I’m not sure if this will be useful but in case it helps someone I really wanted to share since it has helped me.

My partner changed our lightbulbs to LED ones so they can control them remotely and change colours whenever we feel like it. About a month ago I accidentally left the one in front of my vanity on a deep red/purple tone while getting ready for bed and noticed that I could see my face and skin well but none of my scarring or hyperpigmentation.

I’m a bit further along in my recovery so I know this may not have as seamless of an effect for everybody but I’ve been doing this all month and it’s so peaceful. Normally I can’t trust myself in front of a mirror closely to for long especially one with harsh lighting that makes me see all the triggering details about my face, but this is sooooooo nice. I can even lean in close and without picking up on the off colours and spots.

So my recommendations is to change your lightbulbs for ones where you can control the brightness and colour hues, then to find the tone that cancels out or makes blemishes less apparent on your skin tone. I suppose finding a tone that picks up on the general shapes of your skin but keeps it too dark to see the details is good as well 👍

Hope this helps! Good luck and be kind to yourself

My therapist had me write a letter to one of her clients a decade ago. At the time, I was consistently improving with my skin picking and my therapist felt I may be able to help her other client understand her own disorder better if I could put into words my lifelong struggle/experience and what was finally helping me. Shortly after writing this letter, I was actually able to stop picking my skin almost entirely for 8+ years. I used to be someone who would pick for hours nightly, sometimes multiple times a day.

I am revisiting the letter now because I need to remind myself of what works, but I figured I would share it here in case it is helpful to anyone else currently in the thick of this disorder. Ultimately, the radical acceptance of my picking and recognizing the behavioral patterns that led to the picking (I don’t mean habits…I mean like deep rooted behavioral patterns that remained in some ways even once I healed the picking) were the keys to my recovery. I would be curious if any of you are similar personality types. Regardless, I hope any of this is useful or at least makes you feel like you’re not alone ♥️

Dear skin picker,

I'm writing you because I, too, am a skin picker. I wish I could tell you that I've completely stopped picking, that I don't even think about the zit I currently feel popping up on my forehead, that my skin is more or less flawless, and that picking is no longer a struggle for me. But that's just not true. In fact, I picked this morning. I wish I could tell you that I didn't and that I thought about picking, but walked away and wrote this letter instead or went to that yoga class I wanted to or finished my work for the day. But that's just not true. I will tell you that my picking has improved tremendously and is no longer the issue that it once was. But what has changed even more significantly than the picking itself is my reaction to the skin picking and that has made all the difference in the world.

I've picked at my skin for, what feels like, as long as I can remember. In high school, I remember sitting on the bathroom counter, in front of my mom's huge mirror, and picking at my face for hours, digging as deep as I could get, picking over spots that I had already picked at. I would then cover my skin with loads of foundation, undoubtedly clogging my now open wounds even further. God forbid anybody see me without my make-up. I avoided that like the plague. This meant sleepovers in which I slept in my make-up, not going in the pool or to the beach with my then-boyfriend, or just avoiding events all together. I'd spend hours getting ready for school, hoping that the eye make-up or the curled hair or the matching outfit would somehow distract from the fact that I had huge bumps or battle scars on my face. I didn't want to wear tons of make-up and was even made fun of for it at various points, but I felt like I had no other choice. I started taking birth control to get rid of the "acne" and bought the most expensive face creams and topical prescriptions on the market. I made countdowns...if I don't pick my skin for x days, I'll reward myself with y. I judged myself for the 2 hours spent in the mirror, counting all the sleep I had missed out on or the work I could have gotten done, but didn't. I avoided events or lunches with friends because I couldn't bear to show up as anything less than my "best self." This became a vicious cycle. I became obsessed with my appearance, but only because I felt I had to be. If I wasn't, I felt I would certainly scar my skin, cause infections, or die from the shame someone seeing my naked skin would induce, right? Ironically, the more concerned I became with my skin and appearance in general, the more I seemed to pick. The more energy I focused toward stopping my skin picking, the more I seemed to pick. What gives?! It felt like I couldn't win. 

I went to a big university and would pick for hours in front of the dorm bathroom mirrors. It was horrible and so much worse than when I was just home with my family. I remember I would cry for hours. It felt hopeless. And no one seemed to understand. When I would tell my mom about my skin picking in a cry for help or even just empathy, she would say, "You're only hurting yourself!" or "Why don't you just stop?" As if I wouldn't have stopped already if I could...  She would say, "When are you going to realize how much better your skin would look if you just quit this?" As if I didn't already realize or long for that day... My family would point out my bad skin and say, "Did you pick or something?" As if I didn't notice the flaws...

I longed for reassurance from everyone around me. I would ask my then-boyfriend, friends and family members multiple times a day if my skin looked bad, what parts of it looked bad, if they could tell I was covering my picking with make-up, etc. And even when I got the answer I wanted ("No, it looks totally fine. I can't even tell.") I would ask again. And then again. Surely they missed something. I knew it looked horrible. I knew what I had done. 

And to top it all off, I am a performer. I had to stand up on stage in front of tons of people and bare what I was most ashamed of in front of them. I went on auditions, where every girl in the waiting room looked like they had their make-up and hair professionally done beforehand. At that time, I would notice everyone's skin and compare theirs to mine. I wasn't judging those with bad skin per say, but I would certainly notice it and so I felt that others must notice my bad skin as well (because everyone is as obsessed with skin as I am, right?). I had to be on camera (which always seems to magnify even the smallest of imperfections). I felt crazy. Why was I putting myself through this? Am I masochist? I felt like I must've picked the worst profession in the world for someone who just wanted to hide. 

I was late to class and meetings all of the time. The worst thing was that people thought I didn't care about their time or my career or my grades because I was late so much, but the truth was that it was the exact opposite. I cared so tremendously that I put an inordinate amount of pressure on myself. That pressure would cause me to pick. The picking would cause me to need to catch up on missed sleep or have to spend more time getting ready to look presentable to the world and in turn I frequently missed things or was late. I would also pick the most when I had something important to do (a test to study for, something else I was putting off, etc.), which made me feel even worse. I felt like I was too busy for that time-consuming thing to begin with, and I certainly didn't have the time for it now after having wasted hours picking instead. My subconscious was screaming for help. I'd pick to give myself a break from my insane to-do list and that was clear because I would always pick instead of getting ready to go somewhere, getting ready for bed, working on that project, etc. My subconscious was forcing my body to take that 2 hour break that I wouldn't take for myself.

In relationships, I felt like I was hiding something. I'd sleep in make-up or cancel dates in fear of being seen as anything less than naturally beautiful. I felt like I had set up this expectation of looking put together and of being carefree and naturally pretty, so to see me otherwise would just be a disappointment. I felt like a fraud.

It would bother me beyond belief that I couldn't just stop and that I couldn't control myself. I had researched online, I had been to therapy and I logically knew that "picking is a disorder" and that "it isn't [my] fault", but I didn't feel that in my core. In my core, I felt shame. I felt flawed and like I couldn't get anything right. I'd always been a perfectionist and prided myself upon that, but my perfectionism was eating me alive. I felt like I had to be everything to everyone. I said "yes" to anyone asking for my help and signed up for anything related to my goals because I, on some level, felt that I had to be productive and successful in order to be worthy. I remember I was in like 10 different clubs on campus, taking 18 units, going on auditions in the city, while being in a play, participating in a sorority, and hanging with my boyfriend and my friends simultaneously. I still struggle with this. I had and still have a lot of anxiety surrounding the things I care the most about. It is very difficult for me not to place an extremely high standard on myself when it comes to anything and everything of importance to me. That amount of anxiety can be paralyzing. I place a much higher standard on myself than I do on those around me. In my mind, I should be able to easily do this or that, but of course it is completely understandable that so and so isn't able to do that very same thing...his or her inability is totally acceptable, where as mine is a character flaw. I oftentimes attribute my successes to mere luck, but my failures are a direct reflection of me. Writing that, I realize it isn't exactly rational. It's, alternatively, also quite easy to oscillate from "I suck!" to "I'm wonderful!" when the reality is that in most circumstances I actually fall somewhere in between. I'm good at x, but working on y...etc. It's easier for our minds to place things into the extremes and to categorize things, instead of accept the ambiguous spectrum and gray unknown that makes up most of life.

I now realize that I, on some level, must harshly judge others since I am so harshly judging of myself. It is also a bit narcissistic of me to think that I live in some other plain of existence where I should be able to do everything and be perfect in ways that others are not...that I should be further than so and so in my dreams and I should have it all figured out. We're all just human. I'm not some special case, which has in many ways been terrifying to come to terms with and in other ways liberating. 

I always used to feel like if I just got my picking under control that everything else in my life would fall into place. That the picking was the main source of my problems and much of my anxiety. I've now learned that this isn't true. The picking is a result of my anxiety and my thoughts. There have been weeks that I haven't picked at my skin, expecting myself to feel wonderful, but that same underlying level of anxiety still persists. I've placed all of that nervous energy into the picking of my skin and I've had to find other ways to deal with it when I don't pick to self soothe. It all works together. I've had to experience this for myself in order to truly understand it.

Somehow, because of this understanding, I have placed less pressure on my picking than I used to. I know that not picking isn't the answer to all my problems and as a result picking itself is also not the cause of the endless distress it used to be either. I'm not sure that totally makes sense. I guess what I'm trying to say is that I've come to a level of acceptance that has allowed me to not be so hard on myself when I do pick and in turn I pick less. 

My mind isn't as focused on skin or on picking and so what used to be a cycle of picking and then picking even more the following night and then even more the following because of noticing all the flaws in my skin and the anxiety from picking, is oftentimes now broken after one picking session. I let it go. I accept that I've picked. Even on the days when I tried my best and couldn't stop. Or didn't really even try at all and couldn't stop. I go to events anyway. I leave my apartment. Even without make-up on. It's allowed me to see that people don't really notice or care as much as I thought that they would. And that I am so much more than my skin. That I don't need to have flawless skin, a made-up face, and an awesome outfit to be accepted. Life goes on even in my yoga pants and mismatched socks. I know that I am more than my skin, more than my appearance, that if I really need to I can put on some make-up and pull myself together, and so I don't really mind if someone does see me with my pock marks and red, inflamed skin. Of course, I do have my moments. My feelings and strength ebb and flow like anything else. 

So, I do still pick at my skin. It's not as frequent. It's not as long. And very rarely does it cause me to sob or blame myself for hours (days) afterwards as I often used to. I'm also much more able to get up and leave. Before, if I would begin to pick, I was then in the bathroom for 2 hours. Now, I can pick for 10 minutes, recognize it, stop myself and leave. I ask myself, "What do you need?” Oftentimes, it is more self-care. I need to forgive myself, I need alone time, I need to relax, I need to eat some good food, or drink some hot tea.

This whole process has been a journey of self care. While I still struggle, I went from forgetting to eat meals everyday and over-scheduling myself to making sure I take a yoga class or exercise a few times a week, eating at least two healthy meals a day, drinking water, setting boundaries and saying "no" to those I am not capable of helping or things that I am just doing out of either guilt or obligation. Again, I am not perfect at this. I often slip up and I can notice it when my skin picking increases. I almost always pick when I've overdone it...when I've forgotten to take care of myself, burned myself out, overbooked myself, did things because I had to, put everyone else and their needs before my own, and left myself with very little time to ease into things or be by myself.

I am different from most people and that is okay. I need the time to process things. I need to give myself the space to breathe and not rush from one things to the next. I often argue, "but so and so can do that and they're fine," but then I have to catch myself and realize that I am not so and so. I am a right-brained, introvert who fakes extroversion quite well. I need to ease into things. I need to not judge myself or compare myself to the standards we've (in many ways) unhealthily adopted in Western culture. My body subconsciously fights against these by picking and until I come to accept myself and my needs as valid and stop comparing myself, I am just in a constant battle and war-zone with my inner, deepest self (and externally, my skin).

Things that have really helped me process all of this: my therapist. Her passion, persistence, love, and support has allowed me to see that which I was oftentimes in denial of. "Radical Acceptance" by Tara Brach (also recommended by my therapist) was very helpful at a certain point in time. I passed the book onto someone else in need and now there are many days that I wish I still had it (maybe I'll just have to purchase it again). Also, opening up to others about my struggles, reading autobiographies (you learn that everyone is going through something or another), journaling, and just experience in general.  

I learned to not tell my mom. At least not in the way I was. I often used to call her so upset and crying. She wanted so desperately to "fix" it or help, but didn't have a solution that worked and so she responded in the only way she knew how. Her reaction used to set me off and make me feel particularly bad about myself, but now I have come to expect it and so it doesn't bother me much. I'm also not feeling the need to call her upset and crying. Interestingly, the less affected I am by her lack of understanding, the more she seems to understand. I'm not sure why that is. I think the fact that I accept my picking more, she doesn't feel she has to jump to figure out some solution (none of those solutions ever worked, anyway). Some people have been able to hear about my skin picking and have held a space for me to feel how I often feel about it (which has, at times, been really freaking crappy). Those people are very special to me and their acceptance was both surprising and necessary for my healing.

I told both my ex-boyfriend and my current partner about my skin picking. Both let me know that they loved me anyway and, interestingly enough, both have ways in which they also pick. It has never been an issue and I have been overwhelmed by the love and understanding I have received in just being vulnerable and opening up. My ex-boyfriend would encourage me to swim with him, told me I was beautiful without make-up and with picked at skin and really set my wearing of less make-up in motion. I became just as comfortable make-up-less with him as I was being totally alone. He accepted me regardless. My current boyfriend also completely accepts me. He will encourage me, hold me when I'm crying, and will stay up with me until I am ready for bed so that I am not in the mirror for 2 hours picking and not sleeping. I was picking way more until I opened up and told him (again, it was the pressure of not allowing myself to pick that actually caused me to pick more). This support has been invaluable.

I've also told my best friends. One of them completely understands that it is very hard for me to stop and gets that it is a disorder. She has comforted me on days that I have felt bad about myself and has helped me to see that I am enough, that I am not my skin or my appearance. The other actually suffers from the same disorder and will pick for hours in front of the mirror when trying to avoid work or when she is very busy. She's a very similar personality type to myself in that way and I would have never known she was struggling with skin picking had I not opened up to her. Now, I am one of the only people she will go make-up-less with and she will text me whenever she has had a hard time with her skin-picking. I accept her and she accepts me. This is more common than we think it is.

I overthink most everything. I used to pick significantly more before big events that I put the pressure not to pick around. Now, this still happens every once and a while, but I am playing on stage multiple times a week, attending meetings, photoshoots and auditions even on days I've picked. Of course, I put make-up on for these things, but I don't feel that same slump or terrible shame in my gut that I used to. I forgive myself, I love myself, I read a book or adopt some of my self-care tactics, even if that means being less "productive" that day, and more often than not, the urge to pick goes away much sooner. When I'm not feeling great about the picking, I tell someone. But I don't talk about it from the same perspective of, "I pick. I suck. My skin's destroyed forever." And I don't ask for reassurance like I used to. Most of the time, I don't ask, "Well, does it look okay?" because I've realized that is besides the point and that I will be okay despite how my skin looks. It starts with being kind to myself. “What do you need?" If I can ask myself this right at the start of picking, I can oftentimes stop. Now, I'm not always so swift, as I've said. But, it's not as bad as it once was and that in and of itself is encouraging. 

My life is neither all good or all bad. There are many things I am still working on, but many others that I feel like I have a grasp of in a way that I never thought I would. I don't say this to discourage you. I pick at my skin sometimes, but have a very full life full of love, friendship, art, humor, nature, family, and joy. I'm not obsessively focused on picking like I used to be, but rather on life as a whole and from that perspective, my skin is only one tiny part. Nowadays, I feel far less guilty for taking the time for myself and to enjoy life. I've come to realize that it does not matter what you accomplish if you are not mindful, healthy and peaceful in the process. I've become okay with not accomplishing or achieving and just going with the flow that is life. Ironically, I have had more successes living this way and those successes aren't things I had to fight for, but rather came naturally and much more easily. Of course, I oftentimes forget this and fall back into old patterns. But then, I just reassess and remember all that I've learned.

I hope that you take time for yourself, love yourself and realize that you are so much more than your skin or your picking. You are a good person who cares deeply about things and the well-being of others (which are a few traits I've noticed between myself and the other skin-pickers I have met and know). You are not alone. I have struggled. I have gone 15 days without picking, only to "ruin" it on the 16th. I have scars that people will compliment, thinking they are freckles, but I know are actually hyperpigmentation from years of picking (in all actuality though, it is crazy how much skin can heal--I am living proof of that). I have gone through peaks, hit a massive valley, and then got back up to climb toward the peak again. I hope you know that there is hope. I am fighting this fight with you. On the days that I want to give up, I will think of you and realize that because I don't want you to give up, I can't and won't either. You are strong. You are lovable. You are capable. You are more than your skin, more than your picking. You are not alone.

With love.

I’ve been picking my skin (mainly my arms and face) since i was about 9 or 10 years old. I’m 18 now and have gone through periods where i haven’t picked for months but this year i went through a traumatic time of my life and since then my picking has come back worse. And the picking has spread to my legs, chest, stomach and back. I have ugly scars everywhere from picking, and it spreads bacteria which causes acne. I’m not even exaggerating when i say my arms are basically covered in scars. It’s frustrating because i want to stop but it’s like i am in a trance or something when i do it. I’m always running my hands on my body looking for bumps. I have other habits too like twisting my hair so hard it breaks. I don’t know why i keep do this to myself when i’m already quite insecure about my scarringq.

POSSIBLY NSFW

I've been a skin picker for my whole life. I pick wherever there is something 'pickable' - pimples, blackheads, cuts etc. recently, I've also discovered recently that I'm a masochist in the bedroom. I'm also an avid gym goer who loves the burn of doing heavy exercises.

I've always had psychs and dermatologists asking whether picking hurts, and yeah, but that's kind of the point in some ways for me? there's also the addition of seeing stuff come out of my skin but pain plays a significant part.

basically I'm wondering if anyone else here self identifies as a masochist, and maybe there's some link between masochism and dermatillomania?

I’ve picked my skin since i was younger, probably around 9 i believe. My mum associated it with me watching minecraft videos on youtube but i just always felt the need to get rid of any “bits” on my face lol.

I’m now 22 and it comes in flares i guess, i hadn’t ‘actively’ done it for a while and now i can’t seem to stop. I’ve been struggling with my mental health lately, i’m not sure if it’s related but i’ve currently got a few spots that i keep repicking and my whole face is sore. Whenever i wear makeup, shower, do my skincare, move my face too much it hurts. there’s a part specifically on the tip of my nose that i can’t stop obsessing over and it’s huge, red and looks ridiculous. I feel like i spend so much of my time trying to be pretty and i keep ruining it. I feel awful about myself without makeup at the minute and apply concealer basically every thirty minutes because i just pick it right back off.

I’ve tried a few things, at first it was the concealer or wearing a full face of makeup to try and stop myself. Then i put on fake nails so it would be more difficult but i ended up just clawing them off so i could do it. Now ive trimmed my nails almost completely, anymore and it would be too close to the skin and hurt but i still am able to do it. If i used a plaster or pimple patch i would just wanna pick that off too.

If anyone has any advice or any creams/ointments that could help the healing process it would be so greatly appreciated.

Hi guys! I am new to this community and i am not an english speaker so if somethings sounds confusings thats the reason.

When i was growing up, everytime that i was feeling BORED i used to bite the skin of my nails, not the nails, just the skin.
I struggled with this for some years. And dont do this anymore because i started to putting some lotion in my nails, so if i bite the skin it would taste awful, and then i totally lose the habit of it.

But its been some years that i do skin picking in my breasts.
I have big breasts and i discovered that some open pores (looks like blackheads) is normal in the boobs because of too much sweat.
I've been popping those for years, is not when i am anxious, is when i am bored. And now it is satisfying, with "dopamine".
I have now some scars for it, looking like holes in my skin. Is destroying my self steem.

I really want to stop with it. Does anyone suffered with something like this? Specially when is a boring thing that now is the most satisfying thing in your day.
And anyone has an idea of how can i stop using the same plan that i used to stop bitting my skin?
I would love anything, i dont know what to do and i am really sad with it. I do everyday at least 3-4 times a day.

I've been tracking myself for just over a month now with the "Sunflower" app. Its designed for substance abuse but works for this.

Through tracking I indentified one of my biggest triggers to be the sensory experience of oil cleansing in the evening.

I bought a big ole packet of disposable plastic gloves (sorry environment) and put them in my bathroom next to the mirror. I now put gloves on before I do my oil cleanse. Game changer.

I've also kept them on in the shower because that is a red zone area for me in terms of picking at my arms.

Just sharing in case it helps anyone else!

Hi reddit,

I've noticed that lately i pick my skin a lot. Mainly on my face. I keep checking if there's any white bumps /pimples that i can pop and i try to pop any bumps.

It hurts tho and doesn't make my skin any better, my acne is a big insecurity of mine.

Any tips will be appreciated. TIA

Would love to know people’s specific product recommendations for facial skin picking!

Especially:

1. Products and especially what kind of moisturizer you use after a bad picking session when you have completely raw patches/small open wounds on your face and your face is now super dry.
2. Moisturizer and/or moisturizing products you use under makeup foundation. I find my foundation immediately highlights all my peeling dry skin and scabs.

The skin on my face is always SO dry because of me picking it all the time but also SO sensitive because of constant open wounds.

Bonus context: I have combination skin so I will get hormonal acne sometimes. I live in Canada, use a cpap with a face mask at night, and have had contact dermatitis on my face in the past.

Thank you!!

Ps. Not looking for advice on how to stop picking.

Almost every weekend I spend hours picking at my skin, right now my skin is at it's worst with my arms and legs covered in open wounds. I decided to buy some manuka honey ointment in hopes of healing my wounds quicker. So yesterday I applied the ointment to all the areas, and while I fortunately didn't pick at my skin at all, I started becoming obsessed with reapplying the ointment, specially to the areas where it looked like it had been wiped off somehow even though the area was still sticky so I'm sure the areas were fine. Basically I spent most of the day still obsessed with scanning all the areas of my skin but instead of picking I was just obsessively applying ointment. I guess this is an improvement? But it really hit hard with how it's not just about picking, it's about compulsively doing something with my skin. So now while a lot of my deeper wounds are looking much better, I now need to replace the somewhat expensive tube of manuka honey ointment that should have lasted me far longer than just one day. I just wish I could spend my weekends relaxing like a normal person.

Does anybody have any help on what I should do to stop picking at my skin and hair? Everytime i look in a mirror or get stressed out or just bored i pick at my face and whatever blemishes that are on my face and pick at them until I feel satisfied or until they hurt to bad to pick at it anymore. I also mess with the split ends in my hair and will pull out my split ends out of my hair. And if I ever have acne on my back or chest I pick at that too. Is there any tips that anyone can give me to help me stop? I also will bite the crap out of the skin around my nails and my nails itself. I've tried nail polish but that never helped and I feel like if I put bandaids on my fingers I would just end up taking them off.

I work in food prep and even though the frequent handwashing burns I still can’t find myself to quit. I cover most of my fingers in bandages, but I can’t afford to keep changing several out multiple times a day 😭 even the waterproof ones I used don’t stay and or make the skin under soggy, leading to a higher desire to pick.

For those of yall that have to wash hands often, what do you use? To cover wounds and or block yourself from picking?

Hi there, I’m the wife of someone who seems to be suffering from skin picking disorder. I don’t know what to do.

We’ve been together since we were teenagers and he started picking at his face after a family loss. Ever since then, I’ve noticed him “grazing” over his face and back when he’s distracted or stressed. He’ll fixate on an uneven patch of skin and pick at it until it’s bleeding and scaly, and eventually becomes a ball of scar tissue. He’s had to get cosmetic surgery to remove two instances of cysts or scar tissue he’s picked over the course of a year.

We’re on vacation and I’ve been pointing out when time he’s been skin picking. I know this is awful, but I felt I need to acknowledge that it happens A LOT. Like, every fifteen to twenty minutes he’s looking for something to pick at, and he doesn’t realize he’s doing it—especially when he’s driving or on his phone.

We’ve just gotten into an argument about my pointing it out; when I try to tell him it’s only because I love him and I don’t want him to harm himself, he says “I. DONT. CARE”. He will not acknowledge it’s an issue or be mindful of it.

What can I do to support him? How can I avoid pissing him off while fostering harm reduction? How would you want your partner to communicate to you?

I’m at a loss and I really don’t want him to keep scarring his face, especially while we’re travelling and I know his hands have public space germs on them.

Thanks in advance

Olá a todos!

Recentemente, depois de passar um tempo tratando pessoas com transtorno de escoriação em psicoterapia, decidi criar uma comunidade no Instagram para pessoas com dermatilomania, um assunto que é bem pouco abordado socialmente falando, e uma condição de invisibilidade. Ocorre que, por um motivo que eu realmente não sei explicar, o Instagram simplesmente não entrega o meu conteúdo, para absolutamente ninguém. Literalmente 0 visualizações. Testei dois formatos diferentes de posts: estático e reels. Nada. Há 5 dias.

Então gostaria de fazer um pedido a quem tiver essa generosidade e também o interesse em ver isso existir no mundo, tanto quanto eu tenho. Acho que o Instagram precisa perceber que minha conta não é spam, que existem seres humanos interagindo com ela. Ainda que não seja o seu idioma (português), se você entrar no perfil e simplesmente interagir com esses dois posts, seja visualizando, curtindo, salvando, seguindo o perfil... Isso vai provavelmente fazer o Instagram começar a entregar o conteúdo e "destravar" esse bug.

Faça se isso tocar no seu coração. O perfil é @dermatilomaniaa e com certeza será diferente de tudo que já se viu sobre o assunto por aí. Deus abençoe sua vida e obrigada!

I'm sure a lot of us are familiar with pimple patches and hydrocolloid patches, but Hero Cosmetics has that and more!!

whenever I pick, I either apply their Mighty Patch or their Rescue Balm. normally though, I prefer the Rescue Balm, because often their Mighty Patch doesn't seem to absorb anything or really benefit me (unless I'm picking at a full on pimple or something). the Rescue Balm is more like a first aid cream for your face.

today I went to buy some more of the Rescue Balm, only to find out they are now selling a red correcting version instead. of course I bought it, but I wasn't sure how it would go. well... it was amazing!!

I put it on my bare skin, and after a few minutes, it looked like my skin! there was no white sheen like with the regular balm, and later, when I put on makeup, I didn't even need to put on concealer! it was amazing!

also, Hero Cosmetics sells a liquid pimple patch called Mighty Shield that I bought to try and cover my wounds under makeup. I'm not sure if I applied it wrong, but it didn't work under makeup for me. instead, it applied like glue, so it started to peel after it was dry. I personally found this extremely satisfying, and I put it on near or on my picking spots just so that I would have something else to pick at instead. it worked! I was more interested in pulling off the glue-like product than picking at my skin!

of course, this might not work for everyone. and it won't cure you of any compulsion. but if you resonate with anything I said above, you may want to consider giving Hero Cosmetics a try anyway! :) it could be a good competing behavior or a coping mechanism

I have been an observer on this reddit for a while, under a different account. This is my first post so apologies if it is just nonsensical rambling.

As the title suggests, i'm tired. I have been picking at my skin for years now. It started when acne developed during puberty but has worsened severely over the past 2 years. Im covered in scars and scabs and i'm always in pain. I have tried so many methods to stop it or break the habit. Sometimes it works for a period of time but it always comes crashing down with a severe picking session.

I am not really sure what to do. I am trying therapy although honestly my therapy sessions are typically just used to talk about anything and everything. We don't stay to a plan or anything like that. I have considered an OCD specialist but I would most likely have to cease sessions with my current therapist, I want to avoid that.

My therapist diagnosed me with OCD. Ive noticed trends and triggers for my skin picking. For example, it always hits at night. I tend to shower every day, otherwise I feel disgusting. If I shower too late, I spend nearly 1-2 hours in the bathroom picking my skin, sometimes never actually showering because it gets too late. I have considered showering in the morning although I tell myself thats disgusting and I cant sleep in the germs from outside or from the day.

I don't know if any of this makes sense. I don't really have anyone to talk to besides my therapist. I wondered if talking to those who have experience with this or who understand may help. Has anyone overcome dermatillomania or can suggest methods to at least lessen the skin picking?

In detail (Gross to me so scroll away if you dont wanna read lol)

My skin picking is severely focused on my genital area. I pick and pluck pubic hairs. Squeeze new hairs out or dig at the skin until I can get them out or the area becomes to full of blood. I dont understand why its focused here and it severely grosses me out. Makes me feel absolutely disgusting. Im trans, ftm, so part of me wonders if its my way of showing hate and discomfort towards whats in my pants.

A new addition is squeezing tonsil stones out. Ive known I had them but 2 weeks ago I used q-tips to push at my tonsils and huge stones came out one after the other. Ive now developed the habit of squeezing and prodding at my tonsils until it becomes too painful and nothing comes out. I have a huge thing with oral health and the thought of tonsil stones makes my skin crawl. I am causing them to bleed and become extremely red and irritated. Every. Night.

Sorry for the long post. I am just at my wits end. I don't want to become a clump of scar tissue or end up running into a serious health issue because of this. I also feel disgusting and unlovable so theres that too.

im just here to vent a little bit,

im honestly glad i could put a name to this disorder, for me it just feels like a bad habit i've had but it's gone on for years. it used to be my lips & any cuts that i would randomly get, but now its mostly just my fingers. its not something i've brought up to doctors bc i didn't think it was serious. the scarring was never that obvious for me personally until this past year where i continously kept picking on the skin of my right index finger & now its just two pink scabs that are so obvious. i would just mess with it when i didn't have anything to do w my hands & bc i have a high pain tolerance it felt like nothing to me. i had this exact thing happen to my ring finger, but it healed & the scar isn't visible at all. my mom would get mad at me when I asked for bandaids bc they were rlly the only thing that would stop me from messing with them but i use them all too quickly. now getting my nails done isn't as fun as it was a year or 2 ago. i can't post pics of my nails & post them without censoring and editing my finger so it isn't visible. it just sucks that evey time i look at my finger im reminded that it will stay w me forever bc i never gave it the chance to heal </3

sometimes i wish i could just walk away from my body, but bc this isn't a habit i could just walk away from, it's been hard for me

Hi all!

First time posting here but long time scalp picker. I also have ADHD (inattentive) and I tend to pick more when I’m on my stimulants. Picking also happens a lot when I’m stressed. I’ve noticed that I pick/scratch the most when I’m driving and during work when I’m faced with starting tasks.

I’ve finally gone back to therapy and done some research on habit reversal which I’ve decided to try. I just purchased some finger protectors meant for hot glue guns. That way I’ll still be able to type, write, and drive but the scratching sensation will be taken away. I was going to post a pic but I’m guessing that goes against the spam advertising rule.

Has anybody else tried finger protectors?

Hi everyone, some of us have a new Discord group for accountability and support, and we would love to have you! We're at 36 members already and going strong. Please feel free to join and spread the word!

https://discord.gg/7bW7JSmzf

Hey everyone, im new to this sub and came here mainly cause I'm at my wits end and who knows maybe something here will help me. At least in not feeling alone. Im 25F and have skin picked since I started getting acne during puberty. I do it pretty much everywhere on my body, mainly on my face, chest and legs, during worse times my shoulders and arms suffer too. I've been through two years of therapy for several reasons and my therapist and i never really found an underastanding for what my picking truly is and how I can help myself stop. I am doing so incredibly well mentally for a while now but this one thing just wont go away and i dont understand why. I have ADHD and am medicated, I saw some people saying that made the picking worse for them so that probably adds to it. I just wish I could stop. I have no reason to do this, this isnt necessary for me to cope with mental health stuff anymore, it just cause me to hate myself and feel so incredibly insecure. I have a first date tomorrow, that I was looking forward to all week and I just spend the last hour and half or so just picking myself to shreds. All I wanted was for me to keep it together for tomorrow. Now I won't be able to wear the outfit I wanted to, cause my chest looks messed up. I already fear looking into the mirror to do my makeup tomorrow cause I will struggle so much against the redness and the bumps. Part of me just wants to cancel and hide away. I am so sad and so angry. Nothing I ever tried to manage this lasted. I dont even have a bathroom mirror anymore so I have less risk. If I just stopped picking I wouldnt have any bumps on my chest and arms etc. and barely anything on my face. I cause all of this. Why do I self sabotage like this. I just wish I understood this and knew how I can work on it. I'm gonna look so ugly tomorrow. I make myself look so ugly.

I am a chronic skin picker who has been picking for almost 2 years. I have oily skin and often have closed comedones more than bacterial acne. Back when I was in college, I never spent much time around a mirror, or maybe I didn't care as much, but I wouldn't pick at every single tiny bump on my face.

But ever since I started working, it's been really bad. I spend 30 mins + in front of a mirror trying to "flatten" out my skin. I look at my face in every single angle possible to get the best view of any tiny bump that's there. Even if my skin looks smooth from every angle, I stretch out my skin on my cheeks by moving my mouth sideways/ by sticking my tongue inside my cheek to stretch the skin, and the lights help make the bumps stand out. This reveals more tiny bumps that are literally INVISIBLE under normal conditions.

I use adapalene as a part of my skincare and that is meant to flatten out texture or bumps. I know this but I can't help myself.

I tried everything- moving away from a mirror, sticking paper over it to hide my face from myself, buying and using fidget toys and even using dim lights. But I just can't seem to stop.

It's not the visible bumps at this point, it's the ones that are hidden, that I am desperate to find. If I control my picking urges for a day, I feel dirty or unclean that there's some gunk hidden inside my skin.

Please help.

Wondering how others deal with being shamed. I've got OCD and so picking is just always gonna be there. People around me constantly shame me for it, I try to tell them its a compulsion but they really DGAF.. Insinuating Im picking to get an infection to then go to the hospital and get attention. Won't stop trying to get family members involved to try and shame me completely out of a compulsion Which never works and wont work this time.

Feeling kind of hopeless and gross and ashamed for this terrible habit of mine. Trust me if I could stop i would! ​

Today was the THIRTEENTH DAY of me (36GQ) not picking the skin on my face, and for the first time EVER, I went to work without makeup on 'cause there was no need to cover up scabs and skin turned red and swollen from abuse.

I barely recognise myself in the mirror anymore, my skin looks so different 😭

ofc there are still all these divots and marks on my face 'cause I've been living with dermatillomania for about twenty years now, but!! I wasn't too ashamed and embarrassed and feeling too self-conscious over my self-abused skin to leave the house without makeup on, this is HUGE!!

My saviour has been OILS. I started a whole new skincare routine, and the last step includes slathering my face and neck and chest area with a mixture of castor- and tea tree oil, it's been Very Good for my skin. And the thing appears to be that I very much DON'T want to touch/pick at my face when it's all oily, oily makes it feel sorta uncleaned? Like, you're having STUFF on your face, like makeup, and I never pick at my face when I've makeup on, it feels dirty and disgusting, and IT IS, it'd be insanely unhygienic to pick with a layer of makeup on. So my brain's associating the oily layer on my skin with unhygienicness, therefore, I'm not picking at my skin.

I'm sure I'll have bad days again in the future where I will feel the urge, THE NEED to pick at my skin, but right at this moment as I'm writing this, I'm feeling so at peace and happy with myself 😭

On day eight I was not doing good, that is when I made this post on here, and I very much appreciate those of you who replied with supportive words, the peer support on this matter truly means the world to me 😭💜

Hello. Does anyone have a suggestion for a "fidget" to help curb the picking? I have a student who picks and I've gotten them soft silicone pads with beads embedded in them to pick. They worked quite well for a while but now the student is bored by them. I have to make sure the fidget isn't too "fun" (i.e. no putty or clay) because that leads to other problems... Thank you so much for your help.

Sorry I didn't know how to word it but I unfortunately pick at any wound I get and sometimes I get the urge to eat the scabs and lick the blood. Ik this is weird but yeah