If this was someone else I would be like don’t be so hard on yourself but I’m currently a mess crying as my skin was looking incredible and now I have some big welts. :(( it’s hard to feel confident after ruining so much progress.

So, I have mild to moderate acne, which especially triggers my SPD. I‘m soon going to go on Accutane, which makes me really hopeful, but lately my picking has been so much more intense than usual. My whole chin is infected. I‘m on Antibiotics for it and still can’t stop picking at it. I‘m in so much pain. I‘m already doing CBT and have tried every trick under the sun. Does anyone have any other (preferably scientifically proven) tricks/ideas? Have other forms of therapy helped you? I look so fucking horrible and can’t even cover it with make-up anymore. I dread the holidays because then I can’t isolate in my flat and have to see a people - even worse they have to see me. I‘ve picked at my face for years but until now my skin always healed quite fast and could compensate the damage. It doesn’t seem to do that anymore.

I’ve had a month where my picking has been non stop and more damaging to the skin on my face. Deeper and longer episodes. I had four bad wounds 1 - 2 weeks that have healed superficially but have left hard lumps under my skin. Is this just swelling? Is it too early to determine if it’s scar tissue? Could it be scar tissue? I’m starting to be really affected by the thought of these being permanent. To know if I’d left it alone the imperfection(s) would have probably been gone by now, instead I’ve replaced them with larger potentially permanent lumps is causing my depression and anxiety to worsen. And I can’t leave the house. If anyone could offer any advice or thoughts, I’d appreciate it

I started picking my ear about three years ago.well to make a long story short I have been picking on the inside of my ear .i have pulled the skin out of my ear canal it looks like a white ball coming out of my ear canal I catch my self doing this all the time no matter where I’m at ! My family and friends have been getting on me about this now it hurts it’s all swollen up sometimes I can’t hear out of it please help

Hey everybody, I have a stumble across this group accidentally it seems like the timing that happened couldn't have been more of a sign that I should at least check it out...

SOOO i'm about to turn 37 in a couple days. I'm father and son. I have read some of the posts I've come across and I can imagine some of the things you guys go through. My heart truly goes out to some of you. And I hope I'm not being disrespectful by posting my "problem" but it just seemed like the right place right time for it..

I've had acne through school, Nothing CRAZY, I'd say maybe slightly above you're average teenage add/adhd male who was very active ie sports playing outside etc... sometimes I would get these huge zips or maybe they were. I'm not even sure majority of the time I would get them like on my drawer line and once in a blue moon they would develop to the point where eventually it would "pop" after numerous days of squeezing/picking at them.. majority of the time I would notice them early and try my damnedest to pop it and would wind up just squeezing the hydration out of my skin leaving as well as extreme, hard squeezing/picking. Eventually, my skin developed, and it wasn't really an issue anymore....

LONG STORY SHORT: got mixed up with using... then it got to the point of IV usage.... and eventually I wound myself up in the hospital for 3 weeks straight because I got sepsis and ignored it until the pain was unbearable and unfortunately the infection had ran its path...

After this incident, it was a wake up completely stepped, using most things that I had a problem with full disclosure are still inject time to time recreationally....

Ever since being septic, my body does heal things the way it used to... so I would get abscesses time to time along with infections, random hematomas from the smallest injury... and obviously with these things I found myself in a familiar position of picking and squeezing..

Psychologically, I know I have an issue and I've been able to address it and admit it.... for some reason if there's something in my body, that is not supposed to be there 95% of the time I will squeeze or pick or pierce whatever protrusion has developed until it's either popped, gone or I literally cant do anyything else..

I've caught myself starting to do it and have literally said leave it alone. Don't fuck with it because I know what's gonna happen and I just cannot leave these things alone, just by knowing that they may not be "ready" to be popped, or even if picking squeezing whatever it is may lead to other serious issues... (lucky that hasn't been the case this far)

Recently, I started a new job at a papermill (I have approximately 15 years experience working with paper) so I've fit right in and caught on and am doing well.... but I'm starting to notice that around the time I started the job, my skin had been breaking out some and I'm hoping my body will just adapt....

But this last night/this morning l discovered what I believe to be pimples in my earlobes as well as a couple other places on my face, but they are not at the service and I have to kind of squeeze and feel around to feel where the lump(s) are... again despit my efforts here I am squeezing these "things" that shouldn't be on me excessively... I'LL THROW UP SOME PICTURES. NOTHING SERIOUS. THANKS FOR READING. ANY CONSTRUCTIVE FEEDBACK IS WELCOME.

PS SORRY FOR BEING SO LENGTHY SOOO HERE IS LITTLE SEBATION

https://images.app.goo.gl/bLxHxQ9Qc9ogD7QR8

I was cooking with my sis, when she pointed out my thumb picking spots, i was kinda stunlocked and wasn't sure what to say. I was just wondering if anyone has tactics to either make it easier to explain or ways to make up a excuse when someone asks.

i unfortunately pick my scalp. the cuts aren’t deep, it’s mostly just flakes of skin or scabs that i pick off and then scratch at those spots. do you think it would be okay for me to dye my hair? i’m not planning to use bleach, just a demi permanent dye.

edit: for anyone wondering, i did it and it was fine lol

i’m a 23 year old life long skin picker. my problem areas are my fingers around my fingernails. i’ve been doing it as long as i can remember and i’ll do it until my fingers bleed. the ONLY thing i’ve had help is when i have acrylics on my nails, and even then it’s not perfect. i hadn’t had nails on for a long time bc they’re expensive, but i finally got some last week for graduation and was excited to try to heal my fingers again. however, this time is different. it’s super difficult to pick at my fingers with the nails, but then that just resorts to me using tweezers instead, which is new. like because i can’t use my nails, it becomes a thing in my head where i HAVE to use tweezers or an earring post or something to do it and i get so frustrated after. but i can’t stop. i’m about to throw my tweezers away but i know i’ll be mad at myself.

we both have been diagnosed with mental illness. I’m diagnosed with schizoaffective disorder and my brother is diagnosed with schizophrenia. we both have been struggling with mental health for quite a while now. and now that we’re both in our 20s, we talk about our struggles all the time and it’s nice to have someone who sort of knows what you’re going through. to anybody in this subreddit who is going through it, hang in there, you are not alone. 🫶

As the title says. I have severe ocd and anxiety, and I always have been so embarrassed of this symptom. I’ve never met anyone else who does this. I’m so glad I found this sub. I feel less weird, and will be looking at this sub for tips and tricks to improve and find general support 🫶

I pick the hell out of the palm of my left hand, built up some extensive scar tissue. I neosporin it regularly and have never had any pus or issues, but after reading horror stories about compulsive pickers suddenly getting sepsis and almost dying, I stay worried. If I had an infection I would know right? What are warning signs to look out for? Google said chills, redness, and tingling. Problem is that it’s pretty much always red cuz of the scar tissue, and I get cold really easily, so every time I get cold I start panicking that it’s chills from an infection.

My picking escalated when I moved out at age 18. I’m now 26 and I’m so sick of this continuous cycle. When COVID hit I was ecstatic to wear a mask everywhere because then I could hide my red-spotted face without being weird. I got on acne meds in 2021 and that helped my face picking for awhile but that still comes and goes.

I’ve always picked at my upper arms, back, and sometimes my chest, but as of a couple years ago I started picking at my breasts. I feel so ashamed even saying this. Only my husband knows and I even guard him from seeing me sometimes because I’m ashamed. I’m leaving scars I fear will never go away. I dread looking at my body in the mirror. I feel insane. But it’s the only thing that stops my mind from swirling endlessly. It’s the only escape that is always there for me. I’ve tried changing my nails, using fidgets, wearing long sleeves, covering my spots. I’m in therapy and I take NAC but nothing has seemed to put a dent in it.

I’m not sure why I’m posting this. I think I just want to feel less alone in this struggle. I don’t know anyone who does this to the extent I do. I’ve gotten more comfortable sharing with my friends that I have dermatillomania, desperately hoping someone will relate but they never do. I just want to say thank you for being here and for all of you who share your experiences, strength, and hope. I need it.

A few months ago I suddenly stopped taking my antidepressant. Big mistake. It wrecked my shit. Worst anxiety and depression I’ve ever had. At the time I had a bunch of mosquito bites on my back. Due to my anxiety and compulsions I just picked and picked and picked. It was bad. Now I’m regulated again and I have visible pink spots speckled on my back from where I picked at these mosquito bites. I really want them to not be as visible as it’s really embarrassing. Any magic scar erasers?

I have psoriasis of the scalp and had a particularly bad patch flair up earlier this year. This lead to full blown dermatillomania, I've always been a bit of a picker but if I came across something, but this was different. It got really dry and the skin hardened and I couldnt stop no matter how sore it got. It was like a need. It's right on my hairline and I picked that much i've lost hair in the area. I've had alot of stress this year and started adhd meds which seemed to fuel the impulse to pick even more.

I knew that the only way I was going to stop picking at it was if it got infected. And well, that's finally happened. Over the last few days I noticed the area swelling and then the left side of my face started to swell up to the point my eye was starting to close.

The result: Infection leading to an abcess and cellulitis of the face. I'm on two type of antibiotics now and have to walk around work with a massive dressing on my head. It hasn't drained yet and I'm too afraid to cause more issues by draining it myself. I'm not sure why the doctor didnt just do this when I went in so I'll probably have to go back to have it drained if it doesn't on its own.

All from a patch of psoriasis.

So, for some context I am a 22 year old autistic woman. I have picked every single day for almost 6 years now. I would say I’m a pretty severe case. I pick and pull my hair on my arms, legs, hands, face, and chest. My skin has been shredded and then some. I spend hours every day meticulously looking for bumps.

Because of my picking, I dont go out as much as I’d like because I’m embarrassed of my skin. After 6 years of it, I finally got the courage to look into skin picking as a condition and found that it’s a fairly common as an autistic stim. Going from there, I found a post where someone mentioned squeezing a fine tooth comb as a replacement.

I cannot tell you how much relief it brings me when I squeeze this dang comb. I’m very early in to healing, but oh my god does it feel good to know I’m not actively harming my skin right now. I squeeze this thing all day and it really does help me regulate my anxiety.

It’s been 3 days since i’ve squeezed or plucked anything and I feel so good!!! 💖💖💖

After reading a few comments about this I decided to try press on nails and I LITERALLY CANNOT PICK A THING on my scalp, where my picking is focused. I got the longest ones from Opi ( xpress nails ) and you have very little control. They might not work as good for softer parts or places where you can see better and use other tools, but they work really good for scalp picking. The ones I found are no where near my style, I look ridiculous, but hey, I went a few days pick free! Strongly recommend, at least until the scabs heal and you won't have as much to pick at.

So, my biggest problems are ingrown hairs on my legs and private and behind. But bigger then that my issue is itchiness from just everything my skin is SO sensitive :( and then scabs and how itchy they are. The other itchiness I feel is just from razor bumps or purely ingrown hairs. Does anyone have any tips on this as I think that's my main trigger rather than just appearance.

Also, did throwing away tweezers help or did it just make you try to pick with your hands. I feel like without tweezers I still try to get the hair but I give up quicker because I can't get it but usually with tweezers I can get the hair 75% of the time. And so I just keep going forever for hours sometimes because I have so many ... and then my back hurts like hell the next day. But sometimes when I tweeze and I can't get the hair I try and try until I can but that usually causes my skin to break and then I create a new spot. Let me know if anyone has a similar experience or thoughts on what to do? :( I haven't been on here in awhile but I feel I'm still struggling just as much. If anyone could reply to this that would be great ! 💔💔💔

just wanted to share some small progress in hopes it can motivate others. ive been skin picking for over 10 years and never been able to quit. i definitely havent gotten there yet, im REALLY bad with my arms and cant seem to push through the urges, theyre covered in scars. but one baby step is ive been leaving my face alone a lot more. the only way i can do this is by avoiding any time near mirrors. i keep my vanity on the lowest setting, ive been avoiding the bathroom mirror at all costs as the lighting highlights any bumps on my face. i really just run in and out and try to keep the lights off if i have to use it. i feel embarrassed that i have to do this in order to not pick, but at the same time im proud of myself for taking baby steps. we got this gang

I stopped tearing at my nails, thank god, but I will tear and tear at my skin until it's really bad and it leaves incredibly prominent scarring. It's particularly bad on my face, neck, and chest.

Bandaids have always helped me, but I have an irritated reaction to some of the adhesives. For some reason I have it in my head that if I open a spot up and slap a bandaid on, it'll drain and heal, and then in that case I leave it alone after that. So I'm hoping the pimple patches would accomplish at least decrease frequency in picking.

I'm in a bit of a financial bind currently, but my chest is seriously fucked right now and I'm debating using some of the excess money I have this month to order 250 off Amazon for $11. They're super cute, come in four different shapes, and are supposed to pull the gunk out of the spot, so I'm hopeful they would help; but I don't want to spend the money if they wouldn't.

Did patches help you guys at all, for those who mess with their acne? Thanks so much

This is a recurring cyst that I've had many times and also tried to 'fix'many times, all of which end in a bloody and painful mess. As far as I'm aware, cysts will keep returning unless you're able to remove the sac inside. I've only ever stabbed it with a pin and tried a good squeeze before, sometimes when there's no head so nothing happens (apart from the bloody mess), but sometimes when there's pus to squeeze out.

I tried draining it last week when I thought it was ready but it wasn't, and I narrowly avoided having to go to an expensive birthday meal with a massive hole in my face by doing 24/7 hydrocolloids for like 4 days. One side of my jaw was swollen for most of that time. Now it's healed but looking ripe, and I can't shake the thought of slicing it open with a tiny craft scalpel and doing literal surgery on myself to see if I can get rid of this thing for good.

Helpppp! 😭

Before vs after. Hopefully my long nails will be back soon 🥹

I did warm water epsom salt soaks the first week to help soothe my picked at skin & have been oiling my nails/cuticles with jojoba oil multiple times a day!

And what is your dose?

My provider started me on 5mg/day of Memantine almost 2 weeks ago. I know I am in the early stages of treatment but the research articles I read were for 10-20mg/day and I’m curious what worked for other people.

A

I have scars on face and arms and legs and lips from picking all the time and I need to fix please I need advice tysm