- Username
- Banana413
- Date posted
- 19w ago
Skin picking
I’m not sure how to stop picking at my skin. It makes me sad to always see scabs all over my face, it ruins all my pictures. Any tips?
- Username
- DD115DD115
- Date posted
- 18w ago
Record how you feel before you pick. Record how you feel during picking. Record how you feel after picking. The after was always tragic for me.. eventually you can recognize the before feelings quicker and will want to prevent yourself from getting to the after feelings. Every single time you fight through the urge and don’t pick, you weaken it. Imagine each time you fight through the “urge hump” becomes less and less steep. I worked with a behavioral therapist for years with this and the imagery of that hump flattening still stays with me. Hope this helps and you will be always be okay
- Username
- Banana413Banana413
- Date posted
- 17w ago
@DD115 Thank you so much for sharing your experience and advice with me. 💗
- Username
- lizzibabelizzibabe
- Date posted
- 19w ago
Two things have really helped me in my skin picking journey! One would be, keep your hands busy! I highly recommend something like slime or even a picky pad! Two, funny enough is fake nails. I understand not everyone would want nails on, but they are perfectly rounded and unable to pierce skin. Once it heals it will get easier as there will be less scabs. This is what has worked for me, hope it helps!
- Username
- Banana413Banana413
- Date posted
- 19w ago
@lizzibabe Thank you! I appreciate it💗
- Username
- catladymeow111catladymeow111
- Date posted
- 19w ago
Hey! I used to struggle with this really bad, but I’ve made significant progress. What are your triggers? And when do you usually pick? (For example, only in front of mirrors? Only at night? etc)
- Username
- Banana413Banana413
- Date posted
- 19w ago
@catladymeow111 I definitely do it more in front of a mirror, but I feel like I do it all day long no matter what. What hailed helped
- Username
- catladymeow111catladymeow111
- Date posted
- 19w ago
@Banana413 A few things have helped me, so i’m going to list them all, sorry for the long message! : 1. A face washing routine. This is so hard to keep consistent, but romanticizing taking care of yourself and washing your face is a great way to practice self care and become a “caregiver” of your face rather than try to hurt it. You want to love your face, not harm it. Rewiring your brain to touch your face with only gentle love is a great place to start. 2. Making yourself extremely aware when you’re about to start picking / before you even start. For me, I would pick and daydream, so I wouldn’t even realize I was doing it. I would think about what is stressing me out or just think about anything at all. Now, I make myself very aware before I do it, and I repeat to myself “look don’t touch” in front of a mirror, because I know if I touch, it will have consequences (scabs, lowering my self esteem, causing more acne, etc). 3. Repetitive positive thoughts. Think about how relieving it will be to reduce this habit. “If I don’t pick, I will feel so good about myself.” “I love my face, so I won’t pick it.” You can even say “I don’t pick my face anymore” and stop immediately. Whatever will work for you. 4. Journaling. Write down all the reasons why you want to stop picking, how it will make you feel better about yourself, how you strive to have selfies without worrying about scabs. Write down your goals. This is so hard. I still pick to this day, but my face picking is very, very minimal because I repeat to myself “look don’t touch. I don’t want to hurt my face.” Maybe your positive thoughts will look different than mine, but practicing resisting the urge with repetitive thoughts and discipline will go a long way. You don’t have to deal with the consequences of picking your face, you can prevent them, and I think that’s a great thing to look forward to as your journey begins. You will see progress, and you will feel proud of yourself! And of course, bad days happen. Those are a part of progress, and you are not alone
Related posts
- Username
- JK0
- Date posted
- 5y ago
Hello, first time posting here. Does anyone else suffer from bad health anxiety? Due to stress mine has gotten pretty bad recently and for a week now I've been REALLY scared of skin cancer to the point I have difficulties sleeping and I worry all the time. Logically, I've had my moles all my life and most of them are very small and round and I don't think the bigger "weirder" looking ones have changed at all (ofc, my brain keeps telling me to check them constantly and looking at them makes me imagine things and causes anxiety). I also keep imagining I'm finding "new" small ones all the time (probably just haven't noticed them before bc they are so tiny, light brown and I haven't been checking myself like this before..). This is just really frustrating for me and is causing distress. If anyone else has experienced similar worry, do you have any tips to calm down or force yourself to stop searching your skin for marks and spots? This new obsession is driving me crazy, and makes me feel really foolish, but the feelings are real and scary!
- Username
- puzzled_nut
- Date posted
- 4y ago
I have obsessions about my appearance that I am ugly. I check my face in the mirror and seek reassurance from others. I am constantly comparing myself to my friends and thinking they’re so beautiful and I am disgusting. It’s so hard to not hate myself when I feel like this :(
- Username
- bodhisattava
- Date posted
- 3y ago
I have question for y’all, not really sure if this is ocd but it is definitely obsessive, I have always had a problem with my self esteem but lately it has seem obsessive and I’ve been try to fix it but I feel like I’m making it worse! Seem familiar to anyone? If so any tips?
Be a part of the largest OCD Community
Share your thoughts so the Community can respond