Personal Empowerment and Confidence
As most people who know me are aware, the recent story about the 13-year-old girl who thwarted her attacker using Jujitsu has deep personal significance for me.
As I contemplate the impact of this event on the girl’s life, I see a tremendous example of the human ability to tap into inner power with confidence and speed in a moment of great need. This very young person was able to suspend her impulse to focus on the obvious terror of a stranger intending to inflict harm and refused to become a victim by trusting and implementing her own abilities.
This remarkable story will surely be a defining moment in this girl’s life. She carries the immensely reassuring knowledge that she can overcome challenges in a real crisis. By demonstrating her abilities to herself, she gains a deep sense of security and empowerment.
We are all faced with challenges throughout our lives. The enormous public attention this story has garnered is a poignant reminder of the inner fortitude that we all surely possess; it is a clarion call for us to recognize that if such a young person facing such a formidable challenge can respond with such confidence and belief in herself, then certainly we can too.
Our challenges can take many forms. As a dermatologist taking special interest in managing acne, rosacea, facial pigmentation, aging, and balding, I see again and again how difficult it is to experience the blow to our self-esteem when our appearance is altered without our control. These conditions often come at emotionally sensitive times in our lives, such as puberty, menopause, and career or life disruptions, and facing these challenges can tempt us into giving in to attitudes of victimhood and despair.
None of these conditions has a simple fix, and the pressures of society and our own insecurities can lead us down a perilous path. Ironically, anxiety can often accelerate the unattractive appearance of these conditions and further aggravate a sense of hopeless resignation.
Throughout my career, I have always taken a special interest in helping people through these particular dermatological challenges. As a formally trained scientist long before becoming a dermatologist, I learned early on that the same primordial cells that create our brains also create our skin and hair, and there is a deep connection between our emotions and our appearance.
I profoundly believe that we all possess an inner power that we can tap into when needed, just as this brave girl reminded us. I constantly strive to help my patients discover this strength and guide them gracefully past the challenge with speed and empowerment. To do this, I have created tools to help them on their journey. Some of these tools come in the form of specialty medications to address the many nuances and variations that skin and hair conditions present. My other tools come in the form of encouragement and empathy, which can not only make the journey more bearable, but can help speed the healing. I have always viewed my patients as whole people inside and out, and not just a surface condition.
No single journey is the same on the outside, but on the inside, we all must follow a common path: to pull out our inner strength when the time calls for it if we intend to succeed. That complete journey is made better with the help of a trusted and experienced guide. It gives me great joy to act as a guide for my patients, help others overcome, and to “Face the world with confidence”.
