Something else to do in front of the mirror.

[anonymousartist]

I'm a very mirror oriented person for some reason (my bathroom mirrors all have obstacles to getting too close though, but I tend to pick up a compact out of habit upon walking into the bathroom and grazing my skin a bit).

But anyway, last night I decided to pick up a hairbrush instead. I just stood around, did whatever thinking process it was I probably needed to do by picking, and brushed my hair for maybe 5-10 minutes.

It's not that my hair needed that much brushing (and I couldn't get away with that all day because it's too thin and would be really greasy by the end of the day if I did) but it gave me physical occupation (plus hairbrushing is a good massage for the scalp). Afterward I found myself quite relaxed.

Perhaps applying a face cream in the bathroom or doing a facial massage could be just as nice. I think the key is giving ourselves something to do that is very self-oriented and takes enough time for the brain to do whatever it was going to do while we're picking.

[sunshinefunk]

I agree with you. Doing something else to distract helps a lot. Every time I feel I'm getting too close, I force myself to look at my eyes. I try to look deeply into them, try to focus all my energy to the color and shape. I ask myself "Do you really want to pick?" and since I'm looking right into my eyes, I know the answer is "no". I stare at them until I leave the mirror. It also helps to stay at least a few feet away while doing this.
Sunshine

[M]

Great ideas, both of you!! Another idea that someone mentioned was singing in the bathroom. I am going set up a radio/cd/tape player just outside of the bathroom, which I can turn on just as a walk into the bathroom. This, I hope, will keep me focused on the music, rather than on my face. Another thing that popped into my mind when you guys mentioned your ideas was having a messager in the bathroom/near the mirror that you could turn on and use on your hands/face/body which would give you lots of stimulation in a faster amount of time. Oh, and another idea that just appeared . . . wrist weights on your wrists for those of you who graze and don't realize it or for those of you who tend to get "stuck" in the mirror. The weights will either draw your attention to what your hands are doing, by offering you muscle feedback when you lift your arms to your arms/face or, when in front of the mirror, your arms will get fatigued much faster, shortening your pick sessions or stopping them altogether. Someone also mentioned wearing a bracelet that makes noise (has little bells on it or something) to alert you to what your hands are doing.

[anonymousartist]

I like the radio idea! I have a clock radio in the bathroom (sometimes I turn it on in when I'm taking a bath or something).

I think maybe I'll turn it on kinda low (so it doesn't annoy me when I'm not in the bathroom) and try leaving it on at a constant. I doubt it uses all that much electricity and I think it'll be a lot harder to lose track of "reality".

Plus, when the rock stations aren't sucking I might get to hear some good music