Mmm....I'll bite. Albeit, it's a big long. But I think a good one…
I've had HH all my life. No one understood it, except my dad. He had it too. He understood what it's like so he never expected that much out of me. He didn't make much as we were new immigrants... But I was very ambitious. I really wanted the American dream. The middle-class, 'normal' existence. This what drove me to where I am now.
When I was in my teen years, I was horrified at doing work where I had to work with my hands or anything that came with enormous pressure. Those would only exacerbate the condition. So, in my teen years, I worked at fast food restaurants, behind the scenes. Long hours, crappy pay.
University rolled around and I got admitted to a top tiered university. However, undergrad was the worst 4 years of my life. It was the time to be 'social'. I didn't have the courage to do so. It was insufferable. I lived close enough to the university that I commuted. I was so nervous all the time that my acne got really bad from all the sweat on my face!! My deteriorating physical appearance only compounded my anti-social ways. I was either a) at home or b) at school. I hardly went out. And when I did, it was with the same few folks I knew. My grades suffered because I couldn't study properly or write my exams fast enough because everything just gets soaked! 4 years came and went with a useless BSc with no job propects (also lacked networking skills). My grad photo was the ugliest thing ever - I swear I could see the beads of sweat on my forehead! This was the lowest point in my life.
That summer I couldn't bear it anymore. HH has ruined what was supposed to be a great 4 years of my life. I promised myself that I would overcome this. I needed to face my fear and deal with people as often as I could. Fortunately, I was accepted into top-tiered B-school (this was during the recession a few years ago so they took a lot of crappier students – me included. my undergrad grades were definitely subpar).
For these two years, I dealt with people all the time. Group work, meetings, interactive lectures, give presentations!, etc. I forced myself to be uncomfortable in order to comfortable. Yes, I broke out into sweat a lot and was embarrassed a bunch of times. And you know what? I didn't care. Not caring led to greater interaction with people and higher grades. I fought my way into 2 internships with multinational companies. They knew I had HH. I let them know right away so I could work without feeling embarrassed.
I also spent a semester in Asia. The humidity caused one to sweat just by sitting still. Funny, I felt I was at home since EVERYONE was sweating! I also met a wonderful European girl who was studying there. She became my girlfriend and best of all: she didn't care about my HH, which only fortified my confidence.
I graduated from school and was hired to work for my former boss who started his own company. He didn't care that I had HH, as long as the work got done.
This fall, I'll be moving to Europe to be with my girlfriend. I landed a position with a multinational. They flew me to Europe where I had to interview with 9 different managers over several days. Of course I was perspiring like crazy but I didn't give it a second though. I demonstrated my skill sets and knowledge. They liked me and now I'm moving.
It's a little long...sorry. It's a bit American success story + overcoming HH. I just wish I had overcome this ailment much sooner. Then again, I didn’t have the financial resources to do so when I was younger.
What I've learned:
- You can’t change it. You can mitigate it but you still have to live with it. I personally use Avert sometimes.
- Keep pushing yourself outside of your comfort zone. Those who are shallow enough to care if you have sweating hands, they are not worth your while.
- Keep a healthy diet. Don’t eat fattening foods (it will aggravate your acne if you have facial HH like me)
Too long, I know. Good luck all.
