26 replies to this topic

[Siouxsie]

Anyone else find themselves transferring their picking to other areas after they stop attacking their face?

I stopped picking my face nearly 2 years ago. It was a massive improvement in my skin...no more bloody scabs on my face & far less red marks.

However, now when I am nervous or stressed I pick at my scalp, and there is nothing there. No acne, no itching, no dandruff, no hair product, nothing.
I am a very very high strung person and am almost always anxious, which means I have the urge to do it constantly. I start doing it without even thinking.

When I stop picking one area, I seem to move to another area on my body. I stopped my scalp for awhile, and then I started on my arms, then I went back to my scalp. This is preferable to my face, but my head is raw and people stare at me when I absentmindedly start it in public .

I've read stoppickingonme.com which really helped with my face, but I know the root of the problem is anxiety. I don't have money to do therapy...but what can I do about being less high strung?

[eimile19]

what is Cerave? hwo do you like it? and where can I get it? does it look okay under makeup?

I have the worst time w/ picking. every night i go in the bathroom and i see so many clogged pores that aren't even pimples necessarily yet, and i want to pick all of them!! usually i can stop myself from picking those, but i will pick any larger poppable ones.. how can you not??
though when i pick (even the cystic one)- i end up either bruising my face or getting scabs. just lovely.
I still cannot kick the picking habit. I am also a very anxious person..

Anyone else find themselves transferring their picking to other areas after they stop attacking their face?

I stopped picking my face nearly 2 years ago. It was a massive improvement in my skin...no more bloody scabs on my face & far less red marks.

However, now when I am nervous or stressed I pick at my scalp, and there is nothing there. No acne, no itching, no dandruff, no hair product, nothing.
I am a very very high strung person and am almost always anxious, which means I have the urge to do it constantly. I start doing it without even thinking.

When I stop picking one area, I seem to move to another area on my body. I stopped my scalp for awhile, and then I started on my arms, then I went back to my scalp. This is preferable to my face, but my head is raw and people stare at me when I absentmindedly start it in public .

I've read stoppickingonme.com which really helped with my face, but I know the root of the problem is anxiety. I don't have money to do therapy...but what can I do about being less high strung?

[Siouxsie]

Cerave is a skin care brand sold at most drugstores. It's a gentle, no frills line, kind of like Cetaphil. I like their moisturizer...it works well but is not shiny like Cetaphil. I like it under makeup for day.
Their facewash is not quite cutting it for my oily skin...but I think it would be great for normal to dry skin.

Definitely check out www.stoppickingonme.com if you haven't yet, it really helped me with my face. I'm doing better with other picking lately, but I know that if I start to feel anxious again the urge will come back...

[pinkshoeaddict]

I have your exact same problem, Siouxie. I don't really pick at my face any longer, but if I'm nervous or stressed out, I pick at my scalp. However, unlike you, I have a sensitive scalp and scalp acne so most of the time it's either itching or breaking out. Still, I'm sure like anywhere else, the scalp picking ends up spreading the problem around the rest of the scalp. I try to keep myself from picking by wearing a hairband most of the time.

[nipungyo]

I'm like you-high strung and anxious a lot so this is something I struggle with also.

[Seabass]

I am also always anxious about something, and have also been moving away from my face to my scalp and nothing is wrong with my scalp either, except im scared that im gona like fuck it up majorly from scratching at it constantly, like lose all my hair or something, not cool!

[Siouxsie]

I didn't read all the replies for awhile...thanks for the responses. Good to know I am not the only crazy one attacking my scalp for no reason
It is so stress related too...I go in this trance and I feel so soothed by it....ah, I'm so neurotic

[Tyga]

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Edited by Heir, 17 October 2009 - 05:01 PM.

[TNgirl]

I know what you all are talkin about. I'm a lot better now than I used to be, but still have my days where I can't help myself ... or feel like it's so bad it couldn't look any worse so I give in.

At first I thought I was doing something good -- to get all the yuck out of my pores ... because I have huge pores and felt like if I could just unclog them they would heal smaller ... no I was totally wrong. I learned that I was hurting myself way more than helping, but I STILL wanted to pick at it anyway. Guess it's kinda like an addiction.

I have psoriasis also, and have tried to channel the picking to parts of my body that isn't visible to the public. I never wear shorts or skirts so try to focus on my legs when I just have to do something distructive.

Also, it helps to minimize the time in the bathroom, get rid of all those magnifying mirrors!, and imagine that your hands have all kinds of bacteria on them (even after you wash) ... so only allow yourself to touch your face with a clean wash cloth. Try to become scared to even touch your face with your fingers -- that way you can minimize the chances of picking.

[SoCold]

If you have access to a bathtub, go to Wal-Mart and buy some dead sea salt in the Cosmetics section (should be about $5 for a little container). Take it home and fill a bath tub with warm water, empty half of the container into the tub and let dissolve for 10-15 minutes. Next, lay down in the tub soaking face, but keeping nose above water to breathe. Try not to move for 20 minutes.

Sea salt baths are notorious for relaxation and you feel it INSTANTLY and I can guarantee that if you take a bath or two a week your nerves will start to calm immediately.

This helped with my anxious picking, but most importantly it cleared up any remaining red marks I had as well.

Yes I know, it may be hard for a high-strung person like yourself, but it's worth it!

[sixfeetunder]

I have this problem, badly. I no longer pick at my face (well, once in a blue moon perhaps) but I find I'm squeezing every single pore I can find on my shoulders, arms, legs and chest more and more frequently. What's frustrating is that I know my skin in these areas would be for the most part fine if I didn't do this, yet I'm giving myself new red marks and scars all the time because of my shifting picking habits. I'm glad that I've at least managed to transfer the problem away from my face and to more hidden areas, but I clearly still have a way to go until I'm able to break out of my picking habit completely. It's frustrating when summer comes around and I'm again unable to wear anything more revealing than a short-sleeved shirt because of the mess I've made of my body (especially when I never even had a particularly bad acne problem there in the first place...)

I can also relate to the 'trance-like' state mentioned. It's amazing how a couple of seconds trying to unclog one pore can quickly turn into a mega picking session... and that awful feeling afterwards upon seeing how much damage you've done. How many times I've wished that I could turn the clock back a little and have stopped myself.

[jmair1709]

For the most part, I've stopped picking at my face. But if I feel around on my scalp, I end up picking at whatever little bump I find. It mostly happens at the nape of my neck, which is embarassing because I'm worried that someone else might notice it. I also pick at my shoulders and back, which doesn't worry me as much right now because it's the winter so there's tons of clothing... It'd be nice if there was nothing to pick at

[ut3]

hey everyone,

yeah i've also stopped picking my face as much as i used to (although still do it on a nearly daily basis but not for half as long) and guess what? My skin is better! But, i've transferred this to my arms and shoulders, big time.

I get so angry at myself for doing it. And a lot of the time I do it without even realising, thats the most annoying part. And then when i finally realise, i've already done damage to my skin. I'm talking like scabs that are half a cm across just from a little blackhead. I'm really quite happy with my body except for this, but as a result i always wear long sleeved tops when i can, to hide it. I haven't spoken to anyone about it yet but as others would probably agree, its something you feel quite ashamed of, especially as you're causing it yourself.

Long sleeved tops i find help cause they don't let me have a crafty pick (lol) and i am quite opportunistic with it.. however when i get ready for bed or before a shower then the top comes off and i cant help it!! Aargh!! I'm even doing it whilst im writing this and not even realising..

Frustrating!! Although i know the key to this is self-discipline it's so difficult as there's never a time ive said to myself 'im gonna stop this' and stuck to it. This is more of a venting than anything productive for others, for which i apologise, but any tips would be greatly appreciated and if i find that i have it beat i'll share as well!

Thanks for taking the time to read and i'll be browsing the site to see if theres anything else that might help... there seems some good stuff on here guys so thanks

[Karlie181]

Wow im the same way.. this needs to end... i pick at my face, arms, legs, anywhere i can find something to pick at. its disgusting and i need to stop.. =(

[bufas]

I can't believe so many of you feel this way. Nothing touches my face other than when I'm doing the dkr regimen and no matter how itchy my face gets, I'm terrified of touching it the least bit. I absolutely hate popping a zit, and I only do it if a whitehead grows very big to spare others from the sight lol. And I am very careful with doing so. I even get very upset when something or someone touches my face whatever it might be, since I'm thinking a new zit is going to form there now, and I always sleep on my back since I hate the pillow touching my face. My acne is mild though and on its way to clearing, I just feel like why do they do it, when I see people with acne having their fingers in their face constantly.

[ruski]

I am the same way...when my skin heals and i force myself to stop picking it...i subconciously move on to feeling on my hairline and my jawline...rubbing, scraping with nails, trying to get the little hard-feeling things out...making a huge mess...and i pick on my neck...which makes huge red spots that take forever to go away, i always (without even realizing run my hand into my shirt and start picking at my shoulders and back... if short sleeves then my arms get it, even my legs... it is a compulsion. If i am distracted and stop for a while, and things heal up, and looks better, it isnt long before a late-night before bed in the bathroom and i'll bring everything back! never-ending cycle

[Eyramore]

I too, am very anxious and high-strung. Before I write papers or study for tests, I pick pick pick. Because I can't stand doing it to my face anymore, I pick in *ahem* less visible places.

This might sound cliche, but the one thing that's been calming me down a lot recently and reigning in my nervous tendencies is exercise.

You don't even have to go to the gym. Just give yourself some space and do some exercises in front of your TV. Well, you don't have to watch TV while you do it, but I do because it helps me not think. You can do sit ups, push-ups, jumping jacks or lift weights. Sometimes I jog in place. Just take a couple minutes out of your day and say "I'm going to do five push-ups." More if you can.

It's not a cure, but it does help.

[mechle]

Wow, I'm glad I came across this! I have a serious face picking problem haha! I have perioral dermatitis which leaves my face with bumps and flaky skin around my mouth. I can honestly not help but to pick at it. I am sure that if I wasn't always messing with it, that it would have been clear a long time ago. My boyfriend always notices when I do it and will not hesitate to yell at me to stop; apparently a bloody scabby face isn't attractive, who knew?! One thing that has worked for me, especially since I pick my face unconsciously, is to wear gloves. It sounds stupid, but then it makes me realize how often I reach for my face. I also cut my fingernails so short, that you can hardly tell they exist haha. But, any other advice to quit this horrible habit?!

[J Mattia]

My advice to not pick your skin would be just not to really analyze your skin in the mirror. I just recently stopped after picking for like 2 years. I always would look in the mirror and look at everything and even though I knew i didnt want to pick or squeeze I would just see one and automatically squeeze it even though right after I did it id be like wtf why did i just do that.... And once you start its harder to stop. So what I try to do is just give myself a once over in the mirror rather than standing infront of the mirror looking at every inch of my face.

[lostinmyownworldx0x]

Okay well like.. im 11 in 6th grade, and like i pick at my face. and I DO NOT have acne.. I just pick at SMALL bumps and make them into spots.. i dont know why, and its so hard cause when i talk to people they cant look me in the eye, their eyes is always staring at a scar... i dont know why i do this to my face.. i pick at my arms too but like they arent bad just a few spots.. Does anyone have my problem?