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21-Day Challenge
Hi everyone! I hate how I feel about myself and I hate how my skin looks when all I really want is smooth and beautiful skin. I figure that we've got this absolute desire to be beautiful and have perfect skin while spots, blackheads, coarse cuticles, ingrown hairs, etc. is not welcome on beautiful skin. So, a combination of this perfectionism, impulse and, well, addiction, makes us scar ourselves and also hate ourselves for doing so. .................................................................................................................................................... Now, here's my challenge: You've probably heard that it takes 21 days to combat and quit a bad habit. I am going to try and do it with skin picking. I have posted post-its on all my mirrors and usual picking spots in the house with just "DAY 1" to remind me of what I am up against. I will change this daily, but if I falter, I have to start back at day 1. .................................................................................................................................................... I really want to change my life and be free of this and I am going to take the bull by the horns... WHO'S WITH ME?? I will post my progress on this topic and I encourage you to do the same, starting with today as DAY 1!
April 15, 2013
Hey everyone, so glad I found this forum. I'm 26 and have been picking my face, arms, chest since i was 12 or 13, don't remember exactly, probably around when I hit puberty. Since I have been working on other compulsive behaviors over the last 1+year (overeating, binge drinking), I have become hyper aware of how much this habit has cost me and have resolved to focus on it and put my all into changing it. I have been working on this challenge on my own for a month, and have made it to Day 7, starting over about 5 times so far. One great tool I have used has been to track my day # and lapses in my calendar every day. After my first reset I beat myself up about it. I'm learning to be more compassionate towards myself. I'm not going to reverse a 10+year habit in a month. It will take time. I consider this compassion for myself progress. If I do have a lapse, I note the level of my lapse on a scale of 1-10. I haven't had a lapse over what I would consider an 8 in a month. I'm really proud of myself for this and even though today was hard and I picked and broke my streak again, I'm getting stronger. I can feel it and I can see it in my tracking. Another tool I'm using is journaling after I have a lapse (trying to journal before I pick...don't always make it though), and trying to notice the patterns. I tend to pick when I'm alone, in bathrooms, when I'm running late, when I've overbooked myself and I'm keeping someone waiting or having to rush, when I'm bored even for an instant, when i'm reading a book, when i'm thinking about the career I want and haven't been able to commit to because my mental health issues have been so unmanageable, etc. Generally my issues revolve around trying to do too much, which brings on stress and anxiety, etc. so I am starting to make changes in how I structure my life, namely adding activities/friends who are supportive of my general recovery from compulsive behaviors and taking out those activities that really aren't necessary and are overwhelming me and getting in the way of my healing. Other strategies I've been using that have helped me not pick: distracting myself when i have an urge by calling a friend or exercising, and reading in public places like coffee shops/libraries where i can be around people and feel less tempted to pick. The most difficult and most liberating coping strategy has been to share my CSP experience with others in group therapy, which I did for the first time about 3 weeks ago. Voicing the exact nature of my suffering to someone else took a lot of courage and I am trying to gain strength to share with my close friends some day soon and continue building my support system. Tomorrow is Day 1 and I'm feeling strong. Thanks everyone for your stories. I found much hope here tonight. good luck warriors!