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Perplexie , 15 Jan 2012

It's nice to know I am not alone -- how do you guys do it?

Just earlier today I found out what Dermatillomania was--and that it was a real thing--and that I am not the only one who deals with it. I started picking in sixth grade after my grandma started yelling at me for biting my nails. This was also around the time my parents had gotten a divorce. I have always been ashamed because of it. I pick my fingers tips and sides, bite my lips and the inside of my mouth until they are raw and bleeding and pick off small bumps on my skin from my keratosis pilaris. My fingers are always bleeding and sometimes have scabs if I allow them to have time to heal. Anyways, this morning I decided to stop picking--to quit cold turkey. I instantly found myself biting my lips and mouth again, though, so I decided to start by only not picking/biting my fingers. However, it has only been 6 hours and I find my fingers twitching, itching, and rubbing to pull at the skin around my nails. Even as I am typing this, my pointer finger is rubbing against my thumb just begging to tear the uneven skin there off. I told my mom about it in the hope that she would support me, but all she did was crack a few jokes. I have been reading articles, guides, etc. but I was wondering what you guys do to control the urge and deal with the embarrassment. Mind posting some advice and suggestions?
2 Answers
skipatrol32
January 15, 2012
hey i wouldn't worry about failing the first couple times you try to quit. Or anytime for that matter. Thats just how it goes, you get a really strong commitment to quit but within hours you'll be back at it. You just gotta keep positive and keep trying new things, try keeping a log recording exactly what your doing and about the time your doing it. Almost like a picking journal. Anything you can do mentally to get your confidence up is good too
Perplexie
January 15, 2012

In reply to by skipatrol32

Thank you for the support. A picking journal sounds like a good idea. Not sure if I will remember to keep the journal up if it requires posting it here, so I might just keep a written journal.

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