore
Yule oils/incense / Yule incense
Emoji spell for a merry Yule
Spell ideas for the holidays
Family/Loved Ones Protection Jar
Quick Protection Spell
Full Moon Protection Spell
“I Send You Safety” Spell
Knitting Spell (For Protection)
Ayano’s Theory of Happiness Spell
Ritual To Protect Loved Ones
“This Person Is Under My Protection” Sigil
“This Person Is Safe & Happy” Sigil
“My Significant Other Is Happy & Safe From Harm” Sigil
“My Child Is Safe From All Harm” Sigil
Pet Protection Spell Jar
Pet Protection Spell Bottle
Pet Protection Spell
Pet Protection Spell
Protective Chant For Dogs
Protective Chant For Cats
Cat Protection Bag
Cat Blessing/Protection Spell
Animal Blessing Spells
Animal Protection Spell
Animal Candle Protection Spell
“Watch Over Me” Pet Protection Guardian
“Always Come Back To Me” Spell
“My Dogs Will Be Safe and Happy” Sigil
Pet Protection Powder
Protection Against Nightmares
Protection During Sleep
Nightmare Warding Stuffed Animal Spell
Ghost Nebula Protection In Sleep Spell
Protection While Travelling
Jar Spell for Safe Travels
Protection For Travellers Spell
Roadtrip Protection Charm
Empath/Emotional Protection
Calcified Heart Spell
Empath Protection Jar
Other
New Job Protection Pouch
Corvid Safety Spell
Emoji Spell for Protection Against Extreme Weather
Cleansing & Protection from Mind-Altering Spells
Dragon’s Bite Powder
Sweeping Powder for Protection & Energy
Dark As Night Protection Powder
Anti-Curse Powder
Archer’s Protection Powder
Protection Powder Recipes
Fire Salts
Black Salt
Empath Protection Oil
Demonwitch’s Hellcat Oil
Flying Devil Oil
Moon-Infused Protection Water
Storm Witch’s Ward Water
War Water
Circles, Shields & Wards
Casting a Circle for Beginners
Methods of Casting Circles
Personal Shielding
Basic Protection
Keeping Yourself Protected
The Basics of Wards & Warding
A Crash Course In Warding
Top Ward Mistakes I
Top Ward Mistakes II
Threshold Magic 101
Charms
Charms, Amulets & Talismans
The Rowan Cross
Grass Charm
Hag Stones
Moon Snails
Protection Wreaths
Protection Chimes
Elemental Protection Charms
Folklore Charms for Home Protection
Tech Magic
Turning Your Wifi Into Wards
How to Anti-Taglock Pictures of Yourself
Simple Email Protection Spell
Technomagic Ward
Cyber/Tech Protection Ideas
Servitors
A Basic Guide to Servitors
An Introduction to Servitors
How to Create a Protective Servitor
Meditations
Spell and Meditation for Calming, Serenity and Peace Within Self
“Warrior of Light” Guided Meditation (YouTube)
Correspondences
Protection Correspondences
Protection Correspondences
Quick Protection Magic Reference Guide
[part 1]
You type in the amount of words you want to write and as you write, your mini lil avatar fights a monster. Each word you write acts a hit towards your monster, and once you’ve hit your word count the monster is defeated!!!
How cute!!!!
Work quick though as how long you spent not writing decreases your avatar’s health. It’s a productive fight to the death against the clock!
You can PAUSE it!!!! Need go get a cup of tea? Need to sneeze? You can!!!!!
Settings are adjustable! You can change the monster’s speed and the attacks!
You can change the theme and font!
You can level up!!!!! The number of words you write equals your EXP. You can unlock one avatar thus far, but I believe there may be more in the future!
You can minimise the fight above if it serves as a distraction, and only show the decreasing green bar.
Best of all: If you don’t hit the target word count in time, YOUR WORK DOES NOT DISAPPEAR. In the past I’ve lost so much work because I wasn’t typing fast enough, or sneezed.I cannot express enough how thankful I am that it presents a challenge where the consequence is a knock of pride and not a fit of rage.
Honestly, I urge all writers out there to give this app a go. It’s my new favourite thing.
Environmentally friendly options include:
-seed starter pots
-bell peppers
-paper towel rolls
-toilet paper rolls
-tissue paper
-wrapping paper
If you have any suggestions or concerns please let me know and they will be added
Mistake 1: Growing from seed. When you first start out trying to grow fresh herbs, I recommend you begin by trying to grow from seedlings rather than planting your own seeds. These great little starter plants are widely available in grocery stores in the late spring. For the same price as a packet of fresh herbs from the produce section, you can buy your own little starter plant. Lots can go wrong in the seed to seedling transition (including not thinning out plants properly), so its probably best to begin by skipping that complicated task or you are in danger of washing out before you really begin.
Mistake 2: Starting with the wrong varieties. I recommend you start by trying to grow fresh basil. It is the perfect trainer herb. First, basil grows quickly, allowing you to observe the effects of your care more easily. Second, basil leaves wilt visibly when not watered enough, but recovers well if you water the wilted plant. This makes basil a great ‘canary in the mineshaft’ to help you figure out how much water is enough.
Mistake 3: Watering herbs like houseplants. Instead, water herbs a moderate amount every day. While some houseplants flourish with one solid watering per week, most delicate herbs require moderate and regular watering. This is particularly true during hot summer months. If you have good drainage at the bottom of your pot (at least a drainage hole, possibly rocks beneath the soil), it will be difficult to water herbs too much.
Mistake 4: Not cutting early and often. As a novice gardener, it may seem like your puny little plant just isn’t ready for a trip to the barber, but then you will find yourself sitting there wishing for leaves without much success. Again, basil is a great herb to practice pruning. As with all herbs, you want to cut the herb just above a set of growing leaves. With basil, when you cut the plant that way, the originally trimmed stem will no longer grow. However, two new stems will grow around the original cutting, creating a “V” shape (see the photo above, can you spot the Vs?). If you don’t trim basil aggressively, it will continue to grow straight up, and become too tall and top-heavy. Making your first trim approximately 3-4” above the soil produces a nice sturdy plant. Of course you want to be sure you are always leaving a few good sturdy leaves on the plant (see below). As it continues to grow, continue to prune it approximately every 3-4" for a nice solid plant. I like to let it grow for some time and then cut back to within 2-3 inches of the original cut. After only a few early trial cuts, this usually makes for a nice clipping with plenty of basil to use for a pizza.
Mistake 5: Taking the leaves from the wrong place. When you are just starting out it seems to make so much sense to pick off a few big leaves around the bottom of the plant, and let those tender little guys at the top keep growing. Wrong. Leave those large tough old guys at the bottom alone. They are the solar panels that power your herb’s growth. Once your plant is big enough to sustain a decent harvest, keep on taking from the top, as you have been when you were pruning. That way you get all those tender new herbs that are so tasty, and your plant gets to keep its well developed solar power system in place. Plus, if you pluck from the base and leave the top intact, you get a tall skinny plant that will flop over from its own weight (and yes, I know this from experience). When you pluck from the top, instead of clipping off just below a pair of leaves, you want to clip off just above a pair of leaves. It is a bit counter-intuitive as a novice, but trust me it works. The place where the leaf joins the stem is where new growth will occur when your plant sends off new stems in a V.
Mistake 6: Letting your plants get too randy. If you are pruning regularly, this may never become an issue, but unless you are growing something for its edible flowers, be sure to cut back herbs before they start growing flowers. My friend once brought me to her backyard garden and pointed, frustrated, at her wimpy, small basil plants. “I just keep tending them, but they don’t even produce enough leaves to put on a salad!” she lamented. I pointed to the glorious stalk of flowers at the top of each plant, “That’s your problem” I explained. Because herbs are kind of like college boys: if you give them half a chance, they will focus all their energy on procreation and neglect growth. If you want leaves, keep cutting off the little flower buds whenever you find them (see photo above), and it will encourage your plant to focus on growing more leaves.
Mistake 7: Using tired soil with no nutrients. Tired soil that has been sitting in your garden or lawn for ages often looks grey and a little depressing. Would you want to grow in that stuff? Give your plants a dose of the good stuff and they’ll thank you for it. I grow my herbs in a combination of potting soil, used coffee grounds (with a near-neutral PH, available for free at Starbucks), and organic compost. If I have some on hand, I also throw in crushed egg shells. Those without access to compost (and no deep commitment to organic growing) may find Miracle grow useful. My momma swears by it for tomatoes. A diluted solution of Miracle grow occasionally can help many herbs flourish.
Mistake 8: Getting in a rut. There is an element to passion about herb gardening. In order to be good at it, you need to feel rewarded. So don’t stick too long with one or two herbs just because they work. Branch out to a few other basic herbs that you will use regularly in your kitchen. There are few things more rewarding as an urban foodie than being able to pop out to the fire escape to clip fresh herbs to use in my cooking. Once you have become comfortable with basil, I recommend moving on to try growing oregano, mint, rosemary and thyme. All are regularly useful herbs in the kitchen, and all are relatively easy to grow. You will notice that rosemary cleaves after cutting in a somewhat similar way to basil, but grows much more slowly, so the effect is difficult to notice. Some plants also respond to clipping by throwing out more full leaves at their base. I have long wanted to grow cilantro but have not had much luck with it.
Mistake 9: You mean there’s more than one kind of mint?When choosing herbs, read the label carefully. For example, there are two main varieties of oregano: Mediterranean and Mexican. Mediterranean oregano is the more common variety, and what you likely own if you have conventional dried oregano in your cupboard. I have Mexican oregano growing on my back fire escape. I love Mexican oregano in spicy dishes, for making beans from scratch, and often use it in tomato dishes where I don’t want the flavor to seem too much like marinara. Similarly, there are many different kinds of mint. You don’t want to be thinking of the pungent spearmint plant and accidentally take home the much more subtle (and not mojito savvy) applemint by mistake.
Mistake 10: Feed me Seymour! If you are planting in soil instead of pots, take care that your cute little herb seedling doesn’t become a giant plant that takes over your garden. A word of warning for oregano and mint: both can be voracious growers. If you are planting outside in a garden, rather than in pots, you may want to consider potting these herbs and then burying the pots in the ground. This will add a measure of control to the root systems of these herbs, which can otherwise take over a garden and strangle nearby neighbors. When in doubt, check out wikipedia, they usually are careful to point out which herbs are in danger of overwhelming your garden.
Some really useful info here if you’re new to herb gardening.
21 Ways To Tell if Someone Is Suicidal | Psych2Go (new video march 11)
Philtre - water-based, delicate ingredients
Infusion - water-based, delicate ingredients
Decoction - for immediate ingestion, concentrated, sturdy ingredients, reduce to remove excess water
Tincture - alcohol-based, keeps for up to a year, time needed for preparation, highly concentrated, dilute
Vinegar - vinegar-based, masks ingredients, highly concentrated
Syropp - ingredients preserved in sugar solution, very sweet
Poultice - chopped plant material, compress, can be infused with potions
Formentation - clothes dipped in potions, compress
Salve - oil- or fat-based, thick and creamy, for external application
Elixir - alcohol-based, very pure
Tisane - hot water-based herbal extract
Macerate - cold water-based plant infusion, requires up to 12 hours
Essential Oils - diluted extracts
Inhalation - vapor from a potion