I did it :) I stopped.

Yes it's true. I have "stopped" picking my face. How did I do it? I focused. I didn't let myself feel guilty for picking during my December Rehab (see a couple pages earlier in the forum if you want). I accepted myself as being imperfect and realized that no one else really cared about the spots on my face. The people in my life don't talk to me because I'm pretty or avoid me when I'm not, they like me for the person inside. I wrapped my head around my anxiety...that was the hardest part, learning to control it. I had to pin point my bad times for picking ie in the morning, before bed and before going out. Figure out why I was doing it. Deciding which would be the easiest to stop first to I could have some progress and focus on that. I started working out and thus drinking more water. That helped a surprising amount. I read the entire Twilight series over the Christmas break and that really helped calm me down and get me out of my routine that involved picking. I realized another time I picked was when I was stressed out about school and it was a form of procrastination. That was another difficult point. I had to say to myself, this is NOT the way to handle stress, this is NOT helping. I came to terms with the things in my past that bring me down and I do my best to let any anger my parents cause to drop off my shoulders...I take a walk or something, get some fresh air to help my thinking so I don't get stuck in anxiety again. I bought 2 things from the aloe line at the Body Shop...exfoliant and foam cleanser. I also used pure aloe on the cuts I caused and blemishes and then vaseline body lotion that also has aloe in (my body seems to react really well with aloe more than vitamin E or anything else). Now, I still pick sometimes...the random pimple but it's in control and I don't worry about it. I ignore the smaller things on my face that I would normally pick and know that I look beautiful even with them because people usually look at your face as a whole or your eyes or your lips. However, if there are spots it is important to realize that people do see them and they are more likely to register them if they looked picked at. I hope some of my story can help at least one person. Life has wonderful things to offer that you miss out on when you are busy in front of the mirror or worrying about hiding behind your bangs on a windy day.