I have began to pick the inside of my bellybutton, does anyone else do this??

Posted August 31st, 2010 by Buffyfan
Hi I'm 14 years old and I have obsessive compulsive disorder. I have a severe scalp picking problem and now I have begun to pick the inside of my bellybutton. I'm very scared, and I was wondering if anyone else here picks their bellybutton?
‹ U WILL STOP IF U UNDERSTAND THIS! TIPS THAT I USE 4 (Pimples) but use this method for anything! ›
On November 23rd, 2011 coldskin said:
Get a piece of graph paper.(they have a lot of squares, but these squares will represent days for us.)-------------------- -fold the paper till it is wallet/pocket sized. Now open the whole paper up. (this just creates sections/fold marks in the paper).---------------------- BUT here is the main concept of this:---------------------------- Right when You wake up in the morning, u will place an x or the number 1, inside one of these squares.------------------------------------- NOW this symbolizes, that for the whole day until you go back to sleep and wake back up again u will NOT pick.----------------------------------- So this number "one or x" is your first day of not picking.------------------------- When u wake back up again next morning u put a number two/x.. symbolizing the second day of refraining from picking.------------------------------ U KEEP THIS GRAPH PAPER WITH U ALL TIMES, IN WALLET, POCKET.------------------------------- THIS IS MAKING YOURSELF NOT PICK "A DAY AT A TIME."---------------------- UNTIL THE SKIN CONDITION IS GONE!----------------------------------- so get the graph paper, put a one in the first square. U can stop for a day.------------------------ Then next day, put a 2 in the square. U can stop for a day--------------------------. Then next day, put a 3 in the square. U can stop for a day.-------------------------- keep doing this
On November 14th, 2011 SeptemberSapphire said:
I do this too! I'm relieved in a way that this isn't only me. I have a very deep innie that is naturally prone to producing more of that crusty stuff. I started picking at it recently, and now my navel is red and irritated. Does anyone know exactly what this crusty substance that belly buttons produce is?
On November 21st, 2011 Tati tiger said:
Tati. yes, i also have crusty things in the bellybutton but it has never gotten to the point were its red and irritated... i tried keeping my hands busy by playing with play-doh and it has reduced teh picking urge. you should try it. hope it helps you too.:]
On November 5th, 2011 kgolden1234567890 said:
I have had a LOT of luck with the amino acid N-acetyl cysteine, which is sometimes sold as N-acetyl L-cysteine, for my 11-year-old daughter who severely picks her skin (arms and legs). I'm hoping that everyone on this group will check it out. We started out at 1200mg each day, 600mg in the morning and 600mg in the evening. Then we worked up to 2400mg, 1200 mg in the morning and 1200 mg in the evening, within about 3 or 4 weeks. The study that was done in 2009 showed the best results were after 9 weeks of continuous treatment with this amino acid, also just known as NAC. We saw great results after 6 weeks. Please consider trying it. I am not a doctor, so please weigh out the risks for yourself. It has truly been a godsend. My daughter used to pick to the point of staph infections. She has scars all over her body. It works by regulating the URGE to pick. You can download the summary text of the 2009 study on this website - http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19581567. The study was for hair-pulling, but skin-picking and nail-biting result from similar sets of urges.
On October 27th, 2011 Buffyfan said:
Thanks for all of the comments, just knowing that there are other people out there who have similar problems. We're not alone. It sounds corny, but good luck to everyone. I really give my best wishes to you all. :) Tati tiger, I think it could be a aspect of dermatilimania. But I'm not really sure. Since I have OCD, at first I thought that it was a compulsion. But now that I know other people do this too, I don't think so anymore. Also, my phyviatrist seems to think it's not a compulsion aw well. Maybe you could try asking your pediatrician or other doctor? It could help understand it better and come up with ideas to help stop the picking. Good luck with everything.
On October 30th, 2011 Tati tiger said:
Tati. Feel free to email me tips on keeping my hands busy :) My email is Lilykitty5811@yahoo.com
On November 2nd, 2011 Buffyfan said:
I actually don't have a email right now, I managed to somehow inadvertently delete it or something :( Anyways, as for keeping your hands busy there are several things that may be worth trying. My number one thing is Silly putty. I usually always have it with me. Sometimes putting small pieces of rubber or things of similar texture inside of the silly putty is good. It simulates the picking sensation by picking at the rubber in the silly putty. Another is this thing called Beeswax. You hold it in your hand and it warms up and becomes moldable (it also doesn't stick to anything if you leave it lying around like silly putty does) Then you have koosh balls which are pretty helpful aswell. next there are Buckyballs, which are small round magnets that you can make pretty much anything out of. They're pretty awesome. I've also found that tying things to string and then swinging the string around my finger works well also. Gimp is another good thing, it's plastic string that you can make different knot stitches with. Squishy stress balls are good, especially ones with little Nubs on them which you can poke and pick at. pretty much anything squishy and/or stretchy is great. www.amazon.com has all of these items, and you can buy silly putty at any drugstore basically. all these toys are called "Fiddle Toys" or "Fidget toys" Hope this helps! And I'm sorry to hear about your shoulder :( Get well soon!! :)
On November 5th, 2011 Tati tiger said:
Tati. Thanks :) their going to have do surgery on it. I'm so worried hopefully everything turns out okay :] And thanks I'll try this things out and let you know how it goes :) The beeswax sounds like fun :D So how are you doing ?
On October 30th, 2011 Tati tiger said:
I like visiting this site to know that I'm not the only one but scares me to hear all this stories that sound really bad . I was wondering, umm, do you medicine or treatment to stop this disorder ? And are you trying anything to stop ? If so can u please reply as soon as possible to let me know , so that I can't stop with this thing that's make my life a living hell (in a way) . Thanks Tati =^_^= tiger
On October 30th, 2011 Buffyfan said:
That's exactly how I feel too. Anyway, yes, treatment can "stop" this disorder. Or at least MAJORLY help it. I was able to stop picking for about 5 or 6 months, no real urges to do it or anything. Then school started to get stressful and my phyciatrist was out on maternity leave, so I think that's why it started up again. But I'm working currently with my psychiatrist trying to stop picking. Right now I'm keeping a log of when and where I am when I pick to see if there are any patterns etc. The picking has comeback mainly on my scalp, and a few other areas less majorly, but it's all similar. Seeking help/treatment is definately the right move here. It takes work, but you can do it :). Is there a parent/doctor that you can talk to about this? Because that could be a good first step. As for the medicine, I'm not sure of any medicine that is a "cure". I take 200mg of Zoloft per day for my OCD. But that doesn't really have anything to do with the picking. Just remember that you'll have your good days & bad days with the picking. It's all a process. Everything will be ok. I have some pretty good tips for keeping your hands busy therefore reducing picking, if your interested. Hope you're doing ok & that you see this soon :) Any questions or Anything feel free. I'm only 15 but I've been dealing w/ this for a while .__.
On October 30th, 2011 Tati tiger said:
Tati. I'm glad to hear about your story . It really brought hope to me , thanks . I'm to nervous tell my parents . They have deal with enough with me . And I dont want to worry them more . Right now I have a dislocated shoulder and I might need surgery , so its seams like more than enough for my parents to be worrying about . But if u could give me advice on keeping my hands busy that would be great :) Thanks Tati =^_^= tiger
On October 26th, 2011 Tati tiger said:
I'm 15 years old .. And I too pick my bellybutton since I was a baby . I tempt to pull it out as far as it can go and pick at it . I have try to stop but it's hard , and such a bad habit I do everywhere now . Is this really a disorder ?
On July 25th, 2011 CelticOcd said:
Yes me too thats what brought me to this Page you are not alone Ive been doing it since oct of 2009 to the point where it is sore red and bleeds then i will use neosporin to heal it and then before I know it I'm picking again I'm not young I'm Older I have picked scabs all my life I never relized it was a disorder! I also found out I had Ocd in 07 I also pick at toe nails and finger nails off and on and a lil scalp picking from time to time most often if I wake up in the middle of sleep ! Never talked about this before thanks for being brave and mentioning it ! :)
On December 9th, 2010 cranberryskies said:
I have done this since I was 8 years old, and I am now 21. I can't seem to stop. It's... kind of heartening to know that at least I'm not the only one. =/
On September 7th, 2010 bellas_mom_09 said:
when i was pregnant i picked the inside of my bellybutton... when it started to turn into an outtie cause of my big bellie it looked gross i hated it :(
On September 4th, 2010 Kait said:
When my anxiety was very high (a few months ago), I started picking in my bellybutton to the point where it would bleed a little and then scab and then I would pick at the scabs and the whole process would start over. I did get it under control and I no longer pick there which is good because I think you could get a pretty nasty infection in there. Do you know what caused you to start picking your bellybutton?
On August 31st, 2010 Popcorn47 said:
Nope, that's a new one, for me anyway.
On September 1st, 2010 blue said:
I've done it, Buffyfan, as one place among many. I think as a reaction to it, I tend to think of my belly button as a dirty place.
For information on the skin picking disorder (Dermatillomania), symptoms, causes and treatment methods, get the Complete Guide to Skin Picking Disorders.