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hatesherface , 26 Nov 2010

Lips, anyone?

Does anyone else pick their lips? I do. I pick them until there isn't any healthy skin left. and it hurts so much when I pick at the edges. It hurts to eat afterwards, and it bleeds! the bleeding is horrible. What do people think? I'm so use to seeing my lips like that sometimes I forget, but what must they think? I look like a monster when I do it, and can never stop for more than a few days, if that. I'm 18 and I have been mutilating my skin since I was little. My mother does it too (not her lips, fingers mostly) and also my grandmother (feet). I think it must be at least partially be a learned behavior, its just too much of a coincidence that all 3 of us suffer from this compulsion. The sad thing is, I have great lips. the shape, I mean. Sometimes I think I do it on purpose, to make sure I stay ugly. Like I said, I'm 18. I'm smart, and sometimes I think I am even pretty. But I've never been kissed, had a boyfriend, or even held hands with a boy. It took me ages to figure out why no one was ever interested, but now I've got it. Who would kiss a girl with lips like mine? it is more than the lips, that just is my most lasting problem. fingers, feet, and acne too. I recently had a huge relapse on the lips. I have to lead a lecture on Monday, and I just wanted to look semi normal for it. I stopped picking for 3 days, but today I started again. I picked it all off, and it looks awful. Today is Thanksgiving, I was late coming to dinner because my lips wouldn't stop bleeding and I didn't want everyone to stare at them while we were eating. I hate having to hide in my room and miss out on fun things because of something I knowingly do to myself! I can't stop. I want to so bad. I've never googled skin picking before, I always thought it was best not to acknowledge it and that I would kick the habit eventually. But I think I need a support group, like AA, to help me. Do people really respond to these? does anyone else do lips? have any advice? please, I'm listening.
4 Answers
michaintoronto
November 26, 2010
I bite my lips a lot and yes I will pick the skin down. I seem to respect my face overall better than my arms,legs, chest,. scalp feet and back. I do stop before my mouth is too bad or i will end up with a cold sore and they truly hurt enough that I hesitate to pick them! I posted my story in a blog today and you are welcome to join me there for support and we can overcome this together. I am 42 and have been like this since i was a little girl
hatesherface
February 17, 2011

In reply to by hatesherface

something that helped me for a few days was a puzzle ring my parents gave me for my birthday. It is suppose to look like a rose when it all fits together properly, but I havn't been able to figure it out yet! Well, for a while it distracted me and kept me from picking, but I broke down after about a weak. Still, thats really a very long time for me, and my lips were in better shape than they had been for a while. I suggest you try a ring like mine, they have them online. Some of them are really complex...
mrscruz23
February 13, 2011
i know exactly how you feel! its a horrible thing.. isnt it? i hate it just as much as you do! unlike you i have no idea how i got started on this no one i know has a picking issue. but i have gotten so bad that i dont even care who sees me doing it or even where i am doing it. i really wish i could stop too. im 20 years old and have been doing it as long as i can remember. everyone tells me just to put chapstick on but that only works for a short amount of time until im back at it again. i do pick my lips until there bleeding and even at that ill still pick them even when they are.. after they bleed it leaves really red areas on my lips where it looks like blood still on my lips but its not its just tender areas where i picked the skin raw. i get so embarassed when my lips look like that but i just cant help it. i have a boyfriend and he knows about what i do and why i do it usually when im stressed, upset or bored. hes always telling me to stop and you even think with having a boyfriend who wants to kiss me i would stop automatically, but its just not that simple. i look at girls in magazines and just girls around me all the time wondering what it would feel like to have smooth lips and what it would feel like just not to pick ever again, but i honestly just cant picture myself not EVER picking :( i too have really great lips everyone has always complimented me on my lips there big and have a great shape, i just wish i could stop picking! your not alone with this issue!

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