Online Test

Find out the severity of your symptoms with this free online test

ickybee , 12 Jun 2012

new girl

hi, I read somewhere that admitting this habit is the first step to stopping. I'm 22 and I bite my nails, skin, toes, callouses and cuticles. I do this all the time until the skin is raw and bleeding. I also pick my nose and eat it. I have been doing this for as long as I can remember. I used to do it when I was just bored or stressed but lately I have been catching myself doing it all the time. I am an artist and work with a lot of poisonous materials, and fear that I am going to make myself sick putting them ino my body. I need to stop this habit, it's already gotten out of control. I just moved in with my boyfriend and can't let him find out I chew the skin off my toes. I feel disgusting and weird. Help! Marie
2 Answers
potatoes
June 12, 2012
My advice to you is to keep socks on your feet. So your not distracted looking at them. I used to pick at the bottom of my feet that it became too sore to walk on. I feel it is a psychological problem when people choose to pick at their feet or their legs. I think this could be a metaphor to keeping ourselves grounded and cutting down the limits in our daily lives to make do with our existence now. For instance, I used to pick at my feet and my legs when I lived with my mum. Because I knew there wasn't much to do but to stay in my bedroom or sit in the living room. I knew that there was probably a more exciting world out there but I had to somehow keep myself grounded starting literally on my feet. I also picked at my face and my legs when I met a great guy and was waiting for the time to move in with him. Even though he was great and I had a boyfriend, I felt I still needed to find a way to ground myself from not having a wandering eye at other men, so subconsciously, picking seemed the only answer however disastrous it was, to numb down my jumpy mind and not able to control or sustain everything else that seems going too fast in the world.
Flowers
June 14, 2012
I usually chew on the pieces of skin and spit them out and pick my nose as well. Im very private about it, but I'm sure I've been seen before...as everything else seems faded while I pick. It certainly helps to be forward about it with your boyfriend...don't need to go into intense detail though. I've never shared as much as I have until I joined this site.

Start your journey with SkinPick

Take control of your life and find freedom from skin picking through professional therapy and evidence-based behavioral techniques.

Start Now