stopPicking.com + tips

[guestguest]

Hello all,

Thank you for an inspirational site--it is comforting to know that others suffer from similar issues. I am writing to ask if others have used stop picking. com, and if they have found it useful. I am reluctant to spend money on a site that might not be all that helpful for someone like me, who is more or less aware of her picking episodes, and who also knows about many of the behavior modifications used to combat the illness, such as clenching fists or using a rubberband on the wrist. Thank you for any advice you can offer.

On a different note, here are some tips that I have found useful. Some of these might be listed already in previous messages, but double listings can't hurt if the behaviors will help someone! They are:

-use a candle in the bathroom and when showering
-wear gloves
-use washclothe in the shower, or anything EXCEPT your hands to wash yourself
-if you are about to get into the shower and feel a dire need to pick, turn on the hot water immediately--even if you begin to pick, the room will steam up so that you are unable to
-wear a rubberband around your wrist and snap it when you touch your skin
-never rest your head in your hands, as this might lead to picking
-speak out loud encouraging yourself not to pick
-exercise
-make yourself busy! staying in the house alone is never good for skin pickers
-meditate for 5 minutes every day, picturing yourself with healthy, glowing skin

These are just some of the hundreds of techniques I have tried. Taken together they have helped me immensley; I have gone from picking around an hour or so a day to picking once every three days or so for around twenty minutes. Still, there is more work to be done, and that is why I am asking about stopPicking.com

Peace and love to all ~

[Me2]

Hi!
I am on stoppicking.com. I have found it helpful for keeping track of how I am doing and for goal setting. It does give some helpful tips, but they aren't all practical. Also, it can be very depressing to honestly keep track of minutes spent picking when you are having a difficult time controlling it. I stopped using site when I got up to 3.5 hours of picking per day during exam time... I could start again now that my life is a lot less stressful.

Hope that was helpful-try it out for a month and see how it works for you!

Fay

[Nicole]

I'd say stopPicking.com is definitely worth the money. The information on the site is better and more specific for skin picking than I think you'll get from your average counselor / dermatologist/ or whatever other professional you might try to get help from. It gives you a lot of strategies that you can use, and it is focused on behavior change.

When I consistently use the site I improve. Yes, logging minutes spent picking can be a bit depressing when you see then numbers, but the way I look at it. I already feel down when I'm picking a lot because I know I'm spending a lot of time doing it and that I'm avoiding people/activities because of it. When I get myself in the habit of logging in and recording the time spent, it helps me to stop myself later on. I tend to start picking consciously, but then kind of go into a "trance" and lose track of time. This makes me more aware of how much time I'm losing to this and helps me to stop. Also, the coping strategies help when I use them. But I have to use them. Sometimes, I fall off, I quit using the strategies, quit logging in and I find myself slipping back more into my older patterns. But once I make an effort to apply the techniques, I see progress.

I first discovered the site in 2006 when i was in college, but I did a study abroad program where I didn't have much computer access and so I discontinued the program almost right after I found it. Then just forgot all about it.

Flash forward several years later, I am still struggling with skin picking. One day after a particularly bad episode I look for help again online and rediscover the site. This time I really tried to give it a chance. I made an effort to log in everyday (or almost every day), to try to use one coping strategy consistently, to be more aware of what I'm thinking before I start picking and during picking. When I put in the effort, I get results. It's not perfect, I'm not pick free yet, but I do so much better when I use this program. I have so much more control and I am so much more aware of my behavior. But it takes work! It doesn't work when I quit logging in or quit practicing a strategy. But when you put in the effort, it really does help.

Since then I've had the chance to talk with a counselor about skin picking and when I described the stopPicking.com program she said that it sounded like it was based on techniques proven by research to help with behavior change and reducing anxiety.

If you are struggling with skin picking, please try this site. I really think it is the best thing we can do for ourselves in terms of treatment. I'm just a subscriber to the site, but I am such a strong supporter of the site because I've dealt with skin picking for over 15 years now and this is the best thing I have ever found. This actually helps me reduce my picking behavior. I wish I had given this a chance those years ago when i first found it, but I'm using it now and that's what matters. If you are struggling with this, please try it. If you give it a chance and make an effort to try the techniques, it will be the best $30 you've spent in a long time.

Good luck!