You all have the power to stop

[almost cured]

Hello,
I have been picking my face since I was 10 years old. As I grew into my teens it was habitual to stand in front of the miror for hours picking and poping my face. I am 21 now and I can proudly say that I have picked my face once in the last 5 weeks.
I read a post on a site about a girl who finally had enough with the picking and went to the dermatologist and told the doc her problem. She said she wanted face wash to minimize the pores, and something to clear up the breakouts, and she said she was just going to "stop picking". I read this thinking to myself that i could never stop picking my face, for eleven years i have constantly picked, at school, watching tv, all the time, even my friends noticed me picking!!!! So one night after crying and seeing how terrible my face looked and being so fed up with picking, i called my dermatologist and went in. He gave me benzaclin and told me, he will do his part with the medicine for my face and i had to stop picking and then i did, I JUST STOPPED. YOU can all do this... you just have to stop. Don't turn on the light in your bathroom and just wash your face and put some medication on it. I promise you can all have clear skin and you all do have nice skin, we just pick it and hurt it and cause all the damage. So please, just stop... i wish i could show you pictures of how bad i would pick, but i promise if i could stop, you can.... good luck and just try it, it will work.

[ashenn]

there's this cool quote that i always remember when i'm about to pick:

"You will not change unless the pain of changing is LESS than the pain you're in NOW."

...and it's so true. i think it's really, really healthy that everyone feels frustration at their problem, because that's a signal that they're readying themselves for change. it sucks to be a picker. it sucks to be seemingly unable to appreciate your own beauty, but you know what? "Almost Cured," you're totally right. EVERYONE on this board has the power, the motive, and the initiative to stop. once that frustration hits you, use it to help yourself, instead of taking it out on yourself and making it one more reason why you can't let yourself be beautiful.

i stopped wearing makeup about 6 months ago. it's the best thing i've ever done for myself, and for my skin, too. i've never been so terrified of anything in my life, but i did it, because i KNOW that makeup is just fucking terrible for your face. your skin needs to breathe....it needs to be clean....how can it do either of those things when it's constantly covered in a layer of goo?? and i mean CONSTANTLY. i was sleeping in my makeup for almost a year.

we all need to look at the facts, and use the information that we know to draw a conclusion for ourselves. we KNOW that:

picking makes pimples worse.

picking lowers our self-esteem.

picking is a waste of time.

if we look at these facts, it seems illogical to do anything other than NOT pick. i'll admit that i'm not completely cured, but 2 years ago all i could do was stay in the bathroom for 3 hours at a time, and my face was literally covered in scabs and holes. now, after deciding that i needed to look at the truth (instead of the things i was trying to convince myself were the truth) i pick considerably less, have not created a scar or hole in my face for the last 6 months, and i'm more sevure in my appearance and SELF than ever before.

let's make this thread one of empowerment. IT IS DIFFICULT TO STOP. It is not impossible.

[Marie]

wow - your words are very inspiring, thankyou!!

I totally agree with you, we all CAN stop picking, we just have to realise that and implement it. If it was only this easy for some of us! I am currently not picking at my skin, but im not calling it ZT as I feel that by calling it that I am saying that, for just now, I will not pick, but that it could all start again tomorrow. Instead I am realising that I have to stop picking and I am! I think thatll help me more and ill keep to it that way!

Good luck to everyone! xx

[Canuck]

Thank you, Almost Cured, for being so kind as to write your very, very helpful and inspirational thoughts. You've given us all a positive message that we can all benefit from reading.

I, too, consider myself almost cured, though I'm not at the point where Almost Cured is. My picking is insignificant enough where it has stopped interfering with my life and where I don't feel like I need to look in the mirror every 20 minutes. I cannot begin to describe how free it makes me feel.

Everyone here, at their own time, will quit. It's a matter of finding the will, the inspiration and the right moment to give it all up for the better things in life.

[almost cured]

Hi Everyone,

I just want to tell you all how inspiring it is to see you reply to my post and to actually benefit from it. I am still withholding from picking unless there is a white one...(then i still tend to pop thoses). But I have not stood in front of the mirror for hours squeezing and ruining my face for almost 6 weeks. I also don't touch my face all day long trying to "fix" it either.
I really do believe we all have the power to stop picking and I want you to know that you have all been an inspiration to help me quit. My goal is to one day be able to not wear makeup out and feel completely beautiful without it, but so far i am very proud of myself. Good luck and i have faith in all of you!!!!