When I was using, my physical appearance reflected the abuse I was doing to my body....I was bloated in the face, but malnourished in the body. I had blotchy red skin and often a red nose and always red eyes. Acne breakouts on my face and some sort of undiagnosed skin rash on my upper arms...doctor thinks it was from alcohol "seeping" out of the skin. Dry hair that fell out in clumps and teeth were in trouble from vomiting and neglect.
Not to mention the unexplained bruises, cuts and other minor injuries that seemed to go hand in hand with my blackouts.
I look at two pictures quite frequently in recovery..one was taken while on a bender and I was blacked out in it....the other one was taken a little over a year into sobriety...it's true that a picture is worth a thousand words.
Even though I despise the black out picture, I will not throw it away..it is a good reminder.