How to increase self esteem?

Hey guys,

I'm a longtime sufferer of skin problems. I have dermatitis and rosacea. Because of that, I have a lot of scars on my skin. The most affected areas are my face, shoulders, back and chest.

Because of that, I feel pretty low most of the time. Most other people can look in the mirror and think they look alright. I don't. I hate it. Some days it's bad, sometimes it's not. Its been pretty bad the last few weeks and I just hate going out. I'm so self conscious of it and it's impacting my self esteem.

Don't get me wrong, my self esteem has never been high. You can thank an abusive ex-fried for that; he made me feel extremely low about myself, but since I got him out of my life it's been better...but this...this just makes me feel terrible. I know, however, that it's not likely going to go anywhere. A majority of my relatives also have skin issues so it's genetic.

The question is, I guess, is how do I accept it and move on from it? How do I stop wanting to hide my face away because of how red and scarred it looks some days?

Lis-Ace,
In the last couple years, I developed a skin disorder (vitiligo) on my face and have been struggling with my self-confidence around my appearance ever since. When I am in a social setting, I notice when people are looking at my face. I imagine they are wondering why my face has some discoloring and it makes me self-conscious and uncomfortable.

I believe the way to build self-esteem is through self-acceptance. I don't have to pretend I like my skin, but I should not let myself feel embarrassed by it either. That embarrassment isn't of any benefit to me and it probably makes people uncomfortable around me. There is no reason that we should feel embarrassed about something we had no control over. I feel like if I can become more at ease with my skin, it will make others at ease with me and my confidence will build.

Those are my current thoughts. I'm still learning on how to handle this.