Something New to Get Obessed About : ) !!!

[M]

I am so excited to tell you everyone about this . . . About a year ago, I began to visit this site with facial skin picking problems (20+ years of it). I had lost 50 pounds previous to me first visiting this site and that began my quest to continue to better myself. I believed that if I could change my terrible eating habits into healthy lifelong habits (and not overnight, I might add), I could find a way to turn my skin picking habits into a more positive habit. Your site was such a blessing to me, in fact, I had prayed about tackling my face picking habit as my next step after losing weight, and shortly thereafter discovered your site - it was the first time I had ever heard of others with the same problem . . . After visiting your site quite often, I began to come across some things that worked for me . . .

First, I found a good skin cleaning regimin that I have been able to stick to after trying many different things:
1. Wash make up off with "Olay Foaming Face Wash" while in the shower before going to bed so that I am not in front of a mirror.

2. Dry off body/face standing back from the mirror.

3. Go directly to "Olay Refreshing Toner" and apply with a cotton ball (no fingers touching skin).

4. While skin is still drying, get either "Alpha Hydrox" AHA Enhanced Cream or "Night of Olay Firming Cream" (I switch off each night) ready, and apply with hands as face dries from toner. (I'm still standing back from the mirror, so as to not get too close).

5. Grab comb and comb hair. Get dressed for bed and greet husband with a smooth untouched face. (My reward : ))

6. Upon waking and after using toilet, grab cottonball (no fingers) and apply toner again.

7. While toner is drying, take "Oil of Olay Complete Moisture Lotion with UV Defense for Sensitive Skin" and apply with hands.

8. Immediately apply foundation and concealer and powder and then the rest of makup.

Okay . . . that has been the routine that I have stuck to for the first time in my life for almost a year now and has helped me sooo much. I stil have bad days, but now that I have a routine in place, I jump right back into it the next day.

Second . . . I have begun to "show" myself that I cannot "just pick one" as I have kept track of my patterns/triggers and have seen how "just one" leads to my "whole face." I do not trust myself and, in fact, talk out loud to myself if I start to pick, telling myself to stop, don't do it, you know you'll do more, stop now or you won't, etc. At first, I didn't listen to myself, thinking "I know what I'm doing" or "I just need to finish this one," etc., but I've learned that stopping yourself in the middle of a pick session rather than waiting to "finish" does wonders to retrain yourself and demonstrate that power that you actually have. It gets easier and easier!!!! Same with touching your face and getting too close to the mirror.

Third . . . this is the fun part . . . several months ago, I became interested in Color Analysis due to finding a book on the subject at a thrift store, called Color Me Beautiful by Carol Jackson. I had heard about it when I was in high school and always wanted to learn more about it. So I read the book and started looking up more information about color typing/color analysis, etc. on the internet. I also bought the book Color Me Beautiful's Looking Your Best by Mary Spillane and Chrisine Sherlock. Over the months, I became obsessed with what colors, the depths and intensities, that looked best on me (blended with my natural coloring and made me stand out, minimizing blemishes, etc.). What fun!! I eventually found a site on the internet that anyone interested should check out. It has a free personal color analysis to get you started, as well as a messageboard to converse with others who are obsessed with finding "their colors." The address is www.stylemakeovers.com/. Please check it out!! I even ordered my own wallet with 30+ color swatches in it to help me shop for clothes in "my" color palette. It turned my skin picking obsession into a color obsession. Now I concentrate on looking my best in "my" colors, including make up, clothing, and jewelry. Now, instead of looking in the mirror for blemishes, etc., I look to see how "put together/blended" I look. In fact, (this sounds really vain) I look in the mirror more often now than I did before, but my face has improved, because I'm focussed on something "bigger" than just my skin imperfections. Now I'm sort of "verifying" that I look "great." Yes, my ego has increased some, but I feel so much better about myself - like I discovered something about myself I never knew. It's like a secret no one ever told you - once you find your "colors" (and the search can be long, depending on if you have others to help you, or you're doing it yourself, etc.) you wish you would have known about it years ago!! And, Guys, this color analysis works for you too!! Although it's geared toward women with the make up, etc., there is actually a book for guys on the subject, can't remember the name, though . . . but the info is pretty general for both sexes. You're either a Winter, Summer, Spring, Autumn . . . or more detailed , a Clear, Deep, or Cool Winter . . . a Soft, Light, or Cool Summer . . . a Clear, Light, or Warm Spring . . . or a Soft, Warm, or Deep Autumn. Please! Check it out, even if you're the slightest bit interested.

Lastly, I have been going to a chiropractor lately for back and neck problems, and after being given instructions on how to help my back, I realized that leaning over the bathroom counter for hours daily to look at my face, has not been healthful for my neck. Looking at my x-rays, my neck is actually beginning to turn the opposite way that it should and, although, I didn't tell my chiropractor, I suspect that my past practice in front of the mirror has contributed to this condition among other things. Just thought I'd add that : )

Hope this helps. Good luck to all of you!

[Carree]

M-

Good for you and thanks for all of the tips!

Change is difficult especially when you are changing 20 years of habitual behavior.....eating and picking! Congratulations, you are an inspiration!

Carree

[wildiris]

yes! congratuations and thank you for sharing.

[fcarea]

Congratulations! That is exactly what I experience when I start picking. I always think that I can just do one and think that I know what I'm doing. The fact is, it is nearly impossible to just do one and, for that matter, who really wants to even do one anyway? Even though I go over this again and again in my mind and try to convince myself to stop, it never happens. If you are not yet aware, skin picking is a trait of obsessive compulsive disorder. I recommend that you check this out.

[M]

Yes, that is where the label CSP comes from - "compulsive/chronic skin picking." It's just a "branch" of OCD. Most of us here would probably put ourselves in this category. I only wish I would've known it had a name years ago!

[anonymousartist]

I was wondering why my neck didn't seem to be in the right place.

Now I'm curious about how you lost weight, too ('cause I'm trying myself, and slowly my eating habits are definitely becoming so much healthier).

[M]

I called it my PDA diet! At one time there was a Weight Watchers point calculator and journal that some member had made up that you could download off the net to put on your Palm Pilot. Along with that, there were, and still are, loads and loads of lists of restaurants and their foods and Weight Watchers points. Anyway, I used this, along with a few other things: I had 6 months until my 15th wedding anniversary, and wanted to fit into a dress that my husband had bought me when we were dating. I had a wedding coming up in 5 months at which there would be people there that I hadn't seen in a year, so I could surprise them. Every morning/night, I would visualize myself as thin - imagining how I would feel mentally, physically, how it would feel to pull my small clothes on, shop in the "small" section at the stores, etc. - anything that would help me to focus on where I was headed. I also used my PDA to write down how much I should weight each month as I progressed (about 2 pound per week afte the initial 5). I did plateau a few time, even though I stayed on my "diet" while my body adjusted to the new weight loss, and then after about 3-4 weeks began to lose again. My biggest goal and accomplishment was to look at this not as a diet, but a change in behavior that would be life long. This helped me to take it more seriously and home and when going out to eat (which I did a lot of, and still do) . . . anything that I did to eat healthier and lose weight, I considered if I could do it life-long - if not, I dropped it . . . if so, I tried to repeat it over and over until it became a part of my new set of eating behaviors. I left behind that old thought of "can't wait to eat normal again after I get off this diet," which seemed to assist in my previous failed "diets." After I lost the weight and made all my goals, I then turned my focus to maintaining. I'd experiment with eating a little more until I got the right balance and could maintain very comfortably without counting points. Now, I'm to the point of being able to "pig out" once in awhile and just return to my stable diet without any guilty feelings or negative consquences. I just monitor myself, paying attention to how often I allow this to happen. Recently, I just started excercising, but quit, due to a neck injury flare up from a previous car accident. But plan to start again next week with a friend (good motivator!). One more thing, I have a husband who allowed my to talk about my daily progress/setbacks/goals/feelings/struggles to him constantly, while supporting me, especially when picking out restaurants to go to, foods to buy, etc. This was a HUGE help and support system. Also, I filled my shelves and fridge with low fat and fat-free foods, as well as challenged myself to eat as much as I could without going over the amount of points I was "allowed" for my current weight. I never did go to Weight Watchers, but read up on them. I would recommend this system of weight loss for anyone. It's very flexible, sensible, and healthy! It combines structure with learning about the fat, fiber, and calories in foods and how they combine to give a particular portion of food a set of "points." It's fun to find all the "zero-point" foods that you can eat freely : ). Anyway, check it out! And good luck!

[Shame Girl]

I myself lost 40 lbs on WW, it's a godsend..........

Now if I can only get myself out of that disgusting picking habit. I know it's an impulse disorder.......I ENJOY IT but completely hate myself for what it does. I wish my body would just heal itself so I can start my life over.

All the clothes out there are so skimpy and cute and yes, now that I'm a size 4/6 I can wear them but how when my body is torn up.......?

Your regimen sounds very similar to mine.........we just moved into a new house with a HUGE VANITY MIRROR WITH TONS OF LIGHTS>>>>>>>>>Tomorrow I plan on using just a night light to shower and get ready since I cant help myself anymore.

good luck to all, pray for me, I've had enough!

[anonymousartist]

M, thanks for replying about the weightloss

I have heard a lot of people were successful with weight watchers. I hadn't thought about getting all their methods down without ever going there. Very smart!

I have to agree that nothing I can't keep up with forever is a good change. I think I'm getting to a good balance at this point and making the changes was slow but I think it's a good sign that when I stayed at my mom's for four days and all she had was junk food I reeeeeally missed my vegetables and soy tacos!

[M]

Good for you, Shame Girl and anonomousartist!! Overcoming my weight, has really inspired me to see that I can do other "things that I think are out of my reach" if I can picture them! I really believe that if you can't even imagine what your goal looks/feels like, you will never know what you're moving towards or how far you are from it! I now, have to be able to focus on imagining myself at my goal (what it would feel like from the outside/inside, what my daily routine would be like, what I would see/think when looking in the mirror, how I would feel around others, how I would present myself to others, and how I would be looking back on my past thinking how thankful I am that I have focused my time/thoughts on other parts of my life in positive ways, rather than on my face). Then after imagining it, I have to just KNOW that that image is already here, I just need to "dress" myself with it!! Things that worked for my weight loss may be helpful in this process too! . . . like writing this very descriptive goal down on paper, meditating on it daily, setting small monthly goals, but also seeing it as life long and not just short term. Well, those are my thoughts for the day : )

On another note . . .

Say, you guys, this sound really weird, but I have noticed over the past few years that many of the items that I've collected in my house have a common theme - spirals/curls/curves. Even the wedding ring we picked out. If you look at my house, many of my frames/shelving/furniture has these details, especially the wrought iron items - lots of spirally curls. Okay, I know this isn't related to what we are talking about here, but I have become facinated to learn that there was actually a pattern to my likes (an obsession?). (I also like white porceline/ceramic embossed items, especially ceramic basketry. I love the admiring all the different textures.) Okay, to make a long, boring story short, I was curious to see what it was about spirals that were so interesting to me, so I looked it up on the internet, and I found this site (http://theemergencesite.com/Tech/TechIssues-Healing-Spirals.htm), which wasn't what I was looking for, but after reading it, I thought of all of us here on this site and wanted to tell you about it. It's an article that describes a different way of looking at the healing process from a circular view to a downward spiral. It's only a page long, but, I think it may be very helpful to some of us here. It helped me to see things from a new perspective! Check it out!