(hurrah for sub accounts, now the one person who I know IRL on this forum will have NO IDEA WHO I AM probably, maybe, I didn't exactly make it difficult, hrmm welp) content warning for. . . gross skin stuff, I guess?? Pimples n shit, mainly, please do not read on if you're not ok with some generally icky skin stuff so I've had pretty bad acne since about second grade-ish (around 7-ish for non USA school people), it's mostly blackheads and smallish pimples, and it's not red or angry looking. I have sorta vague recollections of my mom popping my blackheads when I was really little; honestly it wasn't really her fault though, I probably would've started picking at some point sooner or later, but I guess because of her it was sooner? I don't really blame her, she didn't mean to. I also wonder sometimes if my skin has been as bad as it is over the years because of me continually picking at and popping acne, idk (I don't wonder, actually, I KNOW, because once I managed to not pick for like a week and just sorta went holy shit my face looks really good) but yeah, I impulsively pick at my acne! Not scabs, which is good I guess. it gets worse with stress levels, so during the school months it's a lot worse than during the summer, but the compulsion is still there all year. I pick without even thinking about it; during tests, just sitting, idk, anywhere. two months-ish ago I looked in the mirror and realized that my shoulders and upper back are completely and totally scarred, which kinda sucks? I'm not a self conscious kind of person but the fact that I did that to myself over the course of 10 years kinda freaked me out. that was around when I cut my fingernails super duper short in an effort to curb the habit (it didn't really help, I just sorta resorted to pinching instead of scratching :\) and started analyzing myself, I guess? I realized that I don't do it for pain, generally, because it doesn't really hurt, and when it does it's because I accidentally popped something that was Not Ready to be popped and I don't actively seek that out. I realized that it's. . . mainly because I guess I really really hate the idea of dirt and gross shit being in my skin? and also, the sound. sometimes there's a little popping sound and I know that's super super gross but idk it's kinda calming I guess? also it keeps my hands busy (I've tried to stop the habit by having other things to fiddle with, like play dough and silly putty n stuff, but it doesn't really help, also I can't really carry putty with me into all my classes :///) so idk! does anyone have any tips to help me stop compulsively picking? I'm kinda desperate at this point, I don't want to scar my back any more than it already is and I also don't wanna fuck up my face if you read all that you're a star, thanks :"0
also I have NO CLUE if I put this thread in the right place, I'm kinda new to this, if it's in the wrong place feel free to move it wherever
The only thing that has really helped me not just pick things open and then continuously pick at the scabs is emptying them properly with an extraction tool like this. So I get the satisfaction of reducing the bumps which I think is what sets me off to picking, and clearing them out this way doesn't result in scabs and scars.
Acne-picking is not really one of my problems, but I do pick at the skin around my fingernails and I occasionally pick at scabs; the latter I can usually will myself to stop doing when I notice it, the former... well, I don't even remember when I started picking at my nails and the skin around my nails, but I was probably 5-7 or so, and it's hard to stop. Honestly I don't have any real advice, just a solidarity fist-bump? Sometimes I try and use phone games to keep my hands/fingers busy, but as with putty that isn't always socially acceptable. Someone on this forum recommended finding something soft to touch when I was going through an eyebrow-plucking episode, and that seemed to help; not sure how applicable it is to skin-picking, but there you go.
I do this to some extent too. My skin's been bad for the past 13 years or so and I find it really hard to leave it alone when I have a breakout. One thing that's helped are cold sore patches. They're little round see-through plasters, and you can get hydrocolloidal ones that promote healing and reduce scarring. So if I have a zit that I've been fiddling with / know I'll fiddle with, I'll clean it up with some antiseptic and put one of those over it. It stops me from absent mindedly messing with it and lessens the amount of time it takes for it to go away. Most of the plasters are pretty unobtrusive - I have a friend that uses them for actual cold sores and usually I don't even notice she's got one on - but I don't think I've ever worn one outside of the house (mainly because I only tend to pick when I'm at home). I also just bought one of those 'endless edamame' keychains. They're little bean pods with beans inside that you can pop in and out as many times as you like. Super satisfying, and they come with cute little faces on the beans :)
@Aniseed omg, I need one of those asap, thanks so much for the link!!! *____* @garden *sad solidarity fist-bump* thanks man @Nertbugs !! I'll have to look into those! I feel like they'd help a lot, even if I was just wearing them at night or something. . . also those keychains are hella cute, I'll have to investigate acquiring one of those too. . .! Thank you!!
@Stars Also get a pair of tweezers with a bit of a point at the tips if you don't have any. Sometimes to pop a spot you might have to poke them a bit, and you can also do some precise/tight squeezing with tweezers.
I have/had this problem for years as well. I also used to bite my nails extremely short. What helped me was.... For my nail-biting: painting my nails and keeping a nail file nearby, to file instead of biting if a rough spot showed up. For skin picking: weirdly, starting to tweeze my eyebrows and shave my body helped. It's similarly methodical, laborious, soothing, and body-focused, but it's not destructive, and it has an established end point. When there is no hair left to shave, I am done (or when my eyebrows have no unwanted hairs and are the shape I want them to be). I still pick compulsively, but can often now redirect that impulse into plucking or shaving body hair.
I used to scratch/pick at my scalp a lot, but now i do it a lot less since I got a spinner ring. I think the fact that it's a similar finger-focused fidget helps. That edamame keychain would probably help a lot more though, I should get one of those... also, I haven't tried it more than a couple times yet, but I know people who swear by elmer's glue as a good replacement for skinpicking. Just put some on your arm or hand (or you could probably even do your face or shoulder/back area), then peel it off when it's dry. Very satisfying.
