Welcome to my nifty Dreambook, a free guestbook service from New Dream Network and the DreamHost!If you have a minute, please add your entry to those below by signing my Dreambook!
| Name: | Ari |
| E-mail address: | ari@yahoo.ca |
| Homepage URL: | http://web51.happyhost.org/scent-of-a-woman/movie-quotes.html |
| Comments: | Pretty nice site, want to see much more on it! :) Congrats on your work. Sorry I wont get to see you at worlds. http download ... motion picture ... |
| Name: | Cher |
| E-mail address: | dkerchner1@comcast.net |
| Comments: | Had a major problem with skin picking, now it's just a little problem. Thank Goodness. I just found out a year or so ago this is a problem that other people also have. I thought it was just me.... |
| Name: | Michelle |
| E-mail address: | chellay69@comcast.net |
| Comments: | hope i didnt scare you guys away |
| Name: | Michelle |
| E-mail address: | chellay69@comcast.net |
| Comments: | ive been gone from here awhile but im back to tell you that i have 4 years free of cutting my face..........there is hope and it took someone getting in my head while i was doing it but it worked .....my boyfriend was a daily therapist for the first year we were together ...he didnt judge he just obsevered and kept saying things in a way that made me want my life better.... i am proud at how far ive come after the 15 years of torture i put myself through....... had i not found this site 5 years ago i never would have known there were others out there just like me.....when i read the entries of 12 year olds all the way to women in their 60's , it scared me to think this could last all that time ...being sad like that for that long? tortured by my own hands at the mercy of my soul? NO THANK YOU!!!! i have better things to do than hurt......you have to reprogram your coping skills it is necessary to beat this!!! i assure you that my demeanor and mentallity is so normal now that these behaviors have changed ....I freed myself and you can tooo!!!! |
| Name: | michelle |
| E-mail address: | chellay69@comcast.net |
| Comments: | ive been gone from here awhile but im back to tell you that i have 4 years free of cutting my face..........there is hope and it took someone getting in my head while i was doing it but it worked .....my boyfriend was a daily therapist for the first year we were together ...he didnt judge he just obsevered and kept saying things in a way that made me want my life better.... i am proud at how far ive come after the 15 years of torture i put myself through....... had i not found this site 5 years ago i never would have known there were others out there just like me.....when i read the entries of 12 year olds all the way to women in their 60's , it scared me to think this could last all that time ...being sad like that for that long? tortured by my own hands at the mercy of my soul? NO THANK YOU!!!! i have better things to do than hurt......you have to reprogram your coping skills it is necessary to beat this!!! i assure you that my demeanor and mentallity is so normal now that these behaviors have changed ....I freed myself and you can tooo!!!! |
| Name: | amie hill |
| E-mail address: | ahill@bmts.com |
| Comments: | I hope this site will give me a little help and peace |
| Name: | Nicole K. |
| E-mail address: | kittykatz55@yahoo.com |
| Comments: | WOW...... I'm so grateful for this site!!! I really thought I was the ONLY one who ever picks scabs on thier scalp.... I think it started when I was in 4th grade, I got a scab on my head because it got scratched or something, and once I picked at that, a bunch more started all over my scalp. I've never told any of my friends because I'm really embarassed about it.... I read other people's comments and they sound just like me!! I admit that I've been picking for 5 years now, and I HAVE to stop!!! Sometimes I wake up in the middle of the night, my eyes are still closed, and I pick at my head. I'm so ashamed. It's the first thing I do in the morning, and before I got to sleep. A lot of the time it's very subcouncious, and I just kind of daze off while doing it. It hurts to wash my hair, but even the pain doesn't stop me from picking.
Thank you for this site!!! I'm looking for support. |
| Name: | JW's mom |
| Comments: | Have any of you heard about using a low dose of Seroquel to help decrese the urge to pick?? |
| Name: | Hillary |
| E-mail address: | slipjighm48@gmail.com |
| Comments: | I'm with you all 100%. I have had my highs and lows but its never gone away and it is almost impossible for me to go a day without picking. I have been doing it so long I even have talked myself into believing that there's nothing wrong with picking a few a day. I don't have your typical acne. I get excess sebum in my pores which causes (when you look closly or in certain light)tiny lighter bumps that drive me insane. When you squeeze them the sebum comes out. Even picking just one makes me want to do more badly. I also get huge cysts and acne on my chest, shoulders, and back when I work out. I am a personal trainer and dance teacher, so this doesn't exactly help. I really want to know why I am so fascinated with squeezing these. I know it won't help but I have the worst urges. I feel somehow dirty if I don't do it. I feel like I am cleansing my skin when I squeeze my pores even though I know the after math will be worse and I'm not in fact cleaning myself. I can't stand non- smooth skin. I go into a deep trance. I believe I won't be on a very succesful key to recovery until I can find a way to dislike what I am doing. Sure I dislike the aftermath but I enjoy it while I am in that trance and the urge in unbearable. Even though it hurts I almost enjoy the pain if the stuff comes out of the pore or whitehead. The bigger the head or bump is the worse the urge becomes.I hate when others don't undertsand that this is actually a real disorder and not just a bad habit. I, like so many of you have avoided social situations and spent hours in front of a mirror until my face is bleeding and stinging and until I look like I got a horrible sunburn. I bet a lot of you can relate to concealer being a must have and your enemies being pools and floresent mirrors. I pray that all of you recover and that we all get the help and support we need and deserve. |
| Name: | Michelle |
| E-mail address: | chellay69@comcast.net |
| Comments: | havent been here in awhile |
| Name: | Jenae |
| E-mail address: | jenae@aol.com |
| Homepage URL: | http://suaso.9k.com/percodan/percodan-overnight.html |
| Comments: | Wonderful and informative web site. I used information from that sites pin worms ... er metformin ... its great. |
| Name: | Ultimate Picker |
| Comments: | We need to STAY STRONG and over come this...together we can do it...ITS NOT WORTH THE PAIN WE PUT OURSELVES THROUGH....WE MUST STOP and WE CAN DO THIS!
I would love to exchange emails with others for support... |
| Name: | Kirsten Cummins |
| E-mail address: | kirstenlynnmaria@yahoo.com |
| Comments: | THANK YOU for this webpage. I have gotten a lot of information and support through this site and others linked to it. I feel so much better knowing I'm not alone with this. |
| Name: | maura |
| E-mail address: | mauras11@Optonline.net |
| Name: | Carly B |
| E-mail address: | Kirbcin22@aol.com |
| Comments: | Hi everybody. I started picking at my scalp several months ago. But was diagnosed with OCD several years ago as well as Depression. Ive read that the OCD and skin picking are related. But i can't stop, now my scalp is infected and im on antibiotics. So i just wanted to know that im not alone, and there is hope for recovery! |
| Name: | Andy |
| E-mail address: | shupanator@aol.com |
| Comments: | Today was the 1st day that it occured to me that I might not be the only one that picks layers of skin off of my fingers. I do it pretty bad, usually on my thumbs but I do it on any finger that doesnt feel smooth. If I feel something rough, like a scab or an unlevel peice of skin I have to peel it off. I cant remember when I started doing this, neither can my parents. I think I started as soon as I could physically do it. They always told me it was a bad habit and I never saw anyone else with their fingers picked so I assumed that I just had a weird habit. I do it without even realizing it during every kind of situation, whether I'm stressed or not. Even in mty sleep sometimes. I also (at least twice a day) stand in the mirror for WAY too long picking at bumps or blackheads or anything that I see on my face, and I dont have any acne, I dont know why I do it. It always made me kinda mad when people would just call it a habit. It goes way beyond that for me, it is uncontrolable. |
| Name: | olga |
| E-mail address: | osuvorova@sbcglobal.net |
| Comments: | Good information! Would be glad to talk to people with this problem |
| Name: | christina |
| E-mail address: | clavoie@excite.com |
| Comments: | I have been picking for about 20 years. It started when I was about 12. I have been diagnosed with and anxiety disorder and OCD, and have gone through a fair amount of medication and therapy. The fact is, I'm still battling everyday with it and I'm so tired. Summer is here and with that comes depression. I can't wear a bathing suit, or shorts, or a cute little tank top. Sometimes I feel I'm trapped in my own body. I have all the scar creams and skin repaired lotions, but they don't work if you keep picking. Thankfully I have a husband who is amazing and tries to understand, but how can he, when I don't even get myself. All I do is hope that one day I will get better. I have to hope. Thanks for listening and good luck to all who struggle with this disease. |
| Name: | Chanel |
| E-mail address: | chanel.marie@yahoo.com |
| Comments: | I always knew that other people suffered from this, when I was a little girl I saw an episode of Sally Jessie Raphael about it, but there is a great deal of comfort to know that alot of you out there have the same inner struggles that I have.
I wonder was anyone else's picking brought on by a medication? I begin Zoloft when I was 12 and the picking began soon after, I've been off the medication for about three years and while the picking was at its peak when I was on the medication I still struggle with the digging and the picking and the gauging of my face (the worst for me), chest, upper arms and my back. The hardest part is that I try to stop because I know I feel so ugly covered in scars, but the scars never seem to heal and I feel so defeated. I think even if I stop picking I'll still be covered in scars and ashamed and ugly. I haven't been in an intimate relationship in so long, I long for romantic companionship but am horrified at the prospect of someone seeing my scars, and thinking I have some sort of skin disease, lack of hygeine or even knowing the shameful truth, that I have a mental compulsion. I feel so powerless, I'm a cutter too and I find it easier to control my cutting because its premeditated and concious, the picking is something I do subconciously, while I watch T.V, talk on the phone and read, until I dig too deep and draw blood then I am momentarily aware,I stop and reprimand myself and a few minutes later I 'catch' myself digging again, or sometimes I catch myself and I MUST keep going until I get the last little piece of skin or scab up and if I don't that is all I can think about, it consumes me. But for the most part I struggle with trying to stop doing something that I'm not even aware I'm doing, but there is comfort in knowing that there are people that struggle with the same thing. Thanks for listening and Good Luck to us all |
| Name: | Faith |
| E-mail address: | Faithogba2000@yahoo.com |
| Homepage URL: | http://www.facepick.com |
| Comments: | This site is very good |
| Name: | Faith |
| E-mail address: | Faithogba2000@yahoo.com |
| Homepage URL: | http://www.facepick.com |
| Comments: | This site is very good |
| Name: | nowiknow2 |
| E-mail address: | mlmbl2006@yahoo.com |
| Comments: | now i know the name of this condition and that there are others out there
besides some of my family members started over thirty years ago after a relationship ended Over the years,had mentioned to psych doctors, but no response had read articles on OCD, not mention of this till today, I googled |
| Name: | gld2bback |
| E-mail address: | gld2bback@aol.com |
| Comments: | where can i get photos. i have something for 10 years snd nobody can me what it is. PLEASE SOMEONE HELP. thanks G. |
| Name: | ant |
| E-mail address: | antharen@verizon.net |
| Comments: | I was looking for information to get understanding into why my daughter is picking her face. She is 13 and I do not think it is because of acne. It is beyond that and my mother picked her face horribly . I never did . I cant even stand to pick a scab. So I am glad I found this site . I never understood why my mom did growing up and now my daughter is . Thank you for taking the time to post this site |
| Name: | miriam |
| Comments: | Last night I came to the end of my rope ... again. Reading others' entries on this site, I know you'll understand the feeling of intense failure - that again (like almost every night) I couldn't control myself. I started picking at my face when I was in high school and have had ups and downs with the battle for over 12 years now. I found this site a year ago and was so relieved that I wasn't alone in the battle. I read about how this battle is similar to anorexia in that a person sees a distorted view of him/herself. I (we) think that our face is bad and that by picking it will make it better, but it makes it so so much worse! Last night I decided that I needed to take some steps to break this addiction. The first step is to write this public confession and cry for help. The second step is to share the seriousness of this battle with my husband. The third step is to ask him to help me while I'm in the bathroom at night (my hardest time of temptation). And the fourth thing I want to do is to reward myself with special facial care products after I've done well for a period of time (an idea I got from this site). Thank you all for writing on this site, and sharing your stories. Join me in breaking the addiction by not bowing to the shame. Confess to a close friend or family member. Seek help and let's not lose hope that we can break the addiction. |
| Name: | Sarah Moore |
| E-mail address: | childlikecharms@hotmail.com |
| Comments: | Ive just realised that im not the only one who suffers with this condition, and Im SOOOOOOO glad. Ive felt depressed for years because of my picking, but now that i finally found the brains to look it up on the net Ive realised that I have a problem and that Im not alone! Thank you to everyone who has been brave enough to let others like myself know that they are not alone. Im going to make a concious effort to stop now, wish me luck!
And thank you all again! |
| Name: | amanda |
| Comments: | I feel like writing here is a step towards recovery.Ive been doing it for about 3 years and always been ashamed of it and just like eveyone else wished that i could stop and have a normal relationship with my skin.but im getting better.im going away with a friend on holiday soon and i cannot, cannot go with a skin covered in cuts. i cant face anyone confronting me, alhough i know that people who see me a lot robably know.
anyway, here are some helpfull(and stupid) suggestions which are helping me stop. i started looking after my skin better, moisturising and taking time to cleanse.it just feels so much nicer when u can wash your face and you skin is smooth. i always leave the bathroom door open, when wahing my face. i try and wear my fringe up, because my forehead is the worst area.i feel like im sonfonting myself and cannot cover it u with hair anymore. i make myself stare at a little pimple i get and then look at cuts which i have made earlier and ask myself what looks worse.we all know the answer. when i want to pick i just scratch my head.it helps. let me know what you think.xx |
| Name: | KATHRYN hYLAND |
| E-mail address: | egg813fund880@yahoo.com |
| Comments: | I have suffered with skin picking for over 12 years am 31 and need help to stop |
| Name: | Leanne |
| E-mail address: | jammy_tart12@yahoo.co.uk |
| Comments: | I have Trich, OCD, depression as well, this site is interesting! |
| Name: | HELP |
| E-mail address: | moniqueturner96@yahoo. |
| Homepage URL: | http://TurnerMonique.comcast.net/ |
| Comments: | at times i feel so alone i pick for punishment and comfort what is this! How do i end a life LONG STRUGGLE OF PICKING hELP |
| Name: | Carol |
| E-mail address: | carol_lindsey2003@yahoo.com |
| Comments: | I thought I was the only one. I really want to stop !!! |
| Name: | Mel |
| E-mail address: | stuntbabe75@hotmail.com |
| Comments: | I'm so glad I'm not the only one who does this. I've been picking for about my whole life, but just realized what I've been doing and want to stop it. I also have observed my family and I see my mother and sister doing this too. They pick more on their hands though. Is this genetic? I do a lot of work on the computer and find myself picking and as soon as I realize I stop, then in a few minutes I start again. I'm now trying to just wear gloves to help stop the urge but what to do when it summer and gloves are just too hot? I'm just so greatful that there are support groups and people who know what we are going through and maybe one day my skin will be flawless! |
| Name: | Victoria |
| E-mail address: | tploe23@gmail.com |
| Comments: | I have been suffering for years and tonight i decided to see who else out there had this "problem" and i'm ready tp face it. |
| Name: | Victoria |
| E-mail address: | tploe23@gmail.com |
| Comments: | I have been suffering for years and tonight i decided to see who else out there had this "problem" and i'm ready tp face it. |
| Name: | katie |
| Comments: | its amazing to know you're not the only one, i've been doing this for about 15 years and its up and down, i have good days but ultimately never manage more than a week without tearing into my face (usually with nail scissors like last night) or my chest and bikini line.
sometimes it actually makes me physically ill and i take the day off work where im so exhausted from being up all night and too ashamed to go out. ive noticed over the recent years i get lower back pain i geuss from standing on the spot for hours....does anyone else get that?? is anyone really over this, i would love to see my future without this habit/addiction/compulsion. |
| Name: | katie |
| E-mail address: | katielou_reid@hotmail.com |
| Name: | Haley |
| E-mail address: | hazew5@hotmail.com |
| Comments: | Hello everyone!! I have read all your stories and can so dam relate to you all! I've been on this site since '03, and it's been a source of comfort. Like you all-initially I was like "Thank god I'm not alone!!!"
A recent issue has surfaced, it has been suggested that I might have dyspraxia. One of the symptoms of dyspraxia is the tendency to have anxieties/ compulsions............... very interesting. Can anyone draw comparisons? Google dyspraxia and see if any of the symptoms relate to you. Feel free to write to me personally: I've always found working with a buddy helps. I'm 27, from New Zealand. Had this OCD since I was 11. Can indentify with last post who is noticing changes to his skin. In the last 3 years I've developed hyper-pigmentation and bumps. All very interesting, my face is a work of art. Would I try and get treatment for it, to try and get it back to what it used to be like??? Probably- but it's not priority. People will just have to get used to it, and accept me as me. -Haze, who is still battling with herself. |
| Name: | Jonathan |
| Comments: | Hi Everyone,
I started picking my face when I was 19 and since then it has become the worst aspect of my life. I always have this feeling that if I stopped, everything else would be okay. At first I considered it a result of my anxieties, but I really see it more as a source. I am usually very social and confident and was throughout all of high school, but after I pick I hide away in my room, ashamed of my habits and scared people will see my scars. I would rather ignore people and offend friends than expose my habit. Some questions: I recently read that poeple like to characterize skin picking as an OCD, but it is really more of an automated behaviour as a opposed to a compulsion. I was wondering if people would agree that it sometimes seems to happen randomly, not just when you are anxious. Also, over the past three years, I have felt as if my skin was changing. I scar more easily now and the scabs don't heal as fast or as well as they used to. I am scared about what I am doing to my skin, scared that I am changing the properties such that if I don't stop the habit soon, my skin will stop healing start to leave really dark scars, age much faster etc. Is that happening with anyone else or is this a delusion? Also picking around my hairline seems to be causing me to lose hair. Anyway, I am really busy right now being in school, and this habit is hindering. Today I basically sat around doing nothing and picking my face occasionally for five hours when I had a lot of work to do. I keep telling myself to focus on what I need to do, but we all know how hard it is. I wish everyone luck in fighting this behavior. Never give up. |
| Name: | Tricia |
| Comments: | Go to acne.org and try this guy's regimen. I picked from 16 to 36 yrs. old. and when I used the product/regimen it got rid of the bumps/pre zits on my face and I won't squeeze if there's nothing to squeeze. I'd scan my face and if I couldn't find anything, I couldn't squeeze anything. That's what made me stop. I tried therapy with 3 different therapists over the years, I tried Renova, Retin-A and even Accutane for severe acne (which I did not have) and this guy's regimen is the cheapest way to stop. The site is very informative. It may help you too. Good luck. I prayed for years. I begged God for help and finally he did. Now I only pick about once every other night for about 5 min. At my worst I picked my face every day for a half hour to an hour before bed. Then I'd scrub my face till all my scabs were raw and my face would bleed all over. I exfoliated over open sores. The longest I've ever picked at one sitting was 4 hours - and I did that about 3 to 5 times I think. I'll say a prayer for all the pickers out there cause I know how hopeless it feels and it totally disrupts your life. -Trish |
| Name: | Unknown |
| E-mail address: | moeswifey@gmail.com |
| Comments: | I completely understand each and everyone's issue. Its funny because I didnt consider myself having an issue.I know that I pick and I sit in the mirror for hours. I have to pluck my eyebrows and pop pimples every night. Its wierd because I have my spot at my house and my fiance's. I remember one time, he came home for lunch and I and picked so much to the point I was red and swollen. He said "Baby! What happened to you?" He couldnt understand why I would do that to myself. I find relief, I feel like Im helping the problem. I am a master artist of cover up. I have invested in everything in walmart, Proactive twice and nothing has worked. I started using African products and it helps to soothe my skin and cleanse. I wish my face would clear up today but its wierd because I pick at my chest and my back too. Im just reaching out those that share my same issue and looking for ways to stop picking. I try to stay busy but I pick without knowing. I will be in the middle of a conversation and start picking. Well, this is my story! |
| Name: | Believer |
| Comments: | Only now, after finding this website, I realized I am addicted to picking my face...even though I've been doing this for years. Now, that I know that it's a disorder, I believe I can stop picking! I am strong. I know, I can do this. I will keep you updated. |
| Name: | Laurie |
| E-mail address: | laurie.passini@gmail.com |
| Comments: | I am 41 years old and have destroyed my face with picking. I found this site by googling "people who pick their skin" and it has made me feel so much better. I am really hoping I can meet (online) some people who are up against the same struggle. I really think that will help. BTW; Lazarus, how did the hypnosis work out? |
| Name: | Erica |
| E-mail address: | erica.lee10@comcast.net |
| Comments: | I could not believe my eyes when this web site addressed this issue of skin picking as a 12 step solution. But it makes sense. The form of OCD is the same as the next drink, or fix, or food or whatever the affliction is. I can't stand scabs on me. I pick them which only makes it worse. I can tell that stress activates it. Sometimes I'm ok and other times I'm not. I know wrecking my skin is not ok.
I have been involved in 12 step programs for the last 23+ years and have to use the tools for any situation I find myself in and it makes sense to talk about it! I beleive in anything in moderation and try to practice that in all avenues of life. Thanks for listening. |
| Name: | sophie |
| Comments: | i feel the same as everyone else here in that its such a good feeling knowing that other people are going through that same thing. i have had CSP for as long as i can remember. there are even photos of me as a little kid with cuts and scars on my face or arms. However now that im 17 i was only told recently what it was. I had suffered alone all this time thinking that it was my fault and that i was stupid for not having the willpower to stop. It disgusts me what i do and so i didnt want anyone else to know in fear that they would reject me. Having been at my lowest at the end of last year and yet not even realising that i was so depressed i was diagnosed with a form of OCD and then went to research it finding out about CSP. I am now seeing a therapist in the hope that it will help and although it has helped me with depression i worry that she wont help me with my picking. So im continuing the daily battle by myself and trying to improve. Some of my friends now know about it because i told those i trusted. However i dont feel that they understand how much it can affect people. I have had massive worries about later in life..will i get married? I dread summer because i long to wear strappy tops and skirts but dont want to show scars. I envy people with flawless backs. I keep myself to myself and avoid boyfriends incase they find out as i would be humiliated. But with help im now beginning to realise its maybe not as bad as i think. I have always thought its the picking thats affecting my confidence but have now tryied thinking of it as my confidence that is affecting the picking. I wish everyone else luck. |
| Name: | Leanne McMahon |
| E-mail address: | leannemcmahon@hotmail.com |
| Comments: | Thanks for all the tips!!! |
| Name: | Beverly |
| E-mail address: | bevnoke@msn.com |
| Comments: | I have had CSP since before I can remember. I am frustrated that no matter how many searches I do, it is impossible to find information on CSP (or SISP as it is also called). This site and stoppickingonme.com are included in the few that I've found.
Thank you for bringing attention to this terrible disorder! |
| Name: | frances |
| E-mail address: | ikayapmd@yahoo.com |
| Comments: | hi! my name is frances. It feels good to know that I am not alone. I really am so depressed because of my skin picking. I actually was over it for a time...after going through roaccutane years ago, I realized that most of my pimples were self induced. after roaccutane, I went on skin pick-free...now, i am on proactive just to maintain my skin but am recently stressing over my board exams. I am soooo stressed right now that I found myslef back into the deadly cycle of skin picking. Now I have a face that is wounded all over, swollen and hurting all over. Now i have realized that I am back into the skin picking again and I am so depressed. I thought I was out of it already. :( :( |
| Name: | Nancy #1 face destroyer |
| E-mail address: | mc_ox@earthlink.net |
| Comments: | I've went through many stages of destoying my face
since I was about 13 yrs old, the age most teens begin having acne. when I felt the very first pimple on my face, it was then I began touching,which led to picking and popping,and as a young teenage girl I had already began that low self image problem, and adding pimples to my face made it worse. I looked at my friends and my four brothers and wondered why I had to get the pimples bad, while they may have an occassional one. When I was young the word depression, compulsive disorder, panic attacks, was not in existance yet. However the next thirty five years I lived through the Vietnam era, through a marriage, child bearing, divorce and remarriage, and with all these things I enjoyed singing, playing guitar and RECREATIONAL DRUGS but still not finding self worth in myself even when my career, looks and my phyiscal appearance had improved. I never bothered my face when I was using drugs. I discovered speed and later the combination of speed and pain pills gave me courage to approach people, my job, and responsibility of a family and home, and the desire to strive for perfection in all of these things, including my looks. Almost six years ago, I checked myself into a Drug and Alcohol Rehab Center. Since then I've had to learn how to live all over, without the aide of drugs, which has been the most difficult and painful thing I have ever had to go through in my life. About two years into my recovery I was still moving slow, depressed, and did not return to work, but did become compulsive working in my yard, and that was it. I found it to be a stress relief, and it made me feel better, so I became compulsive with the yard (about an acre) but it was my only interest and I let everything else go, this drove me to being stressed, the inside of my house was a disaster, and my husband was lucky to get a meal or his underwear landered, and growing more depressed and guilty for letting everything go I began picking at anything that felt like or was a pimple , but not anything serious enough that I should of been digging and spending hours in the bathroom in front of the mirror, adding my own surgical tools to assist me such as a needle, tweezers, and I even used the hose on the vacuem to suction the oozing and bleeding that I caused. I would go to the bathroom at 10:00AM glancing at the clock once in awhile and letting an hour,turn into hours, and saying to myself stop and praying to God to help me take control, but I still went on. By now it was going on 5:00 pm and my husband was going to be home soon and nothing had been done in the house and no meal prepared. I had been going to a couselor and phycologist and pyhicatrist since I left rehab, but like my drug addiction it was humiliating and I was ashamed about my picking and it wasn't until I admitted to the psychologist that a recovery began for my face picking addiction, and with the combination of meds and a doctor I trust that I have quit. I also went through the house and threw away every needle, pin, and sharp object as these things triggered my urge to start the process all over. Although my husband more less knew what had been going on, he finally began coming to the bathroom door and walking in on me, which angered and embarrased me but at the same time contributed to overcoming this horrible thing. Needless to say, my face is damaged to the point, I've went to dermotologist and plastic surgeons that have basically said that scars are difficult to improve especially when I had mad so many of them. My face has indentationss in it and white blotches, and although I do not bother my face at all and have not for over three years I am left wtih these scars on my face, leaving me at home and isolated from the public as much as possible. My face has left me depressed and angry causing my relationship with my husband to suffer a great deal. I have had a light laser done but when I had it done, I was still picking and digging at the time so it had much more damage than it did at that time and I am also older. I still do not work now because of my face and will not go back and with one income, we can't afford to have much work done even if something would help, and insurance won't cover any type of cosmetic procedure, and that bothers me also, being as it was a medical condition or something not right in me that caused me to be self destructive to my face in the first place, and its not like I'm going to have something done like these beautiful woman who have a little wrinkle and run to a plastic surgeon. For me, my face needs treatment and repair that is medically and mentally needed to have any kind of life what so ever. I know their are people in this world who are much worse, my yougest brother was born with spinal bifida and has been confined to a wheel chair most of his life but has done amazingly well for himself. but I don't want and shouldn't be judged in the same catagory. If you know or have heard of anything or a treatment that has helped you or someone else, or if you know of someone to contact pleae share this with me. My prayers go out to all who suffer with self inflicted scars, that have left them mentally scarred as well. I truely do pray for everyone on this site and in some strange way, I feel encouraged to know I'm no alone and have a place to go to be encourage or to encourage another. I'm here in this world and no matter what I am glad for that Nancy |
| Name: | caddie |
| E-mail address: | caddiecat13@hotmail.com |
| Comments: | I am trying to not pick but it is really, really hard. I cannot imagine any therpay helping this problem. Anyone reading this who has tried anything that has worked, even for a little while, please email me. A hypnotist? A drug? A herbal supplement perhaps? My fiance is on my case and he told me that he doesn't want our children watching me do this. I refer kids to social services who cut their bodies to relieve pain yet I do a similar thing. I am 30 and now have cystic acne around the edge of my face. My doctor told me that the only way to really get rid of this crap is accutane. Accutane gave me headaches that were sccary- and this from someone who gets migraines. So I gave up on that. Any advice... that would be great. I am obviously down on myself which, of course, can start the vicious cycle of picking once again. |
| Name: | Cayce |
| E-mail address: | booberclm@gmail.com |
| Comments: | I just happened to be online and searching for the name of the so-called "illness" that my therapist tells me I have. She believes that there is an illness for those who constantly pick at their skin. I pick at everything. My face, my back, my legs... anything I can. I am so glad that I came across this page because I haven't found anyone else out there who does the same thing as I do. It's just really nice to know you're not alone. |
| Name: | Sierra |
| E-mail address: | Pigsterrocks@AOL.com |
| Homepage URL: | http://books.dreambook.com |
| Comments: | I am so glad I found other people who have the same problem as me. I have been picking at my skin for along time now and it only seems to get worse and worse. The worst part is that I really don't have bad skin but any whitehead that pops up I have to touch- it kills me! I also stress myself out horribly and get those huge cystic pimples and dig at them til I feel embarrassed and refuse to leave the house. I've been seeing a dermatologist who had the same problem and everything helped alot that she gave me. However, I've been on a pill that is supposed to push everything to the surface of the skin before it will clear so now my skin is more broken out then ever and I'm more stressed then ever. I find myself obssessed with other peoples skin and jealous to. I can't stand myself right now and need some serious support. Just to know I'm not alone anymore is amazingly comforting. |
| Name: | Sierra |
| E-mail address: | Pigsterrocks@AOL.com |
| Comments: | I am so glad I found other people who have the same problem as me. I have been picking at my skin for along time now and it only seems to get worse and worse. The worst part is that I really don't have bad skin but any whitehead that pops up I have to touch- it kills me! I also stress myself out horribly and get those huge cystic pimples and dig at them til I feel embarrassed and refuse to leave the house. I've been seeing a dermatologist who had the same problem and everything helped alot that she gave me. However, I've been on a pill that is supposed to push everything to the surface of the skin before it will clear so now my skin is more broken out then ever and I'm more stressed then ever. I find myself obssessed with other peoples skin and jealous to. I can't stand myself right now and need some serious support. Just to know I'm not alone anymore is amazingly comforting. |
| Name: | Sierra |
| E-mail address: | Pigsterrocks@AOL.com |
| Comments: | I am so glad I found other people who have the same problem as me. I have been picking at my skin for along time now and it only seems to get worse and worse. The worst part is that I really don't have bad skin but any whitehead that pops up I have to touch- it kills me! I also stress myself out horribly and get those huge cystic pimples and dig at them til I feel embarrassed and refuse to leave the house. I've been seeing a dermatologist who had the same problem and everything helped alot that she gave me. However, I've been on a pill that is supposed to push everything to the surface of the skin before it will clear so now my skin is more broken out then ever and I'm more stressed then ever. I find myself obssessed with other peoples skin and jealous to. I can't stand myself right now and need some serious support. Just to know I'm not alone anymore is amazingly comforting. |
| Name: | caddie |
| E-mail address: | caddiecat13@hotmail.com |
| Comments: | I was thinking... maybe we should try to pick a day or a week every month when we have to try extra, extra hard not to pick. And maybe everytime you catch yourself doing it you need to count it and report it at the end of the week or day? I did something similar by myself- I had to write in my journal anytime I did- the extent of damage- what I thought made me do it and how long it lasted... sounds weird but it helped... anyways I was maybe thinking we can try to do this for march 13-19th- all the teen days and see how it goes... any takers??? Anyone want to change the rules or suggest something else? I would just like to be a little accountable for once- and to people who understand... |
| Name: | abby |
| Comments: | wow. this is so great (but not so great) to find people that actually share the same struggle. i have been struggling with this for about 3 years now and it feels like it is controlling my life. i don't really hang out with my friends much and my boyfriend lives a distance away and when he says he will come and visit me i tell him he doesn't have to make the drive just to see me but really i just don't want him to see me because my skin SUCKS. i hate it i hate it i hate it . i do everything in the dark now, take my glasses off when i maybe look in the mirror just to try to get over the urge, but it is always there and i break every singe day. talking on the phone for long periods of time is bad for me because i will just sit and pick and then when i am done on the phone i will have to perfect my picking so i go into the bathroom, climb on the countertop and look into the circular magnifying mirror and just have at it. then when i am done i look at myself and freek out and wish i would have just left it. i spend a lot of time covering it up with stupid make-up. even if i am going to be home alone for a day i have to put on make-up to not scare myself when i look in the mirror. the worst is when i pick the deep ones and make-up does not cover well. i hide my face under layers and layers and nobody has a clue. i HATE getting out of the shower and looking in the mirror to see several red spots all over. one week my skin actually cleared up and i didn't wear any make-up. i felt so FREEEEE. i worked at the the state fair in minnesota last summer and basically lived there for 2 weeks with a bunch of people so i couldn't pick. i wore make-up at all times, after showering i would put my make-up on in the shower without even looking in the mirror. then when i got home i had an appointment waiting for me in front of the mirror and it was awefull. does everyone else wear a lot of make-up? |
| Name: | Haley |
| Comments: | Hi L,
thats an interesting entry. Please write back after the session and share your experiences. I have been on this site now since '03 and it's given me so much comfort and advise and even though I'm picking less, I'm still picking............. Haley |
| Name: | Lazarus |
| Comments: | I have heard that clinical hypnosis is great for this as it re-programmes the subconscious. I'm going in a couple of weeks and I'm praying it will work! Apparently it doesn't matter how much willpower you have - your subconscious will always win. And it's our subconscious that has decided that the picking is a coping mechanism, a way of escaping. So when we feel anxious, we go into the picking trance, because our subconscious tells us it's the best way of coping and protecting ourselves. Of course, our logic tells us otherwise! So hypnosis it is... |
| Name: | Virginia Worthington |
| E-mail address: | worthingtonvm4je@yahoo.com |
| Comments: | I am pick scabs on my arms, legs and chest areas. I am very thankful that there is web sites to help people like me to overcome this bad habit of mine. |
| Name: | Narla England |
| Comments: | Thank you for setting up this web-site! There isn't enough out there about this being a real condition at the mo and sites like this make you realise that wow, I'm not the only one in the world with this thing!
Actually, my sister shares my problem! But we both thought that we were on our own. I am however too ashamed and scared to bring it up with my doctor because I have a load of other health conditions. What do other people out there do? |
| Name: | Lin |
| Comments: | I totally understand what you are all going through. I will be so proud of myself when I don't pick and my skin actually looks normal..for a day. Then for some unknown reason I find myself in my bathroom about two inches from the mirror searching for the smallest bumps, not even considered pimples. When I am in the process of squeezing the pimple I feel what I can only imagine a drug user to feel after using his/her drug of choice--a high. The high lasts for as long as I am still 2 inches from the mirror picking at my face. Then, as soon as I am done and back up from the mirror to view my whole face, I feel so disappointed in myself. My face looks like I have have fallen into an ant pile and was attacked by about 30 ants. I get so mad at myself. I then use one of the 10 acne blemish products on my face, knowing that it will do nothing for the sores that I have left. Then the next day I apply as much concealer as I can without looking more like a freak and hope no one thinks that "wow, she really has a bad complexion." Why is it that we pick knowing how we will feel afterwards? There has never been an occasion where I have picked at my face and felt proud of myself. I have so many friends with gorgeous complexions and I am so jealous...but you know what, I think that even if I had their complexions, I would find something to pick at. I think this problem is absolutely OCD. If only we could stop cold turkey..... |
| Name: | Anna |
| Comments: | I thought I was alone. All this time, I had no idea what it was, I didn't even think it was a medical condition. You have saved my life with this page. I've been staring at the words for half an hour now, and I can't stop crying. But they are tears of relieve. Thank you! |
| Name: | Lori |
| E-mail address: | l_wells1961@yahoo.com |
| Comments: | Wow. I'm 45 and just started seriously picking about 6 months ago. I'm looking for answers and for help. I used to have lovely skin, but now it's covered in scars. I especially can't keep my hands off my face... and find it harder and harder to conceal it. I've got to stop this. |
| Name: | emily walker |
| E-mail address: | walker122@hotmail.com |
| Comments: | i'm desperate for help. i can't stop digging holes into my skin. i have no way to control it. i dread time alone with myself and know that i will literally spend many hours picking my skin. i've already ruined myself. my friends and family beg me to stop. they don't understand. i can't stop.
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| Name: | DIANNE |
| E-mail address: | ADAMS |
| Comments: | THANK YOU. I THOUGHT I WAS CRAZY. |
| Name: | susan smyth |
| E-mail address: | suzn_s@yahoo.com |
| Comments: | Glad I am not alone with this issue |
| Name: | kara |
| E-mail address: | stellaleann@aol.com |
| Comments: | at last i am not alone in the horror , the shame, the imbarrasment that is my daily life.... |
| Name: | Whitney |
| E-mail address: | Easterlingwhit@aol.com |
| Comments: | I can't even begin to explain to all of you how glad I am that I have found this website. I have been picking for about the past three years, since the time that I started high school. I'm not exactly sure what started this compulsion. It could have been the stress of starting at a big highschool or it also could have begun when mid-way through my freshman year I witnessed the death of a friend of mine. Nonetheless, each year it has gotten progressively worse, and this year it has been extremely bad. Some days I will come home from school and pick at my face for hours and hours until I am called downstairs for dinner. Then, after dinner with my family, I go back upstairs and continue to pick sometimes until two or three o-clock in the morning. It's so awful and it makes getting homework and school assignments done almost impossible. I've been seeing a psychiatrist and he put me on a medication called seroquel, but it only worked for the first few days before I seemed to grow an ammunity for it, and every time we increase the dosage the same thing happens. It has gotten to the point that I will dig so deep into my skin and for so long that by the time I finally come out of this bizarre "trance" my hands and face are covered in blood. It's so awful and none of my friends seem to understand just the severity of it. It's not easy to talk to people about something when they dont even understand what it really is. That is why I am so thankful to have found this website where there are people with the same problem that I have and who understand what I am going through.If anyone would like to talk with me about their problems regarding this issue I am more than willing to listen and will be of as much help as I can be. God bless all of you and every person with this disorder is continually in my prayers because I know that the power of prayer is amazing! |
| Name: | Janeth Linhares |
| E-mail address: | JJlin63@hotmail.com |
| Comments: | My 10 year's old dauther has this problem she picking her legs and arms most of the time, (no face thanks), I try to find a specialist here in south florida were are living, we close to Boca Raton and Coral springs cities, i already take her to a psychologist but no remedies yet.I found cold be 3 ways to cure or help: W/Medicines ; W/Psychotherapy, or W/Hypnosis.
If you can gime any idea or information I'll apreciate . Thanks Janeth |
| Name: | Melissa |
| Comments: | Hi everyone else who suffers from this too...I posted on here a while back.
I too have a critical parent...my dad. I think he has Obsessive Compulsive Personality disorder...since I was little I've either been a wonderful child, or like the worst, most horrible person in the world to him. I can do the slightest thing wrong, like miss the bus, and he acts like I just murdered someone. He always expects perfection from me and holds grudges against my mom and my sister and I because he thinks WERE critical of HIM. It's just such a messed up situation. I've been picking (and pulling eyebrow hairs) for a little more than 2 years now. It feels like it's taken over my whole life sometimes, but I am seeing a therapist and taking Lexapro....i've gotten better but it is SO hard to do well in school and apply to colleges at the same time. I know everyone else must understand this....what's so hard about picking is that it takes up so much of our lives. We have so much other important stuff we want to do, and this wastes our time and further stresses us out. But I am going to stop, cuz I won't live this way, I'm doing everything I can to make sure it gets better, and I really really hope everyone else gets better to. I wish God could just stop this disease in everyone on Earth who has it all at once, so we would never have to suffer from it again. |
| Name: | caddie |
| E-mail address: | caddiecat13@hotmail.com |
| Comments: | So I so think you are right Mea- my mother is so so so overly critical that it is scarey. It was what I grew up with. And I do have low self esteem even though I have no problem getting guys and I have never been called ugly except by my younger brother. I always felt not good enough, especially when I lived with my mom. Anytime I visit for a long period of time I go to that girl. It is someting I need to get a handle on.
I am the best at masking it with concealer. My friends used to come to me if they had a zit in high school because I was the make-up artist. I need to stop. I will be 30 in November and i need to stop. My boyfriend, who loves me very much, confornted me and trys to get me not to pick but he will inspect my face or tell me that I need willpower. It makes me angry, more self-concious and very shameful. If I feel something on my face and I obsess all day until I can get home to get rid of it which just means 9 times out of ten making it worse. And when I am trying to get just one nasty thing off my face I will sudennly realize 20 minutes later that I am sitting on the bathroom counter, feet in sink squeezing the hell out of my face. It is sick- it is embarrassing and I wish I knew a way to make myself stop. I am going to try to not pick the entire week. Let's see if I can make it that far... Should I try one day at a time? God, I feel so powerless over myself... thanks for listening... |
| Name: | mea |
| Comments: | Hey Mady and everyone, (All of us, that sounds good!)I wonder how many of us had critical parents? No doubt our picking disorder is partially genetic but how much is due to our childhood environment? Think about it. How many of our early feelings about ourselves were positive? Mady, I remember being (unfavorably) compared to another girl consistenly. Whenever I told my mother I made a good grade on a test, she would shoot back, "What did Hilda make?". If everyone who posts could let me know if they remember subtle or not so subtle negativity from parents, I would be extremely grateful. Dermatillomania needs to be included in the DSMV, so I've decided to do a little research on my old obsessive/compulsive skin picking. I read all of the old blogs again and saw one where someone commented that we just tell our feelings but don't interact with other guests at the site. Mags, are you still out there? Annette? Every one else that I forgot, forgive me, no short term memory. Thanks for all you do to lift my limp spirits in the worst of my picking frenzies. I suspect that we are all survivors of some type. It takes a powerful will to destroy a face or arms or legs. So we know our strength, we just need to channel it. I digress...... Please respond, everyone! Thanks, mea |
| Name: | mady |
| E-mail address: | neetfreekangie@hotmail.com |
| Comments: | Hi pickers! Well....amongst you is not only a picker, but also a "woozier". Wierd I know, but I've always felt wierd. I've gotten really good at acting normal, but it's a facade. Woozying is a wierd habit where I pick wool, or anything fuzzy (especially sweaters), and roll it into little balls. My mom used to clean around my bed as there would be heaps of woozie balls all around the bed from my blankets. I have been diagnosed with anxiety, and depression, and have been on/off antidepressents several times, and therapy. I feel like I want to conquer this myself, but I'm continually defeated by this overwhelming inability to be in control.
I have been picking since I was very young, and have always had low self-esteem, and been insecure about my looks. However, the wierd thing is, I've always been known as attractive, and had no problems finding men. I'm happily married, with a child, and have a great social life. Few people are aware of this problem (my sister knows as she has the same problem), because I cover up soooo well. I just started a new job this week, and have been mesmorized by picking all week. I am so stressed with work, that I come home, and stare in the mirror for hours, and pick, pick pick. I am so scared to go to work ea. day, and feel like when people are talking to me, that's all they are looking at. I have some real doozies on my neck right now...look like a vampire got hold of me. Well....I'm assuming that it is a mix of many chemical imbalances and family history. it sucks, but it's reality. I have a poor relationship with my parents, and I still to this day dream of the girl my mom used to compare me to when I was little. I am a survivor though, and determined to be normal, and not give in to this crap. It's mind over matter I believe, so I'm trying self hypnosis, yoga, and whatever else works. I'll get there, and all of you can too. Let's do it!!! |
| Name: | nina |
| E-mail address: | nindja_80@hotmail.com |
| Comments: | i´m so happy that i´m not alone... until this day i thought so... thanks! |
| Name: | Annie |
| E-mail address: | lunula_tec@hotmail.com |
| Comments: | Hey i am so happy i found you!!!I was watching Jerry Lewis in a guest role on Law&Order Special Victims and the shrink(Oreinital guy)used the term dermatillomania(did I spell that right?)He explained it was skin picking connented with depression...and aniexty. It makes so much sense now, I could never figure out why i couldnt stop picking and why I would just sit in front of the mirror and cry and cry and feel so ugly.Anyway I goggled the word and that is how I found you..thanks ..I NEVER have talked about this ever. Now I know it can be safe to thanks so much.Annie |
| Name: | mea |
| Comments: | Hello fellow pickers! Why do we do it? I guess it could be considered a type of purification ritual but I zone out and keep going until I am bleeding in several places. I can't stand to find a bump anywhere;it has to be exorcised. I have been taking good care of my face for about a week and a half but tonight I relapsed. I feel shitty now, my chin is throbbing. I think that I have been trying to create a cleft chin by scarring. I had staph on my chin in May and felt like I gave it to myself by picking. I have been getting herpes outbreaks on my face since I was 19. It made itself known on my cheek and lip at the same time so I don't know exactly how that works. For a picker to have a virus that causes little blisters to grow and swell, drain and finally scab for several weeks is extreme torture so I am sure excema would drive me crazy. Then there is the shame that goes with herpes (it can be sexual, ooooooooh, its contagious, sluts get it etc.) I've spent at least 1/2 of my life not going out when I wanted to because of herpes and skin picking. Other times, I've HAD to go out in the world and looked like something scary under too much makeup. Of course makeup makes your face look less red, but after 30 minutes your face looks horrible.
I started picking when I was about 12 but I remember that when I was in fourth grade I became obsessed with my eyelashes and played with them until most of them fell out. My modern dance teacher called me "twitchy". There is so much shame that goes with picking, because you have "bad skin", but especially because picking makes what you see as ugliness stand out even more. We are we so mean to ourselves; but it is so addictive that I have never stopped for more than a couple of weeks since I was 12. Something in our brain chemistry is different, we can't stop the impulse to clean out all the filth of the acne we hate so much. I have been taking antidepressants and anxiety medication but have never had therapy specific to skin picking. What sort of strategies did your therapist give you to resist picking? I know I am harder on myself than anyone else. It is a constant struggle to not feel like a freak. Has anyone tried Proactive? I feel like it must be pretty good if P. Diddy does an informercial for it. Its not like he needs the money. My heart goes out to all of you who are in pain and tells me to tell you that you are all beautiful. What we see when we look at ourselves is the distortion not the reality. We are all survivors, we have felt a pain that only we can understand. Thank you all for being here to let me know that I'm not alone. |
| Name: | maj |
| Comments: | I can't even begin to tell you how BAD it feel, and how bad it is going.
The last 3-4 months (so long!) I have struggled with eczema on my face. It started with a stapylococcus infection on my upper lip, wich spred to eczema on my entire face. And it hasn't gone away. And the fact that I pick, makes me scared that it can't go away, and that it is my own fault. I feel so bad, wan't to quit my shitty job at a supermarked. An see if I can focus on getting better. Right now my problems with 'only' picking before, doesn't even feel that bad, compared to this eczema. Last night I thougt about just getting myself to a hospital or something, but I know that is not an option. My face hurts. My skin gets thin because of hormon-creme, and my skin on my lips hurst and burns. And when I've tried to stop with the hormon-creme (steroid-creme) it's only gotten much worse. I feel everything is out of my control, and I can't take anymore. But I can't just lay down and die, so I have to, but I can't see a way out of this. I have to stop picking, it's only making my face and eczema SO much worse. I get desperat because if the itching at night, and depressed, and that leads to picking. My hope is gone. I'm sorry, but it is how it is right now, and it's been to long |
| Name: | maj |
| Comments: | I can't even begin to tell you how BAD it feel, and how bad it is going.
The last 3-4 months (so long!) I have struggled with eczema on my face. It started with a stapylococcus infection on my upper lip, wich spred to eczema on my entire face. And it hasn't gone away. And the fact that I pick, makes me scared that it can't go away, and that it is my own fault. I feel so bad, wan't to quit my shitty job at a supermarked. An see if I can focus on getting better. Right now my problems with 'only' picking before, doesn't even feel that bad, compared to this eczema. Last night I thougt about just getting myself to a hospital or something, but I know that is not an option. My face hurts. My skin gets thin because of hormon-creme, and my skin on my lips hurst and burns. And when I've tried to stop with the hormon-creme (steroid-creme) it's only gotten much worse. I feel everything is out of my control, and I can't take anymore. But I can't just lay down and die, so I have to, but I can't see a way out of this. I have to stop picking, it's only making my face and eczema SO much worse. I get desperat because if the itching at night, and depressed, and that leads to picking. My hope is gone. I'm sorry, but it is how it is right now, and it's been to long |
| Name: | caddie |
| E-mail address: | caddiecat13@hotmail.com |
| Comments: | Hello- I would like to start by saying that I have been doing this since 5th grade. I have always thought that my skin was just the worse. Logically I know that this is not the case however I can tell you that I have sat on more countertops in bathrooms as close to the mirror as possible. I am now 29- 30 in two months. Growing up my mother knew to a point but didn't do much to address this issue except to tell me to get out of the bathroom. I have benn lucky to have limited scarring on my face. I have never admitted this was a problem until my boyfriend confronted me about 3 weeks ago. I was pissed, mortified, pissed, touched and really really pissed. He is concerned, wasnts me to see a therapist and try to stop. I have tried and lasted 2 weeks until I was out of town for a night- job related- and ended up in a hotel with a hell of a zit on my chin. That began a whole free for all on my face and in the middle of it all- trying to repair my face to face the world etc.- a coworker knocks on the door so we can meet others to head out. I lied about my mother calling me and I would need five more minutes to cover up the damage. It is so sick and I am truly sick of it. I think I will try some suggestions here I just wish there was a magic switch in my brain to stop. I guess I would like to say that I understand the struggle to not pick and I feel a little less by myself knowing that there are other people out there struggling like me. Thanks for putting this together.- and I love the Amy Brown print- big fan- caddie |
| Name: | lee |
| Comments: | I have been a skin picker since I was about 6, now I am 37. I didn't realize what I had was an OCD spectrum disorder until about 3 years ago when I watched a program on OCD on TV. My parents just thought I was allergic to our animals and that I was a nervous person. They still deny my problem to this day! (My grandfather is also an in denial picker.) I finally got some help from a therapist and a dermatologist 2 years ago, and things are going great!!! I think the urge will always be there, but I know I can control my actions. My advice is this- please get help from a therapist!!!!! A dermatologist alone won't do- our problem is in our mind and in our hearts, not just in our skin. Throw away all of your safety pins and stay away from mirrors. Wear gloves when you can. Wash your face in the dark. See a dermatologist for meds and any other things that can alleviate acne. It doesn't always work the first time around! I now use differin gel and a once a day antibiotic. You also need to have a group of friends and family that you can turn to for help and for inspiration. Once we feel better about ourselves, we start the ENTIRE healing process- inside and out. Good Luck to ALL of us, we CAN control what happens to us- I am living proof!!!
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| Name: | Ms. Insanity |
| E-mail address: | insanitysembrace@comcast.net |
| Comments: | i am glad to have found this website. i have been picking my skin since i was 12 years old (i am now 40) and i have never discussed this with anyone. i am careful to pick on my arms, back, and legs so i can hide the scars. when i am really angry or stressed i pick at my face. the pain and release of blood give me relief from the anger and other negative emotions. but i thought i was the only person in the world with this problem. |
| Name: | Max |
| E-mail address: | cbeebe123@yahoo.com |
| Comments: | wish i could stop picking...i begin with the imperfections, which just get worse because bacteria spreads like wildfire. before i know it ive lost time, and i can feel my face throbbing from the incessant squeezing and picking. thats when i decide to move to the scalp, and the area around my hair line. its such a time consuming ritual, and not only that but im left with the problem of concealing what ive just done to myself. so to speed the healing process up (only so i can do it all over again) i'll spend an uncessary amount of money on facial products. it's such a vicious cycle. when will i find relief?????? |
| Name: | Missy |
| Comments: | Has anyone heard of stoppicking.com? This may be a useful site... |
| Name: | Mary |
| E-mail address: | maryskoglie1@aol.com |
| Comments: | Hi; so glad to find this site; I am a scalp-digger--no, make that scalp-SHREDDER! :/ Am desperate to stop too and plan to keep coming back to this site--very informative. If I dare ask, too, does anyone else find themselves sometimes doing their digging in the mirror after a while? Repulsed and yet somehow drawn to the pools of blood and craters in the scalp big enough to hold a river?! Or am I the only one that does it in the mirror? I'm sooo ashamed, and I've often joked that to get a blood sample from me, my doctor need only give me a manicure! God bless us all in our struggle to overcome and I look forward to coming back. |
| Name: | cher |
| E-mail address: | sharonsucceeds@yahoo.com |
| Comments: | I hope I can get some help and talk to others. I compulsively pick at my skin, especially focusing on the inside of my right hand in the webbed part between my thumb and my index finger. Also I do less picking on other areas, such as at any unknown skin lesions. I would like to know if anyone else does picking in this area. I also get the chills whenever someone has peeling skin (like after they get sunburned) or myself, and I have an uncontrollable uncomfortable urge to scratch and peel that skin off (but only off myself, not others). I have to run from people who have that skin problem. I also get uncomfortable feelings and chills when I see something else that has an uneven and feathered edge to it. Is there anyone else out there who feels this way? I know I can't be alone with these problems. Thank you so much!
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| Name: | Annette |
| Comments: | Jackie I am willing to talk to you on this site just let me in on some of your thoughts i understand i am a 44 year old woman and have been through alot as have my family just let me in and i will try to help.... |
| Name: | EMMY A. |
| E-mail address: | EMMYHACOSTA@HOTMAIL.COM |
| Comments: | THANKS |
| Name: | jackie |
| E-mail address: | mysquawyou@yahoo.com |
| Comments: | i need to talk to anyone-who wants to about my skin picking problem-i have seen dermetologist for three years, and no help- i look horrible-have no self esteem- i cake on make up and cannot find any products to clear up my condition-help- female age 39
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| Name: | jackie |
| E-mail address: | mysquawyou@yahoo.com |
| Comments: | i need to talk to anyone-who wants to about my skin picking problem-i have seen dermetologist for three years, and no help- i look horrible-have no self esteem- i cake on make up and cannot find any products to clear up my condition-help- female age 39
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| Name: | Annette |
| Comments: | Li
It always amazes me that some of the thoughts I Have heard over the years are all the same . I am convinced that this is a definate clinicle disorder, The thoughts and the symptoms are so much alike. I can always tell when it is a sirioius suferer. they all say the same thing. {I want to be FREE}............... |
| Name: | li |
| Comments: | i've had trouble with skin picking since i'm 13 (i'm 24 now). my skin was praised for being amazingly beautiful, i've never had acne problem, my picking was a product of anxiety and search for perfection. i've had some weird stories, like picking my nose skin so badly and then heating a butter knife and pressing it against my skin, in the hopes it would heal faster. or putting mashed garlic on top of a little something i picked, putting a band-aid to hold the garlic in place, and end up with a third degree burnt on my face. i've been always amazed with my skin's capacity to heal, and despite my picking it managed to remain beautiful, until last year. i moved to another city in another state, a tottaly different culture, alone, into cold weather etc etc. my picking got really really bad, basically i'd pick everyday. i'm fighting it and so is my skin, but i can see already the changes after a year of intense picking. it's such a strong habit, and it's so depressing to see that although you're trying to make it look perfect, you're really just damaging it. |
| Name: | cara |
| Comments: | Hi fellow skin pickers! Don't be so hard on yourself - you have the power to stop picking. Here are some things that worked for me:
1) Rubber band - Put a rubber band on your hand and give yourself permission to pick when you feel that overwhelming urge - yes that's right you can pick, you are allowed to pick BUT first you must snap the band as hard as you can. The harder and more painful the better! The relief that you used to feel from picking will soon be replaced by the memory of the stinging pain in your hand and the result - picking becomes unpleasant. ( I first tried snapping the band as punishment AFTER I had picked but this didn't work so well as you still get to relieve the urge quickly. As we all know there is not much that stands in the way of 'the urge'!) 2) Delay - If the band sounds too harsh then give yourself permission to pick BUT only after you have counted to twenty. Or recited a prayer or poem or the alphabet. By giving yourself permission to pick you are softening your attitude towards yourself and by delaying the picking you are training yourself to not give in immediately to the urge to pick. It doesn't matter if at first you still pick after the band or the counting - what matters is that you were in control. 3)Reward - you look in the mirror or you feel something with your fingers and you give yourself a choice: either I can pick that now or if I leave it I will reward myself with - whatever you like best - chocolate, t.v, bubble bath, computer game - whatever. 4)Picture - by constantly giving your attention to how bad your skin looks it is hard to imagine what you would like it to look like, especially when you can't remember when it was clear. So take a picture from a magazine of somebody with good skin and put it near, or on, your mirror. This will remind you what you would like instead of being confronted each morning by what you would not like. 5) Wear gloves whenever you can - for those forgetful moments! Hope this is helpful. Best wishes to you all. XXX |
| Name: | mea |
| Comments: | Hey guys,
It has been a while since I wrote but lately things have gotten out of control. After using an exfoliating scrub, I put on a blemish cream by Noxema that was 2% salisylic acid and nothing else. The next morning I woke with second and third degree chemical burns on both cheeks. It looked so horrible, that I had to pick my chin and forehead to compensate. Obsessive? yeah. I want to go get acrylic nails put on so I can't pick but am ashamed to leave the house. I have reached a new low. HELP! |
| Name: | NO NAME |
| Comments: | Hello everyone, i have been suffering with this problem for about 10 years now, and i HATE IT!!!!!!! My face was doing better because of microdermabrassionb ut i dont know what happened and then all of a sudden i picked and destroyed my whole face i am in soooo much pain both mentally and physically i hate this iw ish it could just go away...............i just want to be able to wake up in the morning take a shower and feel smooth clear skin without any pain on my face due to the picking and putting on all theis garbage of creams to try to heal.....i hope everyone who has this problem will overcome it and be free at last!!!!!!!!!MY BEST TO YOU ALLL!!!! |
| Name: | NO NAME |
| Comments: | Hello everyone, i have been suffering with this problem for about 10 years now, and i HATE IT!!!!!!! My face was doing better because of microdermabrassionb ut i dont know what happened and then all of a sudden i picked and destroyed my whole face i am in soooo much pain both mentally and physically i hate this iw ish it could just go away...............i just want to be able to wake up in the morning take a shower and feel smooth clear skin without any pain on my face due to the picking and putting on all theis garbage of creams to try to heal.....i hope everyone who has this problem will overcome it and be free at last!!!!!!!!!MY BEST TO YOU ALLL!!!! |
| Name: | Annette |
| Comments: | Hey malissa, I hope things are going better for you this week.
Im sorry to here that you had a bad episode and had to stay home from school, When I have a bad spell it will keep me from going anywere also, It is just to hard to cover up so we wait for the healing to start. I think that it is good that you are seing someone about your thoughts, Just remember that it is good to have a good self image,I know it is hard when you have to look in the mirror everyday. Hang in there still listening |
| Name: | Skaught Ashton |
| E-mail address: | skaught_ashton@msn.com |
| Homepage URL: | http://alemed.t35.com/zyrtec/ |
| Comments: | Hey, nice site. Just dropped by to say hi. Hope things are going well for you. Long time no talk, buddy :) Take care and look here http://alemed.t35.com/zyrtec/ . |
| Name: | Melissa |
| Comments: | Thanks for reading what I wrote and offering the support. I want to stop so bad...I'm seeing a really good counselor and trying all these medicines but it seems the medicines make me less agitated in general but it increases the urge to pick! Today I had this one pimple I picked at and I couldn't go to school because it looked like a gash on my face and it WOULD NOT cover :( My parents are so upset that this is screwing up things with school for me too...but I just couldn't go in with that...I'd get so many stares and questions and i'm self conscious as it is. 2 weeks ago I had a similar problem and I had to put it a band-aid on it and say my cat had scratched me (yeah, I love how I get all creative with excuses). I just hate this so much, and I just hope to God that all of us can get through this. |
| Name: | Annette |
| Comments: | I know T,
I Pick my scars somtimes to they swell hurt. |
| Name: | T |
| Comments: | thanks this site has made me feel that im not alone, i want to change, I have scars and i even pick them no one knows about what i do |
| Name: | Lisa |
| E-mail address: | lmarie0126@yahoo.com |
| Comments: | I have struggled with this for about 12 years now, and it is great to know that I am not struggling alone. Thnk you for being here or speaking out.
Lisa |