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How I improved....
I have been struggling with skin picking for as long as I can remember. After visiting this forum I started to confront some of my issues and realise why I pick, which went some way to help me improve. I realised my problem is foremost stress and anxiety, habit, perfectionism and fundamentally an acne problem I have struggled with since my early teens. I optimistically tried stopping picking completely for a specific amount of days, which I found succesful but not a permanent solution, the temptation just got far too great and I gave in. Instead, by taking things slow and taking away the temptation, I have gone some way to stopping picking. It may sound completely crazy but I have covered all of my mirrors in clingfilm(seranwrap) so that I can see a reflection but the imperfections are not clear enough for me to pin point and pick at. The force telling me to pick is so strong that turning of lights or covering the mirrors temporarily just didn't work. Having something stuck to the mirror and wrapping it so it is a pain to take off means that it becomes a struggle to pick! I am hoping that long term this will train me out of picking....! I have also taken a cycle of lymecycline to help my acne, which takes away the fundamental problem of having imperfections. I can't say that my problem has gone away completely - I just feel more in control and my skin is much clearer (almost free of hyperpigmentation and acne for the first time in a year!) which I'm more than happy with at the moment! Just as diets don't work long term for losing weight, for me, short term solutions aren't the answer. Help yourself by taking away the temptation, slowly work out solutions that work for you and fight the problem step by step! Don't beat yourself up for not stopping completely straight away, accept that if you have been picking for years, it's not going to go away overnight!
July 07, 2013
I completely agree that looking in the mirror and seeing imperfections on my face is the worst trigger of all! Unfortunately I live with my family, and they have no idea I have derma (I have no intention of telling them either), so covering the mirrors up would definitely count as strange behavior. This is probably my what I struggle with the most. Whenever I go to the bathroom, where the lightening is sooo bright, and you just see every little pore and imperfection, it is next to impossible not to pick. I have tried covering up the mirror every time I go in there, but it's just too much. It is possible to turn the lights down, though, so that's what I usually do and it kinda works. So it's only critical when someone else has turned them back on and I don't bother turning them down. I really have no solution for that, but I'm working on it! :) I have improved so so so much since I started not beating myself up about picking a pore or two, that's probably what has worked the most for me. Not thinking about derma at all is, in my opinion, the best solution, because thinking and stressing over it is nothing but triggering. You mentioned that your hyperpigmentation had faded? I am nearly pick free at the moment, but my hyperpigmentation, especially below my cheekbones is really horrible, and I wear makeup at all times when I'm around other people. Did you do anything to make it fade faster? It's terribly annoying to have almost clear skin, and still not being able to not wear any makeup because my skin is full of red marks.. And congrats on clearing up your skin by the way, it must feel absolutely amazing! xxx