Out of control picking!!!!

[Need4help]

Hi good news so far I havent picked on my face for 3 weeks, my face looks better already. but still picking the other parts.

Thing is the scars on my face are still there. do you think that theyll fade ever?

[louisio]

This time 9 months ago i was a serious facepicker and couldnt take any more of it. I went to the doctor who put me on antibiotics and from there it has only got better. The meds and a new, improved cleansing routine, have meant there is now nothing on my face to pick at. For the first month or so i hated the scars and would spend ages covering them with makeup, but suddenly they just started to fade.

And now? I often go out without any make up on and i am proud of my skin. I recently went on holiday and was not embarrassed to have bare skin, and not have to worry about makeup melting or sweating in the sun or washing off in the sea.

So i just want to say DO NOT give up. A year ago i did not think it was possible i would ever like my face or stop picking at it and now i barely even think about it. Although my picking is not over, as i still pick at my legs and bikini line pretty obsessively, i am glad that my face is under control. If i can do it anybody can! Dont lose hope. You will have to put up with those scars for a short time but one day they will look so much better.

Lou xxxxxxx

btw Need4help, well done on your 3 weeks, thats fantastic!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Froglet]

Hi there,
The fact that people have csp is a surprise for many. maybe you could try showing your mum some info on the web. That might her understand that it is a real problem for many people like yourself. I had a similar prob with my mum, but when I showed her web pages about it, her attitude changed. It really helps to have people on your side. I too would hide my secret under layers of make up and clothes. I thought no man could possibly want me if they saw the way i really look. But when I found that I wasn't the only one in the world who does this, I decided that i should no longer feel ashamed. I have told my close friends, mum and boyfriend, and they have all been wonderfully understanding. And yes, despite the crappy skin I do have a boyfriend. If a man asn't interested in me because of my skin, he wouldn't be worth knowing anyway. It still causes a problem for me, I still don't like him seeing me when Ive done my worst and Im all lumpy and red, but he is helpful and tells me when Im unaware that Im picking - plus he looks after my tweezers for me! (I really cant be left alone with them, but I still need them for my eyebrows!)
Good luck with stopping!

[karategirl]

I've also been a skin picker for years, I pick all over, mostly my shoulders, face, and back...I have been in a relationship for almost two years, he knows about my picking. He doesn't like it and he lets me know it...not in a mean way, he just says "you gotta quit that, babe." The thing is, I know I must quit but actually doing it is seemingly impossible.
I think I just wanted to tell you that once you meet the right person, he'll be understanding, my bf didn't know about my picking a little while after we started dating so I did have to hide it. Now that he knows, I feel like I let him down when I pick, which is atleast once a day. I finally got a membership here and I'm hoping it helps. I desperately want to stop but I am addicted.
Bottom line though, the right person will try to understand and help, don't be afraid to get close to someone. Real friends are the same way, although none of mine know about me...I hope this is one way I can have "friends" to talk to about my addiction.
Thanks for listening and good luck...

[Happyface!]

Hey there. Great job on not picking for so long!

I also strongly recommend finding someone to help you fight this thing. After finding this forum last week, I decided to spill everything on my husband. We've been together for almost 13 years. He always knew that I picked a bit, but he had no idea of how many hours I would spend in front of the mirror, or how deeply I was digging.

He had to leave for a couple of weeks, so he confiscated all the tweezers and toenail trimmers before he left. If I actually need to trim something, I'm in trouble! He then bought a bunch of cleansers and acne stuff and said that if I can stay pick free until his return, that he would take me anywhere I wanted for a date! It's sort of like a small goal with a reward at the end!

I didn't know it, but he also told the kids that Mommy wasn't allowed in the bathroom with the door closed for any reason! If I do, they'll tell him each night when he calls! What a pain that's been, but also very helpful. After they're in bed is the worst, because I'm all alone and tired. That's where this forum has come in helpful. I just sit in front of the computer until I'm exhausted and go to bed. Yes, my world is falling apart around me while I sit here, but at least I'm not picking!

In the end, I know that his support, and that of this forum are going to help me beat this thing. I hope you can find someone to place your faith in, and that they will in turn, have faith in you! I also love the idea of bringing as much information to their attention as you can. You need to prove that this is a serious problem and that stopping isn't a simple matter. Good luck!!!

PS I think I'll change my name to something more positive like Happyface, if it's not already taken!

[twinkletoes6]

Hi everyone. I'm brand new to the site and I almost cried when I read all of these postings and realized that I was recogizing so many of these stories as my own!
Question about something that I haven't seen so far that I find particularly horrifying and shameful: does anybody take pleasure in tasting the blood/eating the scab?
Please be gentle...this is a huge step for me.

[minnie]

I'm reading a great book called The Habit Change Workbook by James Claiborn and Cherry Pedrick. It helps you design a comprehensive plan for yourself, including 8 different elements: keeping records, using a competing response, relaxation, trigger management, challenging avoidance, changing your thoughts and feelings, using social support, and giving yourself rewards. I recommend it to everyone!

[DangerousD]

"i just found out it is classified as an "OCD". you can actually be subscribed medicine for this skin picking disorder. tell your mom you need to talk to a therapyst or a psychologist or psychiatrist i cant remember which one percribes drugs. maybe all you need is to talk to someone one on one about this , that also keeps up with your progress too. i have the same problem, i am picking everywhere! and it got worse recently. i have a boyfriend and trying to hide it from him is very difficult. i am 25 and been doing it since i was about 10 or 11 years old.
-d

[DangerousD]

yes i do that too. i feel like i am completely disgusting but i can not stop. its like the taste of blood is so familiar now i think i like it. i am very new to this site too. first day. i am now wondering why this all started, what made me start. what was going on.
-DangerousD

[DangerousD]

the message above from me is about picking and eating

[t]

Thank you all for you honest and for your confessions. I know now that I have the power to quit and I will keep you all posted on my progress.

[Look in the Mirror with love]

Your problem is not picking, it's an unhealthy obsession with perfection. You're getting messages that you are attractive. In fact, your pursuit of perfect skin is probably the only really unattractive thing about you (those guilty scars were created by your self-hatred, not by your pimples, which would have disappeared on their own).

The problem is not the scarring, it is your inability to accept yourself the way you are. Makeup, skin peels, and treatments won't eliminate the real problem even if they temporarily relieve the pimples. They are just cover ups, and they allow you to persist with your unrealistic obsession with unattainable perfection. Even if all the scars were magically wiped away, your self=hatred will find a way to write itself all over you. You'll never be in control if all you do is remove the immediate temptation. The pimples will come back.

You need to learn to love yourself, pimples and all. Your family and friends already do, why can't you?

Behavior therapy might help. Maybe get someone you love and trust to stand by you as you look at yourself in the mirror. Look, but don't touch. Learn to like what you see.

[cagedheat3]

Hi everyone, I am 28 and I too am an obsessed picker. When I was younger I had a scab on my knee for over a year! I also picked my thumb so bad that I had to get a tetanous (spelling?) shot. After that it really became my face...I pick at my nose alot..blackheads really bother me. I have stopped before..even for a full month but I always seem to go back to it. Luckily I dont tend to pick the rest of my body and my nose just gets really dry from picking at it so I just load up on the moisturizer. I also like to pluck my eyebrows alot, it gives me that same comfort feeling. My OCD has also come out in other areas and is beginning to become a real problem for me. We have discussed the compulsions in here...but what about the obsessions? My guess would be that most of us are phobic in some way. I have a phobia of flying...I cant get on a plane. I also have anxiety attacks..not often, but I do get them. These are all related. The important thing to address is the issues that cause these compulsive behaviors...that is the only real way to beat them. I would encourage everyone in here to seek a counselor and address those issues. I am doing that now, I wish you all the best. God bless..
Cagedheat3

[Just Found Out there is Help]

What is the brand of Glycolic Exfoliate Wash and Where do you buy it?

Lola said:

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.

[Krismus]

I have always had an obsession with my skin. I used to cake clearasil on my face by the gallons and go to bed with it on. If I got a pimple it was like the end of the world and because I would pick and pick and pick it would end up lasting 3 months and leave a brown spot. I am now 36 and I have become obsessed with my tweezers and magnifying mirror. "Mommy's locked in the bathroom again" my children will say when my husband walks in from work. I can't get out of the mirror. Buying the magnifying mirror was the worst thing I could ever do. I used to be obsessed with plucking my eyebrows and "mustache". Now I dig at any little pore or bump I see until there is blood all over the tweezers and my fingers. I know I need to stay out of the bathroom but I feel like I am clearing up my skin by removing all the little bumps and imperfections when in actuality I am scarring my face and pubic region. I am so embarrassed by what I have done "down there". My mother sees me and gets all upset, "What are you doing to your face? Why are you doing this to yourself?" I don't know exactly why but its somewhat comforting to know I'm not alone in this battle. I've actually thrown my surgical tweezers out the window but always ended up retrieving it. I guess I should just tie my hands behind my back because I don't see any other way I am going to stop... :-[