I’m visiting my mother for the holidays and we’re supposed to drive 12 hours to Chicago today to visit her brother who was recently diagnosed with advanced lung cancer

It sounds so trivial when I write it out, but I don’t want to do anything because I have 2-4 cystic pimples on my chin. My head feels so unorganized, my thoughts are jumbled and cyclical, I generally feel like shit. I’ve been awake for 3 hours and I’ve only been obsessively picking at my skin.

What I know I should do is take a shower, wash my face, put some pimple patches on and go, but I just want to crawl into bed and stay inside for 3 days while I nurse my skin back to clarity.

The best word I can think of to describe how I feel is immobilized. It’s not just the throbbing of the pimples on my face, it’s my inability to think straight when they’re there and the lack of will to do anything other than find other areas to extract. It’s so hard to break away from

The feeling of euphoria that picking my scabs gives me is honestly confusing.. but the more concerning part for me that I’ve never mentioned to anyone is the fact I “collect” my scabs when I have a picking episode… usually a few times a day. I don’t eat them or anything but I put them in a little pile and they feel like some kind of prize or collection. I love the feeling of them being rolled between my fingers and then I just lose them or they disappear. That’s my picking process.. as disturbing as it may sound. Please tell me I’m not the only one.

I used to have toxic friends, but I didn’t realize how much being around people who didn’t let me be myself was affecting me. One day, a friend told me she would cheat on her husband, and that was the breaking point. I ended our long-standing friendship, and it made me see how much my other friends had been taking advantage of my kindness over the years stressing my nervous system out. I look years younger and no blemishes or skin issues and my friends accused me of botox but I've never touched the stuff. If you have people who you force yourself around and know deep down do not have your best interest at heart, do not put up with it you deserve so much more and better connections are out there waiting to value you instead of keeping you at an arms length or making you feel replaceable. You're not! You're amazing. 👏

hi y'all. i have a cyst under my skin on my stomach that i cannot stop picking at. i can feel that there's something there and it makes me feel like i need to keep picking until it comes out.

i have an open wound on my stomach basically and i'll let it heal over without removing the cyst then end up ripping the scab off and trying to remove it again. it looks terrible and i want to stop but i see the spot basically every time i go to the bathroom or change clothes which gives me the impulse to do it.

does anyone have advice on how to stop? i was officially diagnosed with compulsive skin picking last year 😭

I’ve been picking at my acne since I’ve had acne. I feel worse about it now because I was lucky enough to undergo accutane and overall have nice/average skin now (used to genuinely be a nightmare)… but I’m destroying it. And it’s so embarrassing. Especially on my face. I’m at my in-laws right now, just hiding in the bathroom and praying the redness will go away. I know it won’t any time soon.

Acrylic nails help me from picking, but are too expensive for me right now. Glue-ons drive me crazy but I’ll try them again soon. Covering the mirror does wonders but hubby doesn’t want me to since he shaves and we only have one bathroom. Other tips, tricks?

I do it cosmetically but also compulsively, so I’m also working to just keep my hands to themselves in general.

I USED to just obsessively pick my face and my upper back… however, with the stress of recent times in my life and relationship issues.. not to mention years and years worth of trauma… I feel like a shell of a person. In addition to mutilating my scalp… my shoulders, upper/lower arms, my hands… my entire upper and middle back… my buttocks… my thighs… last but not close to least… my lower legs and even the top of my feet. How does one begin to get their self-worth back? Where do I even begin with the healing process? I am under the care of my psychiatrist for anxiety and ADHD amongst other things.. potentially severely masked autism as well.. she keeps encouraging me to take my NAC supplements but I just can’t seem to stay on track. I am really trying to “pull up my boot straps” and heal my skin but I just feel discouraged. My partner is very supportive… I just feel so unwanted and ugly because of what I have done to myself.

This might be a silly question, but I’m wondering whether a formal excoriation disorder/compulsive skin picking disorder diagnosis makes any difference in life or treatment?

I have been struggling with this disorder since childhood. I do have an OCD diagnosis and take medication for it (clomipramine), but is it worth going to see a doctor about dermatillomania specifically?

Hello everybody, happy holidays.

This morning I took a shower with totally healed skin. No open wounds, no bleeding sores everywhere, no having to be so careful where I apply lotion...

I never thought I'd heal. Last November/December I had the absolute worst relapse of my life picking wise, my arms were covered in 20+ dime to quarter sized wounds and I never thought I would look normal again. I was also picking my face a ton and the behavior was so out of control, I was doing it for 2-3 hours per day every day. I went to urgent care like 5 times and I'll never forget how the nurse GASPED when I showed her my wounds. I considered checking myself into a rehab program but I knew it would be too expensive and ultimately it was up to me whether I stopped or not. So I made a choice:

I DECIDED I was going to stop. No more "if", no more "how". I decided no more "wondering" whether or not I was going to be this way forever: I made the decision to stop.

Now, did I still relapse probably 100+ times after this? YES. I did. But every SINGLE time I relapsed I told myself it was a stepping stone on the way to stopping. I started PRAISING myself every time I caught myself and stopped instead of focusing on shitting on myself for picking. And believe it or not, the relapses became smaller and smaller. This was a SLOW process.

I stopped all tracking & obsessing and instead focused on finding hobbies and GROUP activities that made me feel creative and included in a common interest. This made a HUGE difference - there are all kinds of free community programs, classes, events...something new that "breaks the loop" that your brain has created. Again, this takes time and consistent effort to find the right fit.

One year later, my arms and scars are totally healed and back to normal. I cant believe it but its true!! HEALING IS POSSIBLE, it's possible for you. Do not give up and do not quit believing in your ability to change. You can do it too.

I always do this to myself then regret it after wards. I’ve tried the patches to stop, using acrylic nails, makeup, a skin routine. Yet I still can’t control myself to not do it.

I woke up this morning after spending the day at the spa yesterday and I thought, “wow my skin looks sooo nice!” I admired myself a second too long and 20mins later I left the bathroom splotchy and red. I just had to share because I’m laughing at myself at this point. Happy holidays y’all

I am suffering from hyperpigmentation as long as I remember. I am using tretinoin and hydroquinone and my 5 years old spots started to fade but recently I suffered from an allergic reaction (I don't know what caused it) and my whole body was ichy and due to which I got ezema at one place, and when it healed a huge scar appeared which is even worse than my previous hyperpigmentation. It's making me feel everything was a waste. Idk how long it will take for it to go. Any suggestions to fasten the process?

I always knew I had a problem but accepting that it is a compulsion that needs treatment is something I am still struggling to accept. When I was a kid, being not so concerned, I always thought I would grow out of it when I grow up... but well I am grown up now. Countless infections and many many years later I am still struggling.

Looking in the mirror is getting harder everyday. Some recent problems in my mental health making me pick more often and severely.

It is only my upper arms and upper back when it is not as severe. But this month all over my arms andback, my chest and hands are affected. I hate seeing myself get worse. I tried to put on some pretty nail polish yesterday but got too upset over how my hands are looking and removed it.

I am trying to work on everything one by one. Even though I still dont have the heart to talk with a mental health specialist I think I am willing to see a dermatologist to see how they can help.

Accepting that I need help might be the hardest part. I just want it to get easier.

i pick at my scalp a lot but recently i mostly scratch the skin on my fingers and legs until i get cuts/raw skin. i have eczema and really dry skin so it starts bc i’m itchy but then i can’t control myself and i keep going. i moisturize everyday but still. would this count as dermatillomania/excoriation disorder or is this something else?

Just discovered this sub so I guess this will mark day 1. Wish me luck and any tips and advice are greatly appreciated 😌

one area has been open for months so that worries me. any advice would be greatly appreciated

About Thursday last week I picked at a small bump near my chin. I guess I made it worse because I punctured my skin and made an open wound. It scabbed up around Saturday and this is what it’s like now. It’s killing my confidence an was wondering if anyone delt with something similar and have any solutions to help the healing process :(

This has been an issue on/off my whole life. It always seems to relapse during the winter. They hurt so bad, i can't cook, i can't bend my thumbs, and I have no idea what triggers this behaviour. My life is going great, I'm super confident, great job and relationship, no complaints. It's almost like I black out when I'm picking at them and am just brought back to earth and snap out of it when they start hurting this bad. I have a nail appointment tomorrow with family i'm just so ashamed and never know what to say when people are so shocked and ask what happened to my thumbs. Genuinely feel like it's out of my control. Open to any advice. Only thing ive used in the past is band-aids with medical tape over them (also diagnosed ADHD).

I am looking for fidget ideas (even things not specifically sold as a fidget) that will help. He doesn't do it because of stress or boredom or anything. He says it's because it's not flat. He keeps picking because the scab isn't flat. But is extremely impatient for it to heal, so bandaids and hydrocolloid doesn't work.

I'm hoping to find something he can fidget with while doing other things like at school, doing homework, on iPad etc. not something he has to sit and do like a picky pad, since he does it while he's doing other things.

He's had the same scabs for over 2 months now. I don't shame him for it, since I struggle with ADHD skin picking too.

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.

For 3 years now I have picked at my left ear I have detector scan down in my ear canal. I can pull it up. It’s a mess my ear hurts real bad now I got a white thing coming out of my ear canal what should I do

i have been picking at my lips since early childhood. i always had scars and darker patches at the affected areas. originally just my top lip, to the point that everyone would point it out. it was somewhat of a stim, to busy my hands in boredom or during more mental work that didnt require my hands as much.

almost 20 years later and its now just my bottom lip that is affected but, it has progressed to the point of basically habitually picking at night when im trying to wind down after work. im now picking past the point of intense pain, lots of bleeding, and the consequences of raw skin while trying to eat or drink.

just looking for advice, reassurance, and similar thoughts. thank you