I'm new here, please help....

Hi Rose- There are tons of people on here that pick their face, legs, you name it. I think the root cause of it is anxiety. Keep browsing thru the forum because lots of people give info on what's helped them, too. Half the problem is recognizing and educating yourself that it is a problem. I didn't know it was a defined thing either. Stumbled across the site just like you. One thing that works for me is loading up on lotion - I'm a cuticle attacker - might help with your legs. I use Neutrogena Hand Cream and apply it throughout the day. I find it makes it real tough to peel anything - I think the dryer your skin is the more you can pick. Just a thought.

Hi, I'm new here...just found this site today. My heart goes out to all of you. I have been picking or biting my cuticles and/or nails since I was a toddler. I remember starting it at 2-3 years of age. My parents used to put gloves on my hands, and that foul tasting stuff, too. Never did any good. I have times when I don't pick or chew them much, and they look pretty good. I have other times when I have bitten or picked them until they are bloody and sore. I've never had an infection. When I started massage therapy school, we had to keep our nails super short, so I carried an emery board around with me everywhere, filing them everyday. I quit biting my nails that way. YAY! Yesterday I was at my doctor's office for a trigger finger, and he told me I'm an "anxious" person. I asked him why he said that and he said it was so obvious that even the person selling me milk could tell I was anxious. I've asked my friends if they think I'm anxious...most said no, but they thought I was the sort of person who'd get antsy if I didn't have something to do with my hands. I get the urge to bite or pick because my fingers "itch". Of course, most people don't understand that feeling. I don't understand it, either! It's like an inner compulsion to rip that hangnail off, or bite the skin around my nail because it "itches". Every time someone tells me to stop picking or biting, the urge to do it becomes even more! I've decided that it's an obsessive-compulsive disorder, and I'm most likely stuck with it.