Bruised, Not Broken: Besa Gordon Opens Up About Eczema and Confidence Struggles
By Besa Gordon - Whew, can we chat for a moment? On this day, I stopped by Good Day Seattle for the first time in over a month since taking my break from Back2Besa. Topic? Juneteenth Events.
Speaking of Juneteenth, shoutout to everyone I met, you truly allowed me to leave the festival with my heart full. And that was something I needed more than you know.
Now, what I didn’t realize was how bad my legs have gotten. Not gonna lie, the last time my skin flared like this, all I wanted to do was hide. I was so embarrassed by the bruises, the patches, and frankly, rough skin.
This time around, I don’t feel the need to hide as much, but I’m definitely not in the most confident state. Today I woke up with my face having a grey hue to it. Why? Because it was so dry, and now it's starting to peel.
For those who don’t know, I suffer from something called Topical Steroid Withdrawal, which, in a nutshell, is what happens when you’ve used topical steroids (I used them for my Eczema) for a long time and then stop. There are a lot of different effects. For me this time: extremely dry skin, lots of bruising, anddddd skin peeling. Like oils, soaps, shea butters, and lotions that used to work for me don’t anymore.
So what’s my next step? Dupixent. Which, in my case, is used when topical treatments are not enough or are not suitable. Not gonna lie, Ya girl is nervous. It’s a shot, and when I looked at reviews, some people said it got worse. For some, it never got better. For others, it got worse before it got better. And I’m just like... what the helly?! How could this possibly get worse?
But at this point, if it gets worse and then better, it might be time to try it. If you know anyone who’s taken it, let ya girl know how it went. Because whew... I’m nervous about this one.
Now, on the other side of things, even with the bruises, the peeling, the patches, I’m learning that my scars don’t define me. They’re part of the story, but they’re not the story.
So if you’re going through something, even if you don’t feel strong right now, keep going. Life doesn’t pause. And neither should we.
As I continue my break from Back2Besa and dive into the things that bring me joy, and frankly, learn more about myself, I’ll keep y’all posted on whether I take the Dupixent leap.
-Besa 💛
Photos by Jordan Somers on behalf of Converge Media.
