Online Test
Find out the severity of your symptoms with this free online test
I pick everything and am sick of hurting myself any help would be great
I think I am a compulsive picker, I have done it since I can remember. My first memory was having a mole that looked like a 3rd nipple, I didn't like it so I picked it off over and over till it was just a tiny lump. If I get a spot I have to squeeze it, I also unconsciously pick at my husbands back when we cuddle. I pick at ingrown hairs on my legs and once I start I just keep finding more and more until my legs are covered in little holes. If I get a scab I pick it over and over again until it scars. I bite my lips till they bleed too and the inside of my mouth.
The thing that has finally made me realise that must have a problem is I had a ingrown tonail (only very slight) so I picked and picked got all the nail out of the sore bit, picked off all the skin got tweezers in the hole I had made and everything and now my toe is agony and is kepping me awake and making me limp (why would anyone do that to themselves?).
I am really embarrassed about this as it's not nice but I am sick of doing this to myself, I want to be able to wear skirts in summer but my legs are always covered in scabs. The other thing that really worries me is that my 5 year old daughter has started picking too, just like I have from being about her age. I don't know if a genetic thing or if I am doing it without realising and she is copying. She has a brown mole on her leg and she keeps trying to pick it off, she did have a small freckle sized one just underneath but this is now a scar. I really don't want her to end up like me. Any help or advice would be great. I am already on Prozac (20 mg) for depression.
April 10, 2008
I started skin picking before I could remember as well. All I know is that I was raised under extreme pressure and mental abuse. Im old now and still skin pick to relieve stress.
I like getting into the zone, it makes me feel better. I concentrate on my face instead of all the past memories that flood my mind constantly. I have had thearpy, (8 years). My sister also picks but she is a cuticle picker. It may run in familys, noone knows yet.
Just remember that we would not do it if we didn't get something from it. When I go deep inside myself and figure out REALLY what I WANT TO DO IN MY LIFE, I am able to start working towards that goal and do not pick nearly as often. My children are grown now so I do not have to put there every whim first anymore.
I really wanted a place on the beach where I was raised but couldn't afford it. I wanted away from my big house with all of the problems a big house full of stuff contains. I found a small old camper for 1,200 bucks and fixed it up and put it in an R.V. park near my childhood home on the water.
I can afford that. I am now happier than I have ever been. I have gone home. I paint seascapes and sell them on the island.
I left my husband. I feel great. I do still skin pick though, just not nearly as much. I sure hope this helps. Do what is best for you and it will be the best for everyone else. My hubby now comes to visit on the weekends and its like a honeymoon. He takes care of the big house and I dont have to cook or clean or worry with him. YAHOOOO!!!