Can't Stop Skin Picking

I am able to control this compulsion well enough that I can confine my picking to places that are not visible when I am clothed, but it is a maddening compulsion.

Some ways I try to "fix" it:
keep my nails cut
cover the scab with band aids
when i can afford it, i get acrylic nails because that makes it almost impossible to scratch

The worst part about this compulsion is that when I feel the need to pick and I consciously stop myself, I feel anxiety building up, and it continues to build, and is only relieved by picking again. That is the worst part. Trying to stop it only makes the compulsion worse.
And the picking truly does help to relieve my anxiety. I have tried anti-anxiety meds, at the suggestion of my dermatologist, but they are not the least bit effective.

I've been trying a different way to stop for the last 24 hours and it is surprisingly effective. Just breathe. Let me explain -



I've been in an intensive therapy program for severe cases of borderline personality disorder. Dermatillomania and other self destructive behaviors are very common with BPD. For the past 6 months, I've been doing meditation exercises and skills homework for BPD and while I was doing my homework this week, I was able to observe what made the urge so irresistible.



I search my body for something wrong with my eyes and/or fingers and when i find it, I empty my lungs of air. And then I don't inhale until after the scab is pulled or the sebum is extracted or the blood streams out. My brain has been thinking "pick, and then you can breathe."



All I'm doing is taking out the middle man :) every time I notice the urge, it is coupled with the sensation of needing to take a breath. So I just take a big huge lungful without picking first.



I wonder if other people with dermatillomania have this disorder because of how it affects their breathing. I hope this helps someone else because it's doing wonders for me.

I am 18 years old now and I probably started this compulsion around age 15. I have tried every single kind of face wash from clean and clear to neutrogena to proactive. But the thing is, I don't even really need any of that stuff. I feel as though if it's wasn't for my picking, I would have a clear complexion. I do it to myself and I know it but I just can't stop. I will come home and go straight to the mirror and start squeezing away. I will turn a miniature blackhead that no one would EVER even notice into a huge wound that is quite visible. It's not even just my face. I will pick my back, chest, arms, legs basically any little bump that I can get my fingers on. I try telling myself to stop because I hate the way I feel about myself but I just can't do it. I hate having to load on makeup every single time I leave the house just to coverup my marks. I am surprisingly a very confident person so it's not like this is the result of self-esteem issues. I read stories of people who pick as a result of a breakup or loss or childhood trama but I never experienced any of that. I wish I could pinpoint what exactly it is that drives me to do this to myself, maybe then it would be easier to stop. Neither of my parents nor 2 sisters have ever done this. I don't think I've seen a pimple of any of their faces ever so it's not like it runs in the family. No matter how many times I try telling myself to stop it's useless. I catch my hands feeling around my face for bumps at all times wether I'm reading, watching tv, at the movies or whatever. Actually come to think of it, the only times I don't pick is when I am at school or work because I am obviously ashamed of this habit. Maybe if I stayed busier it could do me good. but that wouldn't solve the problem because inevitably I will be alone by the end of the day. I start college this fall and I really want to break the habit before then. If anyone has any tips, success stories, or anything at all really that they could share it would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

Hey!



I can totally relate to everything you're saying here. I wear long sleeves at work because I've actually been asked if I was a meth-addict because of my scars. I'm not sure if you've seen my post - I did one recently because I think I've finally won the 20-year battle. My solution was gel nails. They're about fifty bucks to get on (make sure you get gel nails with acrylic tips - don't just get acrylic!) but the gel is so thick that my nails don't work for scratching anymore. I found that keeping them short didn't really solve anything, it just made me try harder to get the scabs off. But the gel nails completely shut down my ability to pick. It's a little frustrating at first, but once everything heals it's actually not that bad.



It only took a month for everything to clear up. It's still difficult to stay away from pins and tweezers, but removing my nails as a weapon has made all the difference. I REALLY recommend trying the nails. I have tried basically everything else: creams, therapies, whatever I heard might work I tried.



There is no easy solution, I'll tell you that now. I know if I took off the nails right now (I've only had them about a month) I would probably be right back at it, but over time I feel the need to pick less and less. In a matter of months I could be done with this altogether. You need to really want to stop, and you need to train your brain to recognize the picking activity as unhealthy, which is easier to do when you aren't doing it constantly.



I know it works for a lot of people, but I wouldn't throw medication at the problem unless you have no other options left. I've known a lot of people to have issues with anti-depressants and it's just not worth the rollercoaster if you can avoid it.



Most of all, Good Luck. I'm with you, keep us updated, you can win this.

I've picked my scalp since I was 6 years old, I'm now 21. I finally went to a psychiatrist and he prescribed me prozac. I knew I had to make more effort on my part so I put money aside to have acrylic nails, its really hard to pick with them on b/c they are not sharp enough. I threw away all the tweezers and instruments in the house and the urge was strong but my ability to do it was gone and it sucked!! 2 weeks went by and the urge became controllable and less frequent and after 2 more weeks it went away COMPLETELY. I have no scabs anywhere on my body now!!! I suggest you try the prozac or some other medication. but Prozac is used in treating this order and cured me so quickly I was amazed

Ugh - being alone is the absolute worst. I just joined this site and I'm having some really mixed emotions about it already. I'm super exxcited to know I'm not alone and super scared because I'm terrified I don't have the discipline to stop this. I started picking the day my mom taught me how to pop my first zit. Haven't stopped since. By high school, I was already giving myself horrible scars and sores. Today, almost 20 years into this, it's worse than ever. I am sitting at my computer - alone - just like every other day. I have used 7 tissues b/c I've made myself bleed that many times. This is unbelievable. I can't even cover them any more. I dread picking my kids up at school b/c I don't want to face anyone. I don't want to see anyone, don't want to go to lunch, don't want to socialize. I started taking an antidepressant specifically for OCD spectrum disorders. I have to say it did a world of good for my moods and my depression and the picking began to dissipate. However, I'm back at it. I am transitioning from my current med to another and think that was a bad idea to begin with. Time will tell. I have not tried any of these other methods yet but after reading all of these comments I immediately cut off my nails and put vaseline on my face.



I know I sound like a sad sack, but I want to say thanks to all of you who've posted so far. This is such a shameful thing it's hard to explain to those who don't know how it feels. I'm grateful for a resource like this one.



Wish me luck. :)

Ugh - being alone is the absolute worst. I just joined this site and I'm having some really mixed emotions about it already. I'm super exxcited to know I'm not alone and super scared because I'm terrified I don't have the discipline to stop this. I started picking the day my mom taught me how to pop my first zit. Haven't stopped since. By high school, I was already giving myself horrible scars and sores. Today, almost 20 years into this, it's worse than ever. I am sitting at my computer - alone - just like every other day. I have used 7 tissues b/c I've made myself bleed that many times. This is unbelievable. I can't even cover them any more. I dread picking my kids up at school b/c I don't want to face anyone. I don't want to see anyone, don't want to go to lunch, don't want to socialize. I started taking an antidepressant specifically for OCD spectrum disorders. I have to say it did a world of good for my moods and my depression and the picking began to dissipate. However, I'm back at it. I am transitioning from my current med to another and think that was a bad idea to begin with. Time will tell. I have not tried any of these other methods yet but after reading all of these comments I immediately cut off my nails and put vaseline on my face.



I know I sound like a sad sack, but I want to say thanks to all of you who've posted so far. This is such a shameful thing it's hard to explain to those who don't know how it feels. I'm grateful for a resource like this one.



Wish me luck. :)

The power of the mind, gets so hard to change the way we think sometims. I'm on week 3 of not damaging my skin on my arms, I'm motivated because I'm trying to date and don't want anyone to notice it right away. But my motivation only has lasted me in the past a total of 2 months, then I'm back at it again. I do realize that being alone plays a big part in this compulsion.

I am in Virginia and I pick at myself too. You all have inspired me to try to stop picking and to get some help

I'm also in AZ. wish there was more study on this OCD type disorder. I gather that I'm a perfectionist and when I see something wrong on my skin, I want to remove it. Seem like I pick at every pimple on my body then in turn making it worse. I actually enjoy popping pimples, but hate the outcome because I can't stop. What a sick and twisted snowball effect this is.

I also leave in AZ. I have been picking my skin since I've been a child. I am now 58 yrs. old. In my opinion, it is another OCD thing. I have other OCD disorders--over eating, over shopping, over drinking---everything to excess. I have been to therapy. I have told my Drs. I will TRY ANYTHING and I HAVE tried just about all OCD meds. I would love to be in a dematillomania study here in the SW area, but the only one I have heard about was in Mass.



The brain is an amazing organ. Heredity I believe has alot to to with OCD. The OVER things(eating, drinking, hoarding etc..) are all in my family. No excuse. I think it just part of my makeup. It's just sad that I have not found a way to control it or found any relief for most of my OCD disorders. Although some people have had gotten help thru therapy and medication.



When or if a study is ever done--SIGN ME UP !!!!!!

I have light scaring on my arms

I pick the exact same areas too! I am insanely worried about stopping and if it will scare =(

What I found that has actually helped drastically is telling myself 'i will beat this' instead of saying 'i will not do it anymore'. That is because when you put up post its, cover mirrors or other things it just reminds you that you have a problem. Its the same thing as telling someone 'do not think of a white polar bear for one minute', you will obviously be thinking about it because you are constantly checking up on yourself that its not on your mind. Whenever I crack and destroy my face, i get extremely angry at myself and even have panic attacks. So the next time i go to the bathroom i ask myself, is this worth me getting upset over? And if im really confident i will walk away from the mirror because a pick is not worth a panic attack or tears of frustration. What i think is that many people believe that one day they 'will no longer do it anymore'. It does not happen that way, it will take months of work and controlling. If you can narrow down how much you pick per week it will start building up. I punish myself by allowing myself to get very upset to remind myself how negative i feel afterwards. If i am very stressed or i know my skin has been breaking out more then usual then sometimes i will brush my teeth with closed eyes and run out the bathroom before i can have a look at myself. I avoid touching my face during the day because dirt from your fingers causes more breakouts. I also ask family members or friends to hide all tweezers and enlarging mirrors. If they are out of sight they are out of mind. I keep myself motivated telling myself i will do better next week, instead of saying i will not do this starting today. Little by little, small goals keep you motivated. Tracking it or reminders just keep the habit around because its subconsciously reminding you of the issue. Instead i put up pictures around my room or near my mirrors of women with clear skin, to remind myself of my goal and how i want my skin to look. By having positive pictures around it makes me more likely to want to skip picking today and read a book or do something useful. 'No' contains such negative energy, and treating an addiction should be done with positive energy. Other things that have helped both depression and some of my other problems has been Reiki and acupuncture. Although it is expensive, it is much more satisfying then talk therapy. I have tried everything in the book, including putting fake nails on, covering mirrors, putting a new post it for everyday i cracked on the mirror until i couldn't see myself in the mirror anymore, tracking myself on the calendar, holding stressballs so my hands are occupied when im by a mirror, etc. And what i find is that this has been the method with the biggest improvement. I have also quite smoking and dropped caffeine in order to decrease breakouts and decrease negative moods. In order to solve this problem i believe you have to change your life style, otherwise it is very unlikely that there will be a change if your doing the same routine day after day. Good luck to everyone!, everyone has different ways of dealing with this problem and this my input. Hope it might help and motivate someone =)

Just like any addiction, this is done because you give yourself permission to do it, actually. The only way to stop any kind of behavior that is negative is to tell yourself you are not going to do it anymore. It' the same with alcohol addiction or anything else like chewing fingernails, you have to tell yourself no and not do it.

When the picked spots are healing, marvel at that, and don't pick them. Use Neosporin for faster healing. After they are healed you will be so glad. Be sure to scrub skin well to release any hairs that may be trapped under dead skin, that is what most of the bumps you pick are made of.

I know all this because I did it, since I was about 10 years old, when I saw a bump on my leg. For years I did this, and when I realized how it affected my life, I stopped, of my own free will. I said no, to myself, and didn't do it anymore.

That's the most successful method for stopping anything. Just tell yourself no, and inside yourself, be sure to say "I don't want to do that anymore, so I won't."

I can't say I never pick at something anymore, but I will say I do not make it into something that disrupts my life anymore. Every once in a while, I feel that urge, feel a bump on my arm, or look at my legs or shoulders, but I don't start doing that again, because I said "No."

The support group for OCD/skin pickers is still meeting every sunday at 7PM EST. Call in #: 1-270-696-2525 / Access Code: 12128. There are people in this group who used to pick their skin and now don't. I had never met a single human being who was recovering from skin picking until I started phoning in. I find so much hope on this call.

It is difficult, and i would love to know a good way to manage to stop, I have also tried everything you have listed, and nothing helps, the compulsion is too strong. I am currently waiting to see if i can see a specialist at my university, and i would recommend you try to find someone to help too.