basic guidelines

Posted March 12th, 2010 by wildflower

would keeping these few simple strategies help? ...... KNOWLEDGE IS POWER -- Learn about your skin and issues with it. CLEANLINESS -- Proper care is simple and not expensive DO NO HARM -- Don’t pick, don’t even touch. Apply only healthy products. Seek professional help when appropriate LIVE WELL -- Eat well, take vitamins and nutrients. Hydrate. Practice safe sun. Exercise. Sleep well SEEK SUPPORT SYSTEMS -- Reach out to others who understand RESEARCH CONCERNS.

On April 5th, 2010 wildflower said:

if anyone thinks these guidelines are wise enough to keep near the beginning of the forum for new visitors to see, please post an opinion on it now and again as i have to keep it alive. i obviously think these are good guidelines as they've been working for me, but i think i'll leave it up to other viewers of this forum to keep it alive as i can't guarantee how frequent i'll be here as i am also keeping a journal of my progress on another site that has that feature. it's the stop picking on me site. stop and say hello there if you visit there and let me know how you're doing if you wish. i will keep checking in here now and again too, tho. i just don't know how often. all the best to everyone in their quest to address your skin issues. <3 <3 <3

On March 30th, 2010 wildflower said:

this has gotten me to DAY 35 !! 5 more days to 40 !! i hope this info and my success so far helps to inspire each of you. <3 <3 <3

On April 4th, 2010 wildflower said:

and it has gotten me to DAY 40 now !! and i truly hope that others will feel there is hope and a better approach than all those that have failed in the past. commitment is what it ultimately takes though. power to everyone with theirs!! <3 <3 <3

On March 24th, 2010 wildflower said:

this is a good place for anyone to add strategies that might help with dealing with trying to conquer this skin picking disorder. gorillamom has suggested THE 12 STEP THERAPY might be something that would help people along. cheftk has suggested BODY TALK THERAPY. for others, AVERSION THERAPY measures might help, like putting an elastic around your wrist and snapping it any time you pick or wearing gloves so you can't. USING CANDLE LIGHT only in your bathroom so you can't see problem areas in the mirror has also been suggested. please feel free to add anything else to this post that might be used along with some basic guidelines. let's work to get this post to be full of good ideas. :) anyone ??

On March 27th, 2010 wildflower said:

check out - http://www.skinpick.com/stop-picking-my-skin - copy and paste that url into a new window for lots of information and recommendations

On March 16th, 2010 ocdFreak said:

I couldn't agree more! You have cut out the simple, bare-bones guidelines to fix this problem. I have definitely taken your word for it. Wow, 16 days - this is front - page news right here! if there was a dermatillomania help magazine, you'd make the cover! Today is day 10 for me. The urges to pick are still there and so I must do a few things to help with that. First of all, after 10 days, the redness has reduced to a more peachy color, so given 10 more days, the skin should look even more normal and healed. Seeing this peachy color gives me hope that the scars will heal if I continue to leave them alone. Second, i know that i pick when i am stressed and/or bored. Therefore, i try to do things that keep me busy or release stress. I go to the gym now. while IN the gym, I can't pick because a) people are in there, and b) my hands are always busy. After the gym, endorphins are making me feel good, which makes me happy and gives me hope in this whole process and helps the immune system and cells, which means wounds will heal that much quicker. believe me, this heals quite a bit of stress!! Third, I keep myself busy with hobbies that I find lucrative or satisfying, and possibly time consuming in a good way. For instance, i have updated my computer in a lot of ways and downloaded some awesome programs for making 3D art. learning that takes up time in a non-boring way - or i do homework, since i have to get that done anyway. (i get a lot more of that done when i'm not stressing and picking over it :) ) and Third, I keep the scars moisturized. oddly, hand lotions are not the only ones that i use. after rubbing hair smoothers through my hands to put in my hair, my hands are way more moisturized for long periods of time!! maybe there's more to these products than just hair care lol and Lastly, I don't look at my hands to inspect them in any way anymore. I keep them busy the best I can and just try not to pay them any mind after that. Hope this helps!!!

On March 18th, 2010 wildflower said:

i'm so glad you think these are sound guidelines. yesterday was actually day 21 for me, not day 16 so it really is a big thing! i'm so glad to read that you are doing real good too and recognizing more about the habit and what tactics you can employ to beat the urges. it's great that you've turned your attentions to other things that are proving to be very productive and satisfying. in other words, you've replaced some bad habits with good ones and that's something that should be on the basic guidelines too, for sure. again, congrats on your success to date!

On March 16th, 2010 wildflower said:

i am proud to say i am 3 weeks today with no picking !!! dermatologists didn't help me. being chastised or shamed didn't help me. i'm sure threats would never have helped me. what has helped was desperation, information, knowledge, finding out there are so many other people suffering similarly thinking i was the only one, and receiving support. i believe it is possible for many of us to get serious with ourselves and conquer it with those things, but i was on the doorstep of disbelieving it was within me and was about to seek hypnotherapy or whoever (not whatever) my dermatologist and/or psychologist suggested i see, but i thought i'd give it a full effort with the information i'd found (basic, sound guidelines) and the folk here embarking on 40 day challenges and the like and have amazingly surprised myself by making it this far. it "is" possible, fellow sufferers. i've never made it past a day before this so this is big. i was desperate and have gone this far. if i should fail, i now know that it will just be a minor set back and i will be able to do this far again. but i do not intend to fail, i just know from quitting smoking time and time again before i finally did it (I quit in 1975) that failures are common before successes. it just takes perseverance, commitment, and sometimes downright desperation. i just hope for each and every one of you that you succeed with your efforts much sooner in your lives than i have. for your health's sake. i am in my 50s and picked from childhood through to now, mostly since i was 30. don't wait this long to help yourselves. all the best to each of you. do what you must do, whatever it is. IT IS DOABLE !!

On March 16th, 2010 Cohen said:

This is awesome! (this whole forum is incredible!) I've never realized until now I isolated I felt when it came to this issue. I'd occasionally have people point the problem out, ask me what I was doing, etc., but I've never considered that this is a real problem until now and it's absolutely incredible to read of someone successfully breaking the cycle. After reading this I decided not to pick in the present moment and was (not for the first time) ASTOUNDED at how unconscious of a behavior this all is. I'd consciously decide not to pick my scalp and suddenly notice I was picking my finger. I'd then stop picking my finger to realize that I'd started biting my lip. I'd make myself stop bitting my lip and suddenly notice that I'd started picking at my finger again! It's crazy!!! Literally, after each sentence I have to stop my fingers from automatically trying to scrape at each other! But, reading your story just now I'm going to do everything possible to be as aware of all of this going on. Thanks!

On March 16th, 2010 wildflower said:

oh how i hope be of some help to anyone with this problem. you're very welcome. and yes, it's crazy. my fingers still search and find but now they're not doing harm. i'm aware before it happens. they've stopped automatically and unconsciously scratching. soon i hope they will stop the touching as that introduces unwanted bacteria that will cause pimples and the like but for now, i'm thrilled i'm not breaking my skin !! of course other habits are being picked up but stopping them will be much easier as they won't be allowed to get to be so ingrained. your awareness of your actions is a big step !! i have faith that you will make great strides. keep up the awareness and the objective !! :)

On March 16th, 2010 40daysfromnow said:

Thank you for updating us on your success. It is very motivating. You are a great contributer to this forum and have helped me a lot. I am still going with the 40 day thing and haven't had to start over again. My face is pretty much clear besides an area on one side of my face. Forehead, nose, chin, one cheek is CLEAR! It is doable and I can't wait for the "habit" to be officially gone :)

On March 16th, 2010 wildflower said:

i'm thrilled to be motivational. i'm thrilled with my success. i'd be thrilled to read similar success stories. i hope i do. i'm thrilled to hear with your progress !! keep up the good work !! i'm confident you can do it !! keep posting your success. we can help each other here in this forum achieve what we never thought was possible feeling alone and overwhelmed. we are not alone. and if inspired and motivated we can beat this and feel better and better about ourselves which is ultimately what we need. :)

On March 14th, 2010 40daysfromnow said:

Avoid coffee! I drank a whole pot of coffee today and the urges are like x1000000! Driving me nuts.

On March 14th, 2010 wildflower said:

definitely! and such is the same with too much alcohol, sugar, fats, and tobacco. i have been researching what the main components of a good diet for skin is and these are repeated in my findings: water, green tea, omega fatty acids (salmon, walnuts, flax seeds, avocados), low fat yogurt, berries (esp blue berries), nuts (esp walnuts, almonds, cashews, brazil nuts, pistachios), cottage cheese, mangoes, whole grains, carrots/sweet potatoes

On March 23rd, 2010 wildflower said:

in just a few hours i will be able to say that i have made it 4 WEEKS without picking! believe me this is HUGE. i have replaced many bad habits with the good habits that this post is about and my skin is thanking me for that and the concerted effort i've made. i've suffered for longer than many of you have been alive so know how horribly insidious dermatillomania is and hope that each of you will do the research, make the choices, make the commitment and manage to put your bad habits behind you and good habits in their place. <3

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