Hey guys!
Ok, so where do I start? Well since this post is dedicated to asymmetry and mild ptosis I shall give you a brief history of where it all began. But before that, I’d like you to know I am in no way medically authorised to give medical advice or diagnoses or anything, and I haven’t even been formally diagnosed myself…this is purely a post to let you know how my self-help method is faring.
So…I first noticed a little asymmetry on my face from the age of about 12. I’d always had a symmetrical face until then and suddenly my left eye appeared lower than my right. It didn’t bother me at the time because at 12 I was more concerned with riding a bike than looking ‘good’. By the age of about 16 it had gradually progressed to the point where it was now noticeably different to the right side of my face and my eyelid had also started drooping. It did slightly annoy me but fortunately, being a very confident person I managed to brush it aside and no one ever commented on it so it really wasn’t that big a deal.
However as I matured (I’m now in my 20’s) it became even worse and this time it was a problem. Although I was still confident, I could tell people were scanning the asymmetry of my eyes as their eyes darted right and left and it made me feel very uncomfortable. I’m not saying asymmetry is a bad thing, because I know that some of the most stunning girls have had asymmetrical faces i.e. Marilyn Monroe, Mila Kunis, Katy Perry, Holly Willoughby, but it was the unnerving scanning that went on continuously for about a year until I’d finally had enough. I decided to try and do something about this. I began madly searching the internet for a diagnosis before I found out about ‘ptosis’. This is a condition that affects the eye(s) and makes it go droopy. It is worsened by fatigue and other factors (check it up). I found that the only effective treatment was surgery, which to me seemed very invasive (watch it on youtube, slitting of eyelids is not for the faint-hearted) and made me quite queasy to watch. There were also terrible side effects, like the potential risks of infection, incessant bleeding, blindness, the eye becoming even DROOPIER etc. How could I possibly go through with that?
So I decided to seek alternatives. I found some eye exercises on the internet which seemed to make it go even droopier, so I began to lose hope. Until one day I began taking pictures of myself to see what the exact problem was. What I noticed was that not only was my eye much lower on the left but so was that side of my face in general. The cheek was also much fuller than the other side. I also noticed that when I smile solely on my left side, it makes my eyes become symmetrical again. I thought about what I do differently on my right side that could have made it higher and more structured, and then I realised it was CHEWING! I only then realised that I had been SOLELY chewing on my right side for about 10 years! I concluded that I must have overused the right and underused the left so much so that it had left me with completely different face sides.
I decided to start chewing on my left side. I noticed how difficult it was to chew on that side and how I had to keep resisting the urge to move food back to my right side, highlighting just how much of a habit I had got into. I decided not only to chew on the left side, but to also practice facial exercises solely on my left side. (I have no experience of facial exercises, I am solely using my intuition). I began by repeatedly smiling very highly, for quickly about 200 times or until that side began to feel a bit tense. I would then do it again but hold each smile for 5 seconds before releasing (5 times). Then I would stretch my face upwards by pushing my cheek as high as possible while extending my lower jaw. I would then lift up my left cheek with my lower eyelid, hold for 5 seconds and release (doing that about 10 times). I would then lift the left side of my top lip up for about 5 seconds, release, (10x). I could feel the pulsating from holding those positions so I figured it was working the muscles.
I’ve been doing these exercises for about 3 or 4 days now and I can seriously feel the results, which is why I decided to blog about it. The eye doesn’t feel so lazy and it is looking a little more symmetrical already! It sounds unbelievable and I’m almost thinking it’s too good to be true. But I’m going to hold out and keep this up for the next few months and I’ll let you know how it goes. I am also trying not to raise that eyebrow because it has become higher than the other one due to me trying to lift that eyelid up! All I would say to anyone with facial asymmetry that is bugging them is to go and see a doctor, but don’t resort to surgery before you try a few facial exercises…check out exactly where the asymettery lies and try to find exercises that deal with those issues! And be patient, because you won’t get results in a day!
factisstrangerthanfiction 