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B.hopeful , 31 Oct 2012

Join me for a new 30 day challenge!

A little background- I am a finger picker. All fingers. I've done it since I can remember. My husband knows. 3 years ago he got me to stop by giving me incentive- If I stopped for 45 days he'd buy me a present. I ended up getting a red tail Colombian boa!! I stopped picking for about.. Idk.. 200 days? My snake ended up dying. I was so upset I picked the night he died. I then became pregnant in January. Around March I stopped picking. I wanted to stop for my son. My son is 8 weeks old and we've encountered some financial issues and I picked. I WILL NOT let my son see my fingers mutilated. If he picked up this habit because he saw me doing it I'd never forgive myself. Thanks to the last two times i have quit my fingers are exceptionally better. I can continue and they can get worse... Or I can stop saying "tomorrow, I will quit." Everyday because if I keep doing that, it will never happen. I know I can do it. I've done it before. I've recognized my triggers and when something comes around I will find a new outlet. My goal is to stop picking my fingers. My incentive and motivation is the little tiny love of my life... My son. My damage is the thumb, index finger, and middle finger on both hands. Not extensive damage, but pink, "irritated" skin. Not bloody and raw, so I feel like progress will come quick as it always does. I always see great progress in the first 4-5 days- the first day is always the hardest though. I am almost through the first day. If anyone would like to join me, lets do this! Feel free to share your story. Your damage. Your goals, and your motivation. I will update as much as I can. I'm a "list" kind of person so I made a book type deal with 30 days marked in it and space to write in each day. I will not fail my son. :-) 30 days... Here I come! Join me!
24 Answers
B.hopeful
November 15, 2012
Oh my goodness the time really gets away from me :-( On the good note I haven't picked and I don't even know how many days its been... 17! Whoa I'm half done. Well I've been super busy but I've made time to keep my nails looking fabulous and that's probably my best secret. I can't show off my long, pretty painted nails when my fingers are bloody. My son is also starting to realize mommy has bright things on her fingers. He's starting to look at my fingers because my nails are bright- I don't want him seeing bloody raw skin and thinking its okay. So this is it. Icant ever go back to it. My fingers look like I have never picked. I'm really excited about it. So that's my secret- my son (whom I would do ANYTHING for... He keeps me going and made this happen), pretty nails and a busy life. I don't know what will work for you all but I hope and pray you've found it. I hope you are all doing well. I read this thread often, I just don't always have time to post. You are all an inspiration. I hope to see more updates on here. If you've failed, if youve succeeded, I wanna see it all. Hope to chat soon. Peace and love<3
Romy
November 16, 2012
Hello. I have been picking my face for about 4 years and I am almost 30. Before then, I had picked the occasional pimple but it wasn't a problem. It started becoming a serious problem when I stopped taking birth control and developed cystic acne for the first time. I became hyperaware of my skin because of it, examining it constantly. Even though I went back on birth control and the cystic acne is long gone my awareness of my skin remains high and my threshold for what I pick is dramatically lower. I now pick even the smallest bumps, little tiny blackheads that I never would have bothered with or even noticed before. I feel totally out of control. I can relate to comments in a lot of the posts. I isolate myself socially due to extreme embarrassment. When I am in public I tend to avoid making eye contact. Somehow I feel that if I can't see a person's face, they cannot see mine. It's crazy, I know. I have band aids and ointment on my face almost every night. I worry that my partner will get fed up with me, not because I look horrible, but because how I feel about my skin prevents me from being myself. I didn't always have this problem. I am writing in to take the 30 day challenge b/c I will try anything at this point. Hopefully connecting with others in the same position will help. I don't have the money to see a therapist who specializes in body focused repetitive behaviors such as skin picking. I did see a general counselor available through my health plan, but she just wanted to put me in anxiety classes. I took one, but it didn't help. The main reason I am anxious is because I have an out of control skin picking habit! 30 days starts now...Thank you for starting this B.hopeful!

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