New Person Here!

[CDM]

Hi there, i'm new. I've been waiting for my account to be activiated for days now but I assume there is no moderator..?

Anyway, after reading nearly this whole board I have discovered that the large majority of you are female. To throw a cat amongst the pidgeons, I'm male, 23, I live in Australia.

I started scratching my skin about 4 years ago, that slowly developed into picking. I dont pick my face, but I pick my legs uncontrollably. Especially when i'm in bed. My elbows are the same. I probably do it for about an hour everyday. I originally thought it was just a bad case of Eczema. So i went to the dermatologist a couple of times to get cleared up, but then it kept coming back. Not by itself, it took me a while to realise that I was making it come back by picking, and that skin picking was actually a semi-common problem.

So here I am, upon my realisation that I pick my skin to deal with my problems, wondering what the hell to do with myself. My legs are always a mess, I have had some scabs on my legs for nearly 1 year now. As hard as it is to admit that I have a problem I feel there is a long upward road ahead of me to rid myself of the problem.

On that note I intend to start my journey to healing here, and work my way forward.

Aren't the puddles of life wonderful!

Signat

[ashenn]

hello buddy, welcome.

always nice to have boys around. ;D

[anonymousartist]

...australian boys at that

[dandelionforgottosigninagain]

I have to agree with ashenn and anonymousartist! hehe. Im also 23, but female, and on the other side of the world. I still can't believe that I am an adult now and still pick my face. It makes me so mad that people probably assume I have bad acne. I know if I didn't pick I could have fairly nice looking skin. I feel sorry for those of you in nice climates, I enjoy having winter here in Canada so I can bundle up and not feel like everybody is looking at me. Anyways enough of my babble....welcome and I hope we can all help.

[ashenn]

i wanted to add that although it is difficult to quit, the results are definitely worth it.

and it's a long, long road, for sure-- but repetition is the key. you have to teach yourself to live differently. after a period of doing things the way you WANT to do them (not picking), your psyche will begin to prefer the new way, and it will be easier to keep ahold of. we're here for you-- the boards really do help if you're not self concious about it.