One day at a time. Feel free to join in!

Posted April 30th, 2012 by new day girl

I feel incredibly thankful to have found this website. I don't know about all you but I have lived most of my life thinking that I was the only one who had this problem and because of that I have so much shame associated with my picking habit. I've been struggling with this for about 16 years. I've tried to conquer the skin picking at least a hundred times (literally) and failed usually within a week. I've come to realize that I can't do this on my own. It's become a cycle of trying so hard to stop, caving into my anxiety and habit and then feeling ashamed and hopeless. Yesterday at church the message was titled "The Me I Want to Be" and we focused on things in our life that hold us back. Habits, destructive behavior, ect. Our pastor asked these questions for us to internally process: Am I keeping my struggles to myself? Am I isolating myself from others? When are the times when I am most likely to fall? Do I have defined boundaries in the area of my weakness? Are there things that I need to remove from my life today? As I pondered these questions I felt this battle rising up within me. I know I can't fix this compulsive disorder on my own but I'm not ready to give up. The first step I'm taking is to realize I can't do this on my own. I'm praying to the One who created me. I'm recognizing that He knows me better than I know myself. The second step is to share this someone/anyone and I figured this forum is the perfect place to be open and honest. I plan on posting daily as to my progress in taking steps to find freedom from the skin picking. Feel free to join me! After trying just about everything on my own and failing, I believe I need to find counseling. That is something else I'll be working toward. I want to be as real and open as I possibly can in these posts. I hope you can find encouragement and hope. Oh yeah, and here's just a little about me. I'm a 28 year old mother of a 3 year old and we're expecting a little boy in October. We live in Oklahoma.

On June 21st, 2012 new day girl said:

I've lost track of days lately. I did really well for about 6 days of starting over after my 40 day marathon. Now I feel like I'm being kinda lazy and not as motivated. I haven't stayed within my boundaries in the last week, picking here and there throughout the day. I still don't want to give up though. I've made so much progress from where I was a few months ago. I have a lot more self control now than I did. Here's to starting fresh today!

On June 21st, 2012 skreed29 said:

weve got to stay atleast 2 feet away from the mirror. thats what always gets me, when i get to close i start to inspect my face, then i get anxious and often wind up picking. i let go of some of my boundaries too and wound up having a pretty awful relapse so lets remind each other to respect our boundaries every once in a while ! it seems like we forget because we get too comfortable with ourselves, thinking we just wont pick because maybe we have done well for a while. we should be proud when we do well but we should still try just as hard as we were before !! by the way, 40 days ?!????!?! how freaking awesome. you should get a ribbon for that, haha. RESPECT YOUR BOUNDARIES. maybe even write them down somewhere and look over them from time to time.

On June 14th, 2012 new day girl said:

Day 3 and still haven't picked. My skin has never been more broken out so this is a real challenge but I'm doing it! Very excited for all of you to be along in this journey of healing!

On June 16th, 2012 Linzipinzi said:

I picked again last night! Again I was tired and stressed...lots going on! Anyway, I have 4 more open sores on my face but the other sores are healing. I really need to start going to bed on time, I never pick in the mornings, I always have my picking sessions late at night...

On June 13th, 2012 Mirn said:

I'm 19, hoping to stop nomming at my skin around my fingers. I don't remember when I started, i was to young to remember why I started this. I know I have OCD, I guess I have anxiety too. I also pick at my eyebrows, and eyelashes when I'm in the dark about to sleep. e.e I would love to get some help, but I know I cannot stop for how long I've been doing this for. I actually nom on them till they bleed sometimes too. :c

On June 12th, 2012 Andrijana said:

Ladies... You are so brave! Remember - God will give us strength to go through this! Use it well! Cause it's so selfish to trifle it away continuing with this bad habit, instead of embracing that gift and start being a better person! When I see a sick child, an old poor man, somebody with scars after an accident - I feel so ungrateful. God gave me everything and it seems like i don't appreciate it. I feel ungrateful for making constant damage to what He gave me. When I was younger I used to ask Him to help me heal my wounds and make me stop from doing this, every night after praying. Nowdays, when I make a mess of my skin, I feel disgrace to ask him for such a favour.

On June 13th, 2012 Linzipinzi said:

I am on day 3 without picking. 3 days ago I picked very bad and had open wounds all over my face. My wounds are starting to heal and scab over nicely. I am determined to overcome this, one step at a time with Jesus by my side!

On June 12th, 2012 Andrijana said:

Sorry for my English, I hope I made my point. Good luck.

On June 12th, 2012 new day girl said:

Yesterday, Day 41, I picked. The weird thing is that I kinda subconsciously picked for a minute or two and then I made a somewhat conscious decision to keep going to the point of picking at basically every pore on my face. Once I caved it was like "well, I might as well pick at everything." I am really disappointed. I let my guard down. I can completely pinpoint the reason too. I've been really stressed about my husband's job and yesterday he was having to make a really hard decision about whether to stay or take another job that has been offered. With me getting closer to the third trimester of my pregnancy and being a stay at home mom, his single income is really important for us. To be honest, picking was not as much of a relief as I thought it would be after 40 days. I didn't go into as much of a "trance-like" state as I used to and I definitely had more control over the picking but chose to continue. I was most disappointed for my husband to get home and see my red and swollen face. He knows about my commitment although I don't go into detail with him because he really wouldn't be able to understand it. I was real with him though and told him how I picked. He gave me a big hug and said "so out of 40 days, you had one bad day. That's pretty good!" He's a keeper! If I start back at day 1 today, it will be the first time for me to start over the following day with a commitment to not pick. I usually give up for about a month or so before trying again. Well, I've made it too far to give up! Today will be DAY 1. I'm going to learn from yesterday and have more insight next time.

On June 12th, 2012 Linzipinzi said:

That's so sweet how your husband said that. My husband is also very encouraging, even after I have a bad day and I'm feeling horrible he reminds me that I will be feeling better again soon and that I need to take one step at a time. I am so impressed that you lasted 40 days without picking! So you had a bad day, just keep moving forward! I am thankful that God's mercies are new every morning! I know for myself, the worst picking sessions occur when I am feeling extremely stressed about something. There's always a trigger point and the enemy attacks our minds. We have to take captive of our thoughts and make them obedient to Christ. Okay, so you are starting again at day one, and I will join you! I will keep updating and let you know how it's going. I am so happy to have found this site and know that I am not alone. Well, I'm not alone. Jesus is with me, he promised never to leave me nor forsake me! He is faithful to the end! <3

On June 12th, 2012 Linzipinzi said:

Hello. My name is Lindsay. I am a 32 year old woman, I am married to a wonderful Christian man and we have 2 beautiful children. My son is 9 and my daughter is 5. I have been picking my face since I was 14, so 18 years now! I am a born again believer in Jesus Christ, I believe he is my Healer and if I just fully trust him, and surrender all my fears, He will give me peace of mind and I can overcome this terrible habit. It's truly an addiction and over the years I have allowed it to become part of me. And over the years, I went from light picking to serious picking. Every time I try to stop, the pressure is on and it gets even worse! I never had acne, I always had a clear complexion. But at age 14, I began worrying a lot and obsessing over my image. I was a pretty girl and people were telling me how beautiful I was. Well, I started getting conceited about my looks and in my desire to be perfect, I began examining my face in the mirror looking for any imperfections. I started picking and squeezing and thus creating something out of nothing! I know I can't do this on my own strength, only with God's help! I pick my face almost everyday. The longest I have gone without picking is 2 weeks. But then I always seem to start again. It is getting very discouraging. Every time I think I have finally overcome, I do it again! When I saw that you, too, are a Christian, it made me feel better knowing that other Christians struggle with this. Sometimes I feel so guilty and shameful because Jesus came to set the captives free, so Christians should be living in complete victory, and here I am living in bondage to this awful skin picking addiction. I am happy for you that you have gone one month without picking. It is my goal to make it to a month. I heard the longer you go, the easier it is to quit for good. Two days ago I had a very bad day and spent hours in front of the mirror picking my face apart. I go deep into the skin, using pins and tweezers, creating deep wounds and making my skin bleed. I am allowing my skin to heal now, it will take a while for it to recover! This has caused a lot of stress on my husband and children, as well. Thankfully, my husband is patient and understanding but I can see he is very disappointed in me and it hurts to see his disappointment. My children are questioning me why I am hurting myself? How do I answer that?! They don't understand. Even I don't understand! These 18 years of face picking have taken a real toll on my face. It is covered in scars and I now my skin is uneven, textured with deep pores. I have to wear foundation everyday to cover up the damage. But even foundation can't hide what I've done. I do this every time I feel extremely anxious and stressed. I know I should avoid the mirror at times like this, but I literally get caught off guard, it's like I do this subconsciously and get into a trance like state. It's like the devil takes over my mind in these times, this is not just a mental disorder, it's being under demonic influence! While picking my face, I feel such a sense of relief and satisfaction. Being isolated inside the bathroom, it's my way of blocking out the pressures of life. But after I am finished, I feel an incredible sense of guit and shame and I end up crying in my room and have to isolate myself in my room because I can't bear for anyone to see me like this, with my face such a mess! It's so crazy how I can keep doing this over and over again, even when I know the end results. God knows my hearts desire is to please him and to overcome this. I have hope believing that I can overcome. Time to start renewing my mind by the word of God! How important it is to take captive every thought and make it obedient to Christ!

On June 12th, 2012 new day girl said:

Lindsay, thank you so much for sharing your story. It's so good to know we are not alone! Although I broke my commitment yesterday, as you can read in my latest post, I would say that your last sentence: "How important it is to take captive every thought and make it obedient to Christ" has been a huge truth in my life. Years ago I read that scripture and began really thinking about my thoughts and how they birth emotions and actions. I was dealing with a really difficult situation in my marriage and realized how my thoughts, so full of fear, were creating a big problem. I began to "take captive" the thoughts as they popped in my head and replace them with God's truth for my life. I experienced so much healing to the point of overcoming a giant mountain of anxiety that had been hanging over my marriage for two years. I believe that God has helped me to take control of my thoughts with my picking habit for the past 40 days in the same way. And He is helping me to pick myself up again after I failed yesterday. Lindsay, you can do this! I will be praying for you. And if you want, I'd love to hear about your progress.

On June 14th, 2012 Linzipinzi said:

So last night I started picking again….it was late and I was feeling tired and stressed. I used the tweezers and created more open sores on my face. 8 in total. And there were just bumps to begin with. I was doing good for 3 days and the other wounds were starting to heal nicely. I am feeling discouraged but today is a new day, today I'm starting over.

On June 14th, 2012 Linzipinzi said:

On June 9th, 2012 new day girl said:

Day 39. The last week has definitely been a challenge. With all these pregnancy hormones, my skin is breaking out more than ever. I'm 24 weeks btw (3 1/2 months to go!). Part of my commitment is that I let myself pick at two blemishes every morning but no more than that. This helps me to build self control. Also, I'm not a picker that digs into my skin and continues to pick a spot over and over, so this works for me. Lately, this has been really hard because of all my breakouts. I haven't been perfect but I still haven't had a (true) picking session in 39 days! I feel like I've finally found something that works for me if I stick to it.

On June 5th, 2012 thisresllyisntme said:

I'm really trying to stop! I picked my face badly last week. like four spots or so, and they turned into open wounds. then as I was trying to stop picking, three more spots came up. and of course I picked them /: I'm trying to get them to heal fast! so far, two have already faded almost completely. i had four on my cheek, the two smaller ones healed. I have one on my forehead that isnt so bad, one big ugly bumpy one on my chin where the skin fell off after over squeezing it, and then two little ones developed under that. the smaller ones under my chin are less resisting to pick, because I think they will heal faster. I leave for camp on Saturday and we aren't allowed to wear makeup, so I'm praying for a miracle to heal these spots I have! I know I can prevent myself from picking at them! I put aloe Vera on them and makeup over top so I cant see them as well, and that works during the day. the problem is at night, when I get out of the shower and everything is sorta moist and very red... but lastnight I didn't pick at them! and tonight I won't either :) I believe that I can heal my skin. and once these spots are gone, I have faith that I won't pick again. im just worried that that won't happen by Saturday /:

On June 1st, 2012 new day girl said:

I MADE IT A MONTH!!! Pretty cool, just sayin'. I never would have dreamed I could make it a whole month without a picking session when I started this commitment. I really believe my hundreds of failed attempts helped me to know myself better and my weaknesses. I was also very aware from the beginning that I couldn't do this on my own. In the midst of feeling overwhelmed with the urge to pick, I pray that God would give me strength. I also know that posting in this forum is a tremendous help and encouragement for me. This is a major accomplishment for me! I feel like I've finally established a habit of not picking. Oh the temptation to pick is still there several times a day but it's getting a little easier to shake it off. Just had to take a minute to celebrate. Still truckin' folks.

On May 30th, 2012 new day girl said:

Day 29. Still hanging in there. To be honest, I'm not feeling as strong as I did in previous weeks. I'm still sticking to the plan though and that is a big deal. Can't wait to say that I've made it a month! Taking it one day at a time.

On May 28th, 2012 Andrijana said:

I'm joining the club! I'll give myself 3 days preparing for my BIG PLAN that should start June 1st. I think it's a good date for a new start! I am so glad you managed to go through these 20 and more days without picking! I correspond with a friend I met here for 8 days now and that helps a lot but I also want to try this way. I'm 26 year old female. I am obsessed with squeezing out my comedones who are widespread all over my face, arms, shoulders, chest and back. I did'n find any cosmetic product that realy helps on clearing my pores. Almost all products I have are based on healing wounds I make, but my pores just keep on fillng all over. My plan would be to leave my skin alone for 2 weeks and then go for a cosmetic treatment of clearing pores all over my body and face. I hope I can do it. Sorry for my English.

On May 30th, 2012 new day girl said:

Good luck to you! I'm trying a new product that actually seems to be clearing out my pores when I use it like I'm supposed to. It's called Paula's Choice Beta Hydroxy Acid 2%. It is actually designed to clean out blackheads. KInd of expensive though. I would definitely go in for an extraction appointment at a spa every few weeks if I could afford it. Seems like it would really help.

On May 27th, 2012 new day girl said:

I refuse to give up on this! Just to make that clear : )

On May 27th, 2012 new day girl said:

The last two days or so have been so hard! I've almost made it a month and now the temptation to pick seems stronger than ever. I know me and I know that if I give in a little, I will give in a lot and have to start from square one again with learning self-control. I'm praying for strength and trying to avoid scenarios where I'm tempted to pick at my skin.

On May 25th, 2012 new day girl said:

Feeling like I really want to go and pick at my face. This is random but I just realized that I'm always tempted to pick when I have plans in the evening and I'm procrastinating getting ready. Weird. That's the deal today. No idea why I do this. I figured if I posted on here I could maybe stay away from the mirror and win the battle in my mind!

On May 23rd, 2012 new day girl said:

Day 22, oh my gosh, WHAT! Day 22!!! I have never made it this far before. I'm feeling so thankful and proud of myself, yet still cautious. I've been praying that I could get a handle on my picking for so long and I always imagined that it was out of reach because I had tried and failed so many times. Although it is still a daily battle to keep my hands off my skin and keep my mind off picking, I am making definite strides. My skin is looking healthy. It looks really clear (although I'm so perfectionistic that I see the tiniest of blemishes) and I'm so happy! Cuts down the time it takes to do my makeup by half. The acne treatment that I bought from Paula's Choice is working like a charm. It really clears out my pores without over drying and that helps tremendously with the picking urges. I'm still just quickly picking at two spots every morning, usually just the stubburn stop that won't go away for a while. It's actually helping me to build self-control, being able to stopping after just two. And at the same time I'm not constantly obsessing about that one spot on my face all day that is driving me crazy. It just works for me. I've also been leaning heavily on Biblical principals about temptation. 1 Corinthians 10:13 (The Message) "No test or temptation that comes your way is beyond the course of what others have had to face. All you need to remember is that God will never let you down; he'll never let you be pushed past your limit; he'll always be there to help you come through it." I believe that He always gives me a way out.

On May 22nd, 2012 mgum said:

I am 46 yrs old, attractive and have severe emotional problems including being diagnosed with borderline personality disorder. I'm a chronic skin picker. This is the first time I've ever admitted to this horrible habit and I'm so scarred now that I had to vent my problem onlline and see that I'm not alone. I always try to pick in hidden places, inside my nose, the skin inside, my toes cuticles, the bottom of my feet, use instruments and get some sick kind of satisfactiion out of this. The moment healing of a wound begins, I will pick it and the wound is bleeding again, sometimes I can barley walk due to the pain I cause myself. I remember doing this strange thing to myself since I was a young child and have sufferred with severe depression and anxiety since I was about age 11. I've been through many types of therapy and have never brought this to anyone's attention. If anyone has any tips in stopping this horrible self destructive habit, please feel free to let me know. I will save this forum, praying it isn't discovered by anyone, and see what others are doing to stop.

On May 20th, 2012 skreed29 said:

3 of 7, win ! ive been working out, makes me feel good about myself and helps decrease my picking urges.

On May 19th, 2012 skreed29 said:

another successful day, thank goodness ! 2 down, 5 to go. theres this annoying itchy spot on my chin that im going to have to try hard to avoid all day, but i can do it. i woke up in a pretty optimistic mood, so i am excited to get another good day of healing under my belt !

On May 18th, 2012 skreed29 said:

yesterday, day 1 of 7 went well. i will be so glad if i can wake up thursday morning with 0 spots picked cause i dont have much faith in myself lately, and i need to remind myself that i can beat this. i have some big events coming up next weekend too, so i hope i can take that as encouragement to look pretty rather than stress and anxiety because i feel like i wont. feelin good for now though, so ill just try to hold on to that

On May 17th, 2012 new day girl said:

Day 15, resisting. I really just keep thinking that I want to go to the mirror and have a picking session. Where two hours later I feel like I can start over and feel like my skin is "cleaned out" so to speak. But then the impending regret would set in and my face would look horrible and I'd probably give up for a while. I'm guessing that my skin's condition now is actually how everyone else's skin is (non pickers) all the time. They just let their skin do it's thing. So, I'm resisting. I'm resisting, I'm resisting several times a day. Shake it off, shake it off. This is hard work!

On May 22nd, 2012 mgum said:

I can relate to the "cleaning out" of the skin" statement. I love to use magnifying mirrors, tweezers or cuticle trimmers and hate the bleeding, am embarrassed by it, but it does something for me I can't explain.\

On May 22nd, 2012 mgum said:

On May 18th, 2012 skreed29 said:

i can soooooooo relate to wanting to feel like your skin is clean. i get this feeling when i break out and dont pick at it, that its my fault that my skin looks so bad because im not doing anything about it, even though not picking is the best thing to do, no matter how i FEEL. you're right, though. you've just got to shake it off ! i know this probably sounds wierd and it may not be a helpful thing for you at all, but sometimes when i have a strong urge to pick, instead, i just shave every single thing on my body below my eyebrows. even things that dont have hair, it makes me feel like a freak but atleast i dont pick ! and im not doing anything thats self destructive. i get a 'clean' feeling from shaving everything, not the same clean feeling that i get from picking but its still pretty satisfying and i dont regret it and start crying immediately afterwards.

On May 18th, 2012 new day girl said:

Hey anything that works is a good thing!

On May 17th, 2012 skreed29 said:

so im having a bad day. i picked a little bit again yesterday and decided that its time to take a new approach. im going to set a goal for myself to go a week with NO picking, and if i make it i will reward myself. me and my boyfriend are having some issues lately, nothing we havent been through before but its been like this for a few days and its very frustrating. sometimes i want to turn to picking for comfort, i have stopped myself in every case except for last night (i only picked at 4). im feeling really ugly and insecure today, and crying a lot. i think probably pms has a lot to do with it but that doesn't make it less depressing ): im really going to feel crappy if i cant make it through the week. i need happy energy

On May 17th, 2012 new day girl said:

I'm sorry that you're having a bad day. When I'm upset about something or someone, it always triggers my picking. Look at it this way, at least you know yourself and picking habits a bit better after a day like today. Of the million times I failed at trying to quit picking, I learned a little more about my weaknesses each time. I'll be rooting for you this week! I was just reading your earlier post and, like you, I have a sibling that has a similar OCD with biting her fingernails back really really far. Her and I both went through difficult things in our childhood and I wonder if these habits somehow lessened the anxiety. Neither of my parents had these compulsions, so in my case, I didn't learn it. Although, I'm really careful about picking in front of my daughter who is 3. Anyway, just thoughts about root causes.

On May 17th, 2012 Gixxer said:

I've been a scalp and back picker for many years. My father picks his scalp and my son does also. Did we watch our parents doing it and then just started doing it too? I have occassionally stopped for a period of weeks but it always starts in again. I've never tried meds or counseling to deal with it but perhaps I should since it seems to be worse. Yes, it's embarrassing but I'm not going to beat myself up over it. I just hope it doesn't cause massive infections. My hands seem to need to be busy all the time. I garden alot and play the piano so at least I'm not picking while doing things like that. I've even started wearing a skullcap at times. It helps when I wear it. but after awhile I just throw it off and resume the compulsion. I just read a primatologists book about baboons. They often sit around and groom each other perhaps if we were to sit around and groom each other, we wouldn't feel the need to self-mutilate. Just a thought. Thank you for this website..

On May 17th, 2012 skreed29 said:

i think some of us definately do aquire the compulsion from watching our parents. there are lots of other reasons though too. neither of my parents ever had any kind of ocd, but me and my older brother both do. he is also a skin picker. also, neither me or my brother had a very positive relationship with our parents growing up. counseling may be a good step to take to help you overcome your compulsion to pick, but if you can avoid medication, i think it would be wise. even if a drug could get you to stop picking temporarily, i think this kind of thing is a mental/emotional struggle that we need to overcome without mind altering chemicals. best of luck !

On May 16th, 2012 skreed29 said:

day one, again. no picking but im pre menstrual and breaking out on my chin and jaw area. there are 4 or 5 notably big annoying painful spots i need to keep my mind and fingers away from. im happy to report that the rest of my face is really clearing up nicely, though.

On May 16th, 2012 new day girl said:

Redo day 14. I was determined not to repeat it again so I did well! Gotta stay focused on the goal.

On May 15th, 2012 new day girl said:

Days 11, 12, 13 and 14. Still can't believe that I've made it this far. I haven't ever done this well when I've tried to stop this habit in the past. I did it differently this time though, I realize that I can't do this on my own and posting honestly in this forum has helped me to stay motivated. Also just being real with myself and setting up boundaries with things that have thrown me off track before. Two weeks is a miracle for me when I consider the 100 times (literally) that I've attempted to stop picking. I've been praying for the strength to "move on" when all I want to do is pick. Right now I can tell you that there is at least 40 different places on my skin that I want to pick at. Staying away from the mirror and keeping my hands off my skin are helping me to not go crazy. Unfortunately yesterday, I caved a few times other than the two spots I allow myself to pick each morning. I didn't go to the mirror which is good, I just scratched at something on my back. Once I did it subconsciously and once purposefully. So I'm repeating my 14th day. I'm still encouraged and so hopeful! If I can do this, you can too.

On May 15th, 2012 skreed29 said:

days 4 and 5 went well. today i picked at 3 spots, so restarting again tomorrow :/

On May 12th, 2012 skreed29 said:

day 3 was good. i really believe that this is my time to heal and overcome my compulsion to pick (:

On May 11th, 2012 new day girl said:

Day 9 and Day 10. It is definitely getting harder in some ways each day. Probably because this is usually when I give up. My skin is breaking out everywhere, I think because of all the pregnancy hormones. Not making this process easy on me. As I've said before, I allow myself to pick at two spots each morning because trying to quit cold turkey never works for me. (When I say picking at two spots I don't mean spending probably 20 seconds picking) So far, it has worked great and I've had the self-control to stop after two. Now that there's so much acne, it's really hard to stop at two. But I'm doing it! I had an epiphany two nights ago. I got some saddening news that my younger sister was diagnosed with bi-polar disorder. I've looked out for her my whole life and feel very maternal toward her. So the news was very hard to take for me. In the midst of thinking about everything, I felt the extreme urge to have a picking session. I even went to the mirror and started for a few seconds before I caught myself. I realized how often this has happened in the past when I'm anxious or worried about something or someone. It must be a coping mechanism for me and maybe doing something busy with my fingers, like picking, relieves the tension. It's good for me to start to connect the dots and see some of the root issues surrounding my OCD.

On May 11th, 2012 skreed29 said:

10 days is a long time ! im so glad to hear you have made it this long. i think a lot of pickers pick more when they are upset or stressed out. growing up i was always very distant from my family, and usually only had one friend that i kept close. i always felt alone, and i think thats how it all started. i figured out relatively recently that when i pick at my face, for me, its somewhat of an escape. when im picking i dont think about anything else, i go into a kind of trance. almost like meditating or something. i can be picking in the mirror for hours, and not even understand what i have done until i take a step back and actually look at myself, then burst into tears. im sorry to hear about your sister, but you shouldnt take it out on yourself. its not your fault and also not something you can change. all you can do is be supportive, and maybe think about how you need to stop picking even more than you thought you needed to before so that you can be stable for her.

On May 11th, 2012 skreed29 said:

day 2. successful. i did my makeup and went out and i actually felt pretty for the first time in a long time (: feels like its almost becoming a habit to NOT pick !!!!!!!!

On May 11th, 2012 new day girl said:

Those days are the best, you should feel so proud of yourself!

On May 10th, 2012 skreed29 said:

my 8th day, i picked at 2 spots. nothing to devastating, and i dont think it set me back in healing, but i said i was going cold turkey so i made yesterday my new day 1. it went well, im seeing so much healing in my face ! (: i guess once you get past a certain point the physical healing goes very fast. i cant remember the last time my face looked this good. i have a LOT of hyperpigmentation but texturally it looks pretty awesome. im very glad too, because i have several big events coming up that i was hoping to look pretty for (: jeez i hope the compulsion doesnt suck me back in.

On May 9th, 2012 new day girl said:

Day 8. Still doing well despite all my breakouts at the moment. Got too close to the mirror though, really really wanted to pick and had to pull it together to step away. Note to self, DO NOT lean over the sink!

On May 8th, 2012 Knao said:

Hey, I've had dermatillomania for just over 4 years and I just decided to start a blog, i'm gonna post what helps me everyday and what i find is working. I'm having counselling at the moment and its really helping to sort out all my thoughts out loud and to pin point why im doing this to myself. Check it out if you want =) http://ihavedermatillomania.wordpress.com/

On May 8th, 2012 thinbutugly said:

I am not religious in any way but I do feel that many religions send out a good message. I have a psyciatrists and he does not know about my picking. I should talk to him I wish you the best of luck and I send you and your family my love. I know you can do it.

For information on the skin picking disorder (Dermatillomania), symptoms, causes and treatment methods, get the Complete Guide to Skin Picking Disorders.