Out of control picking!!!!

[Need4help]

I'm 19 and ive been picking at my skin for years. I can't seem to stop myself. Any efforts i have made have always been short lived. i did try and avoid looking in the mirror before i would wash my face. It worked for a few days and then i fell back into the habbit.

My picking has spread to my back, chest, arms and now even my legs. Theres hardley any part of my body that isnt covered in scars. I use lots of makeup to cover my scared face and always coverup my body with long sleeved clothes and trousers. Whats more depressing is that i get alot of male attention when im in the makeup and covered up. All my friends think im attractive but they dont know the real truth about me. i am so unrecognisable without my makeup, and somehow i feel i dont even recognise myself anymore.

My habbit has become my life. i dont even want to go out with friends and live like a "normal" teenager. im affraid to be in a relationship with anyone because when they see my body they will see me as a freak!

i tried tio tell my mother that i have a problem, but she just thinks im being stupid. she just thinks that if i wanted to i could just stop. What she doesnt realise is that i can't, i really can't.

can anyone give me some advice on how to stop? i fear that if i don't i will truly destroy myself

[lauryn]

therapy
meds
inositol
read through this forum entirely

good luck

[FSA]

I have the same problem, and I've begun getting help for it.

I found anti-depressants to make it worse, because all they did was take away the guilt I got from picking, which in turn made me happy to pick.

Slowly, very slowly, I'm starting to get better. I find it helpful to set small goals, such as "I will not pick before school." Honestly, that's as far as I've gotten. I try my hardest, but it's just close to impossible to stop. It's so bad, I have to wear a hat every day to cover the damage I've done to my forehead.

I hope it gets better for you.

[littley]

Ive been pick free for three days. I removed the mirrors from the house that i most pick at. Also i try and not touch my face so much, if i do then i just look for lumps to pick. It's still early days, but i have to just tell myself when i get those urges "im not that person anymore".

TEXTGood luck, just don't give up. be determined.

[Teen1]

When im alone, thats when i tend to pick the most. i tend usually to pick during the evenings and mornings. so instead i try my best to have company around me so that i wont pick. Its a good idea to remove those mirrors which you pick most at also.

On the whole i find when someone else is there i can forget my picking habbit for a while and when i do get the urge i can't exactly pick with someone there.

[XXXX]

Vitamin A and E are good for your skin and help with its natural repairing.

Make sure you cut your nails really short as that helps minimise the damage you do to your skin.

Skin picking is as we all know here a nasty habbit, but what we all have to do is change are daily routines so that we're more preoccupied with other things and dont have much time to pick anymore

[Lola]

I too have been a picker for years. I have large pores and when I pick I feel like I'm "cleaning out" my face by removing all the stuff that doesn't belong there. I seem to strive for that clean, smooth feeling you get afterwards... minus all the damage that picking causes.
In an effort to stop picking, I recently invested $20 in a facial sauna and it has worked miracles. My treatment: before bed, I wash my face then go straight to the sauna with face still wet (no mirror checking). I put towel over my head and give it a good 6-10 minutes steam. Then I rinse with cold water. After patting my face dry, I use a Glycolic Exfoliate wash (I leave it on for a minute or two) and then wash off with a washcloth (I don't scrub excessively hard, but just enough to get off the top layer of dead skin). Then I pat dry again and believe it or not, I use a smudge of vaseline (yes, that's what I said Vaseline). Vaseline has terrific healing power. Honestly, when I wake up in the morning, my face is smooth, almost unblemished (the redness is significantly reduced) and acne is visibly healing.

Steaming is a Natural way to clean out pores- I get the clean feeling I crave and my pores don't clog as much (ergo, a lot less breakouts to play with). It has been so beneficial to my skin and I highly recommend it.

[lauryn]

great advice lola

[Louisio]

Hey Need4Help,

I totally understand how you feel.
I have overcome a lot of my picking and now pick at just my legs and bikini line. I do this really badly, so that i often have sores, wounds and red scars there. Apart from the areas i pick, i am happy with the rest of my body and, like you, get lots of male attention. But i find my habit so disgusting and the scars etc so ugly that i can never even contemplate letting anyone see the area. Which means i dont let anyone into my life. And i cant tell any of my friends because it sounds so stupid. I havent had a boyfriend for over 3 years because of this and i am very lonely. What makes me feel worse is knowing that all this has been caused by myself - it is my own fault that i am alone and unhappy.

At least we do have somewhere to vent our feelings, it is slightly reassuring to know that there are people with a similar plight to ours and we are not completely alone in the world.

[Need4help]

Thanks guys the advice is much appreciated.

Well the picking aint as bad but I still have a long way to go.

Good luck to those in the same situation.

X

[alex21 in cali]

I can relate... I'm 21. live in california, where everyone loves being 1/2 naked all the time. my guy friends, my friends... tell me I'm gorgeous, I like the way I look, too, in clothes!!! nobody knows the truth. the truth about why I wont wear tshirts, why I'll never go to the hot tub when they repeatedly ask me, why I will never wear skirts... (they all think I'm some modest tomboy....) I am alone in this and I try not to think about it but when I do it's so lonely and aweful. I pick my upper arms, my hairline, my back... sometimes my lower arms, but my legs and bikini line are the worst, and even my butt is bad!!! I was with this guy and I was gripped by self consciousness, never let him touch my butt, I knew even in total darkness he could probably feel that something was wrong with my skin.... when there is nothing to pick I still dig for imagined ingrown hairs. I'm glad someone understands...don't give up, ok? I'm not going to.

[Lon3lyBeauty87]

I am so glad that i found somewhere to vent my problems. I had no idea that there were people out there that suffered from the sam bad habbit I have. I csn tottaly reltae to this terrible habbit of picking one's skin. I red somewhere that it is a from of Obsessive Compulsive Disorder. We pick our faces as a form of dealing with our problems do to worrying and stress. After we see the damage it does to our body we still continue the same self mutalation. Why? Mainly becase we have started the habit and cannot control the urges to pick. Also some may fear that their skin already looks bad and by stopping the picking their skin may never truly be as flawless as they would desire it to be.This is just my analysis on the situation. I to am considered an attractive 18 year-old female, but no one sees the real me. I hide behind hair and makeup. It's like waking up everyday and putting on a disguise to fool your family and friends. My parents don't kniw how bad the problem is because when I'm at hom a walk around with facial masks on. I can say that I haven't picked my skin for about 4 days now. I have be using a sulfer treatment to dry up the dead skin and it is coming along nicely. I just hop that I can some hoe defeat this problem once anf for all.

[Mya]

Hi there. I cant believe I found this fourm. Never thought one like this existed. Anyhow, I know exactly how you feel. Trust me. I am a huge acne picker. I started doing that at 15 when my face was in complete break out. At the time I had no idea that it would leave such sever damage to my face. Unfortunetley 5 yrs later I still have the acne scars. Ive been trying to use products but they never made them fade away completely. My best suggestion is to get a product that has hydroquine 2% and leave your face alone. i know its hard but trust me its well worth it. Good LUck

[seiger]

My picking is totally habitual. i do it without realising. its comforting that im not alone in this struggle.

i know im not just a freak, i feel more determined than ever to put an end to this.

Its time to take control of my life again!

[pRiMaL]

TEXT So rite, its about gaing some control again. Im sur evry1 ere wants their life back. so do i