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jenna90 , 19 Apr 2010

Broken ...literally

Just found this site and finally what I've felt for years and done for years I've realised is more than just some insignificant issue. The struggle I face is real. Im in a serious relationship, heading towards and engagement and for the first time in years, I told my boyfriend what I'm dealing with. That was hard, harder than everything else I've ever had to tell him. I just want to be better. Its an addiction, a sickness. I remember the first time it happened and i remember the last. Its not as bad as it used to be, when i had open wounds in my back, on my chest, massive scabs in my scalp, infections all over my arms and legs and bleeding, infected, wounds on top of wounds in my face... make up doesnt cover blood. It's not as bad but its still there with potential to grow. I hate it so much, it makes one feels so worthless.. Today I looked in the mirror and just saw tears weld up in my eyes. the girl i was looking at looked so broken, literally, blood stained face and scars on something that could be beautiful. She was in pain. Moving into a moment of strong compulsion where an unconscious state took over, where like 30 minutes later she snapped out of it and couldnt believe what she had been doing. it was like self soothing a horrific solution to whatever she was struggling with, and its like its out now but her condition has worsened. Her imperfections inside her have been magnified outside now. a place only she wanted to know is visible to the world. I feel like i cant sleepover anywhere knowing someone could wake up before me in the morning when my make up rubs off. I feel like i cant talk to people knowing when im looking at their eyes their eyes are examining my face. I feel ashamed and insecure. Im a bit of a hippie but I feel like I cannot be myself, i cannot dress how i want to, wear my hair like i want to, i cant just wake up and go somewhere without my 30 minute morning routine of covering up wounds of guilt. i feel NOT beautiful. im sick of being trapped. im sick of hiding behind hair and layer upon layer of dirt. im sick of not being able to feel the sun upon my cheeks or the rain on my forehead or the oceans waves crashing above me. i feel completely chained in this disorder, this uncontrollable compulsion triggered by lack of self worth and bad habits. Im only 19 and this has held me down for so long, since grade 5, when i immigrated to Australia. I cannot handle it anymore. Im sick of pretending and lying when people ask whats wrong, when i cannot bring myself to tell the truth. iv had teachers ask if i have chicken pox, iv had teachers wipe my face of make up infront of everyone in my high school class, leaving me humiliated. Iv sat on the toilet floor at school crying, praying I would be healed before I go back to class. iv isolated myself. iv had friends lovingly accept me and give me solutions to what they thought was the problem. iv had parents spend thousands on me with pills and medication and consultation. iv hated cold light since i can remember. i carry make up everywhere, its bitter sweet security. this is ruining me. i want to be free. i want to wear no make up and those beautiful hippie dresses and not always have to wear my hair out to cover everything. i want to feel the sun on my shoulders. i want to look in the mirror without make up on and not feel ashamed. i want my beautiful man to see me for who i am. this is making me be everything im not. i hate it. its a sickness i want to be healed. i dont know what to do anymore. i so badly want to be free. im desperate what happens when im married... and my husband sees me like this? i want to be beautiful. :'( wow... for a person who hates forums and blogs, I cannot believe how much I've written here...to strangers. Know if you're reading this you're not alone. Know that there's others like myself who need help too. And I do believe, somehow, we can be better.
14 Answers
wildflower
April 19, 2010
my heart goes out to you. you have described how i've lived my whole life and i am 55 this july. i can't begin to express the hope i have for you to muster up all the information you can from this site and the internet about this disorder and what can be done to treat it so that you can conquer it now, vs years down the road. there is no magic bullet and it will take understanding what it's about, all the treatments available (medications, therapies, diet, supplements, etc), what applies to you and is available, and making a determined commitment to tackle it. believe that it is possible. make it happen. you can do it !! make it your priority to be kind to your skin. love it. love yourself. be kind to yourself. you will be rewarded in the long term. <3<3<3
wearytraveler
April 19, 2010

In reply to by wildflower

I am only 25 and have had skin picking issues of my arms and back for almost 2 years now. I can not imagine having this for my entire lifetime or for how long as you girls have been dealing with this. My heat goes out to all of you for facing this head on. I am not one for words and y'all described how I am feeling exactly. I am currently traveling for work and have been in the Caribbean for 4 months now. Unfortunately I have not been able to enjoy the weather and beaches to the fullest because of this condition either. When my parents came to visit I decided to face my fear of those looking at me and just wear a bikini even though my arms and back had scars, scabs and bumps plainly visible. I am not going to lie, I felt awful and extrememly self aware. To my surprise I was walking by a group of guys, trying not to make any sort of eye contact with them, and I heard whistling. I turn around and they were waving at me and smiling. One even asked if I was single. This gave me the boost of confidence I needed to try to face this issue head on instead of let it take me down. I just found this website today and I think it is great to have people talking about how they feel because no one is ever alone. Sometimes it's easier talking to strangers than those close to you. I know my boyfriend loves me and still thinks I am attractive and he is super supportive but you feel as though you are not giving that person all of you. I just want to say congratulations to being able to put away the make up and face this head on!!
simplicity
April 20, 2010

In reply to by wildflower

bless you.... i can also relate to what you have described.....i can feel your pain..... i have been suffering with this demon for almost 20 years.... plus i have suffered with trich for almost 40 years.... there is hope.... you are still young .....
jenna90
April 20, 2010

In reply to by simplicity

:) thanks guys. Just purchased some natural antioxidant facial wash and moisturiser its worked before and is just amazing... the range is called 'ecotanicals' for anyone interested. I also threw out all this make up ...read their ingredients and couldnt believe what was going onto my poor skin. i bought bandages and tea tree oil and some manuka honey for facial masks :) quite an investment but worth it. Day one was today, and I wont say it was easy... Being conscious of the effort I was making made me realise howmany times a day i go to the mirror! Its crazy. I did pick, a little bit... but I'm optimistic and feeling excited about not wearing any make up one day soon! I know I can do it. 'I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me' -phillipians 4 :) There is still hope for you too!! Don't give up, we're not crazy, we're merely human beings with a problem. The best part is we can overcome. :) You can.
wildflower
April 20, 2010

In reply to by jenna90

sounds great !! (except the picking part) but great that you are putting yourself on a better path!! be determined and be strong. and speed be with you to get to the no picking at all part. :) your skin will love you.
jenna90
April 21, 2010

In reply to by wildflower

im excited and hopeful but i just dont know... its day two and its hitting me hard... this has become part of my life. it started as a coping strategy and has turned into a bad habit an automatic thought process or reaction, a sickness an addiction. for 9 years it has been subconsciously and now consciously part of my every single day routine, several times a day, everytime i see a mirror i think about it, everytime something touches my face i think about it, from my hair to, the wind, to water droplets, to sunlight- it crosses my mind. i see imperfection all over my skin ...even when theres not and i have this uncontrollable urge to make it better....by making it worse. it hurts. kicking a 9yr chronic habit is so hard ... i didnt realise the strength of this thing. sometimes we dont realise the strength of things until we're asked to fight them. its hard. i truely wonder if itll ever truly be gone. even if i succeed...whether itll still be part of my everyday thought process. i hate it :(
wildflower
April 21, 2010

In reply to by jenna90

it is so real what you're going through. it's true. it is that gripping and mind consuming for sure. for now. it does lessen, and then it returns, and then it lessens and probably always will be in the shadows. i hate it too. with me, it has come to my fingers still exploring but only softly and gently and i feel good that i can leave things alone. i still see things, but look less often, and feel good that i look away. i'm proud that i've not taken my fingernails or tools to my skin and my skin has rewarded me by looking better. and it's great to not "have" to wear makeup when i go out. i'm not minding the fading red marks. in fact, i'm kinda proud of them being reminders of what i don't do anymore. it's a good feeling and one that you feel soon. it rises above the urges for me now. hang in there and be strong !!
wildflower
April 20, 2010

In reply to by simplicity

thank you !! and yes, i am still young. and it's time i began treating myself properly and lovingly and i'm doing that. and what i'm really trying to do here is encourage others to begin to do similarly because they are important and especially if they are much younger so they don't get to my age and then make the decision, finally, to treat their skin and bodies in healthy ways with the respect deserved. now is the time to begin. whoever, and whatever age and circumstance.
allovertheplace
April 19, 2010
I know exactly what you're going through. I started picking the second night my mom moved me from California to Japan...I was thirteen. It was bad back then, so bad. I would wear so much makeup, and I lived on a beatiful tropical island. I wanted the same things you wanted. I wanted to feel the ocean with a clean face and not worry about makeup smearing off. I wanted to feel the morning rays on a healthy face. I wanted to walk around my neighborhood without the neighbors whispering to each other in Japanese about my face. I was in ROTC in high school, basically dress up and act like you're in the fucking air force. Anyways, my makeup would smear off on to my uniform and I had gym class right before ROTC. We started swimming in gym...to my distraught. It took me forever to reapply all of the makeup and I was late to ROTC every time because of it. When I told my mother what was going on, she took all of my makeup away from me and forced me to go to school without makeup on. A guy came up to me and asked if I had chicken pox. My best-friend defended me the best she could, but I felt so broken. I ran over to a store and covered my face in all of their disgusting sample makeup. Now I'm eighteen, going to culinary school where we're not allowed to wear makeup in the kitchen. I got away with it in most of my classes, but one chef was quite the hard ass and asked me if I was wearing makeup in front of everyone and told me to go wash it off. It was humiliating, my face looked absolutely horrible and I continued to try and get away with it, but he kept catching me. But after a signifigant break down, I've realized that I'm so young and if I defeat this now, I have so many years ahead of me to enjoy, makeup and pick free. You're so young too, I encourage you to conquer this right now. I've told my boyfriend what was up, I stopped wearing makeup. I bagged it all up and had my parents dispose of it so that I wouldn't try and get it again. Yes, the first week was hard, and yes, mirrors suck right now. But its been about three weeks with no makeup and now I'm even starting to see the benefits. I really actually believe my skin is going to completely heal, and look absolutely beautiful and healthy. Yours will too, just do yourself the biggest favor, and start allowing your skin to heal. Do this now, and just think about how free you'll feel for the rest of your life. This is going to be hard, maybe the hardest thing you'll ever do, but just get through it, so you can enjoy life.
wildflower
April 19, 2010

In reply to by allovertheplace

use bandages on all open sores !! the healing will be quicker and the moisture will allow for less scarring !! ...oops, sorry allovertheplace, i'm sure i've suggested this to you already, i meant to suggest it to jenna90 ... :)
40daysfromnow
April 19, 2010

In reply to by allovertheplace

Reading both of your comments gave me goosebumps. I am around your age as well and have been picking from very young. I remember having to wear concealer to school to cover it from a very young age. None of my classmates wore makeup or had any red spots. I remember my mom teaching me how to apply it because it looked so bad. We weren't even allowed to wear makeup at my school but I think the teachers had sympathy for me. I used to be late for classes after gym class as well. I would have to wash my face and reapply everything. I would sneak to the bathroom between classes to make sure it hadn't come off. It was a constant worry. For a few months I remember having a big scab on my chin that I would try to hide with my hand. I would bite my shirt to hide it, or pretend to be resting my chin on my hands. It is a bit better since then but I still worry about my makeup coming off and revealing the marks I have created. I want so badly as well to be able to swim and enjoy the feeling of the water on my face. Last summer I used my hair as an excuse saying "'I don't want to go snorkeling, or go underwater because I don't want my hair to get wet" But that wasn't the real reason... I didn't want the makeup to wash off. In the heat of summer I wanted so badly to have my face underwater like everyone else... I hope I will be able to this summer. I would love to be able to run errands and not worry about having to apply a mask first. I also hate cold light and feel very uncomfortable under bright lights. I hate having to buy new makeup and being under the bright lights of the makeup store, and having the sales assistants looking at my face. Picking has a huge effect on my daily life, especially in the summer. I am trying my hardest to stop and slowly I am getting better. I hope swimming this summer will be enough motivation/ fear to get me to stop completely. I want to enjoy this summer with new skin and new confidence. Best of luck to you guys! I know how you're feeling.
jenna90
April 19, 2010
Wow. To know there's people going through the same thing, makes me hurt for them/you but it also helps knowing Im not alone. Awareness needs to be raised about this, I've been to about 7 doctors, 4 of which were very good skin doctors and not one of them suggested it could be this. My wounds were obviously more than an acne problem. Thanks for the support, yesterday was a time to be broken.I spent hours on this site and am full of hope now actually. I'm determined to make today a new day. I'm not going into university today because i do feel incredibly ashamed of the damage done yesterday - but I've realised Im young and have a choice to make :) I turn 20 this july and want this out of my life now. With the newfound knowledge of what im actually dealing with and honesty with myself, information about treatments and the support of those who understand i feel able to tackle this for the first time. I've already taken massive steps. I've spoken to my parents and have their loving support. I'v placed candles in the bathrooms in order to shower by candle light and not be tempted when the harsh light illuminates my imperfections. The mirror above my desk in my room is gone! I've cut my nails right back and replaced my linen with clean pillow cases. Im heading to the chemist later and shall purchase some natural face cleansers and moisturizers and some of those bandage things :)(thanks wildflower) Iv cleaned out my make up and made sure the mineral make up is all that I use. (i cant wear none just yet). Iv decided to make a conscious effort with diet and water intake. My wonderful boyfriend is keeping me accountable and his support is overwhelming... there is someone who is able to love us just as we are - i had the fear this may not be possible :) Iv also decided to set rewards for myself as i reach goals (consecutive days without picking). I’m also a Christian and I know the way for me to get through this is to rely on my Gods strength. So, I’m making a determined effort to read up on what He says about my self worth and beauty in the Bible. Iv taken before photos and cant wait to see the after photos. Today is Day One. :) Anyone with me?
wearytraveler
April 19, 2010

In reply to by jenna90

I am with everyone 100%. I am not sure about others but sometimes when I end up putting bandaids on my wounds they start itching after having them on all day. If I rub the bandaid to get relief sometimes I end up tearing the bandage off by accident. I bought ace bandage wraps to put around the bandaids so the bandaid will stay in place. I have noticed that my arms itch less when I have the wrap on. I know some ares are hard to wrap but just wanted to pass along this information in case others ran into this problem. I wish everyone the best of luck in your individual journeys to conquer this habit and hope to hear of all the successes!!
wildflower
April 20, 2010

In reply to by wearytraveler

i found out that i have reactions to latex in bandages and gravitated to latex free bandages. the kind i like the best are riteaid's brand of latext free round bandages because they are small so have minimal adhesive areas and this brand has the largest pad on it for the wound. i often alter bandages too, if i need a different kind because of the size of my wound or location so i trim them so there is the least amount of adhesive on my skin. it is important to not let other products interact with the adhesive too, to avoid reactions that often result in itchiness.

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