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AGirlOfPlainRe… , 21 Jun 2012

Extremely bad skin picker

Since I was 11 years old I have been picking at my skin. And I don't have a specific area I pick everywhere that my arms can reach. My upper back is covered in scars. My face has so much discoloration that it takes me an hour to put on make up just to look normal. I have scars all over the highest part of my chest. Both of my upper arms are so covered in scars that it just looks like two big giant patchy scars. I have few scars below the waist but they are everywhere. I get so bad sometimes I pick at my scalp and my ears. When I was younger (11-14) I tried so hard to hide them from everyone. I wore jackets and long sleeve shirts in 100 degree weather. I was so ashamed. I thought I was a freak and many of the kids at my school thought so too. Recently I have started not to care about what others think, but I still continue to pick. I go about 2 or 3 days without doing it but the next day I find myself sitting for 5 maybe 6 hours in a trans not able to stop myself from picking at every little imperfection. I need help. Does anyone here have any advice for me?
3 Answers
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Pick-N-Puller
June 26, 2012
Hi, I kindof know how you are feeling; I'm 24 and have been pulling my hair since the age of 13 and skin picking since around 16-17; which has gradually got worse and worse.... Please don't feel ashamed; no-one is perfect!! perfect is boring anyway!! :) its my legs i have attacked mostly with regards to the picking (along with my belly, my back, my face and chest). I hate myself for what i have done to myself but im keeping positive and hoping i won't be this way forever! Have you tried speaking to anyone, like a very close friend or relative? I finally got the courage to tell my friend and boyfriend a few months ago and it felt like a huge weight had been lifted off my shoulders! I can't say that it stopped me in anyway but I dont feel like im so alone with it now if you get me? Try speaking with a Doctor if you cant confide in anyone close to you, ask them to refer you to see a counsellor maybe? The doctor may not be able to help much with it as it isn't a well known disorder, (or maybe it was just my doctor who had never had experience with it) but counsellors and psychiatrists would have dealt with hundreds of cases; thats the route im going at the moment and i've got all my fingers and toes crossed that it may help!! Keep your Chin Up, you'll get through it one day! xx
Ashamed14-.-
June 29, 2012
Hey, I'm 14 and I honestley thought I was the only one that picked at my scabs. I have been picking forever. I don't really remember my childhood but I was beat and raped once. When I was little I didn't have acne so I didn't pick at my face I would pick an scabed knees or elbows, when I started getting acne I started picking it I'm going into 9th grade and I have been picking my face since 7th grade. People are always making fun of me and telling me to order proactive. When people bully me I usually go to a bath room and cry. No one really understands its a habit/disorder. People are always calling me or texting me with rude comments. When someone says something about the sacs in my face it make me want to pick the worse. I am really pretty when my face doesn't have scabs all over it. I just want them to go away and I feel like if I pick them it's like picking it away. I have the tan and blonde hair and brown eyes I weigh 108 but my face is really bad. I hate when people talk about it it makes me feel ashamed. I never really thought of it as a disorder just a really nasty thing I do. When I don't have scabs I love the way I look. When I do have scabs I use so much make up its crazy. I just wanna cut I and be pretty like all the other girls. I just wanna be normal. I'm ashamed. Please HELP me:/
Aargh
July 02, 2012
Ashamed14-- Honey, your screen name says it all. I am not a psychologist, but my bet is that even if you don't remember much of the trauma from your childhood, your CSP is a manifestation of those events. Most of us (consciously or unconsciously) use chronic skin picking as a stress reliever as well as a way to rid ourselves of imperfections and "bad stuff" under our skin (blackheads, whiteheads, ingrown hairs, etc.). A great deal of our self-destructive behavior comes from our own unresolved issues. (Picking our skin serves as a substitute for purging ourselves of all our emotional baggage crap that is deep inside us.) I'm betting that, at 14, you haven't had the opportunity to process your childhhood trauma which, believe me, is somewhere under the emotional surface even if you don't remember. You may be trying to process the shame of what happened to you--even though you have NOTHING to be ashamed about. The assault wasn't your fault. The subsequent picking that emerged after that horrible event was your childlike way of dealing with the stress of it. Now it is probably not only an emotional crutch, but a physical habit. None of this is something you should be ashamed of. Be proud of your survival. Please consider dealing with your trauma before trying to cure your picking. If you don't deal with that underlying issue, you won't really be able to stop your destructive behavior. I am so, so sorry for what happened to you. I was molested as a girl, though my experience was not as violent as yours. I totally understand where you're coming from. Please find a counselor at school or talk to your pediatrician to get started on a refererral to a psychologist who can put you on the road to recovery. Hang in there, hon. There IS hope ahead.

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