You’re not alone. 🤍

Today was difficult dealing with my excoriation. I began to feed into my failures; where will I end up? I want to be the decider of my own fate; Yet, I’m not sure where to go from here. I want to connect with you all; please don’t feel alone. I am here for you. You are strong. You are capable. You are wonderful. You are more powerful than any mental illness that exists, and therefore, you CAN conquer your OCD. If you struggle with skin-picking specifically or any OCD related illness, please share below. ❤️

carolynkress

Date posted: 1y ago

It is really hard to not feel alone in this sometimes. I struggle with multiple forms of OCD I guess. Lately I have just been feeling uncomfortable with everything. My skin feels uncomfortable, my house feels uncomfortable, etc. I feel like even if I cleaned everything, it wouldn’t scratch the surface! I can’t clean because nothing will be “clean enough” and the task itself seems so daunting. I also struggle with holding my breath and tapping things until it feels just right. It’s a terrible feeling and I can’t shake it sometimes.

Anonymous

Date posted: 1y ago

@carolynkress While we continue our healing processes, there will be times we may be alone. Feeling alone is sometimes just as frustrating as struggling with OCD. That being said, I made my first post on NOCD because I felt alone, and because you responded, in actuality I know I’m not as alone as I feel. Thank you for sharing your experiences.

carolynkress

Date posted: 1y ago

@Anonymous I’m glad I could make you feel less alone. You are not, and I’d like to think none of us ever are. But it’s hard sometimes to not feel alone when you’re struggling with things like this. Just know you are not alone.

kikilovescup...

Date posted: 1y ago

I struggle with skin picking but on my face and chest, so everyone can see it. I’m always scared of what they are thinking. Does she not take care of herself? She must have zero hygiene? Etc..

Anonymous

Date posted: 1y ago

@kikilovescupcakes My skin-picking is primarily my thumb but also my other fingers. When my fingers are most raw I feel super vulnerable to the opinions of others; they must think I am disgusting or unhygienic. I have these thoughts too.. but these thoughts and ideas around skin picking are nothing but a stigma that we use to put ourselves down. We can still skin-pick and be hygienic, beautiful, worthy. Promise me you’ll take it easy on yourself as we heal, and I’ll do the same!

BipolarMeets...

Date posted: 1y ago

I started skin picking my face at a young age. I remember back in middle school sitting on top of my bathroom sink and just going to town on all my pores. It got worse as I got older and now at 41 I have blemishes all over my face and it's so noticeable and hard to cover up. This past couple weeks I started again on 3 spots on my chin and one of those spots got really bad and I have open wounds on my left arm. It's the summer so I'm hiding inside and no going to the pool or to the shore. I wear long sleeves if I have to go out in 90 degree weather. I used to be pretty. I am no longer pretty. I'm an embarrassment as a human being.

Anonymous

Date posted: 1y ago

Hi BipolarMeetsWorld, I can relate to your story word for word, thanks for sharing. I have always felt that I’m the only one who suffers from this. I almost never see anyone out in public with their skin torn up, and I envy people with smooth skin. I feel like I’ve tried everything to combat my ocd but nothing worked. I’ve seen therapist who suggested I start journaling which I did, I read books, tried wearing gloves, and I even tried Paxil. My skin picking makes me feel like I don’t want to live anymore. It makes me feel weak and out of control. Doctors and dermatologist have looked at me like I’m crazy and have said those famous words people like us here so often “stop picking,” well if it was just that easy, I wouldn’t be here right now. I’m 41 also and have been dealing with this issue since I was younger and wish I could stop, I’ve spent so much money trying to correct the damage I’ve done only to mess my skin up all over again. I tattooed my arm to cover up my scars and will probably tattoo both legs to cover up those scars. It sucks because I also feel I could be beautiful woman without all these scars. I hate taking pictures and can’t leave my house without a pound of makeup on. The worst part about it is that it affects the people around me in so many different ways. I feel like I can’t be a good mom and wife if I can’t even take care of myself.

Anonymous

Date posted: 1y ago

Has anything helped you? I am desperate to stop picking my skin.

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