9 replies to this topic

[CottonCandi]

I am 22 years old and still have acne. It's so embarrassing. I am the only girl my age I know who still has acne. It wouldn't be so bad if I didn't pick at my zits. I CANNOT stop picking, it's my ONLY nervous habit. I don't stand in front of the mirror and pick at my face, instead while I am on the computer or watching TV I do it subconsciously or my brain keeps saying STOP PICKING but my hands won't stop feeling around my face for something to pick at. If I feel a dry spot, I will pick it! I use Cetaphil creme on my face but my pimples still feel dry so I pick at them. How can I stop? I cut my nails really short so I can't pick but I still do it. I am embarrassed to go out because I look like a meth addict with all these red spots on my face.

[CottonCandi]

I told myself I wasn't going to pick after that post but I did anyways.

I discovered that no matter what, at night laying in bed trying to fall asleep I pick at my skin. I don't know how to stop this

[crystalthelondonlover]

I told myself I wasn't going to pick after that post but I did anyways.

I discovered that no matter what, at night laying in bed trying to fall asleep I pick at my skin. I don't know how to stop this

I find that taking a shower, or washing thee area distracts me from picking, and thane putting a mask on, to hide the area, or clothing for body acne. It is extremely hard to ignore picking. You have to train yourself.

[CottonCandi]

These boards are deadddddddddd. They used to be so active a couple years ago.

[helena870]

Hey cotton candy i can relate i have a terrible picking problem:( and ive had it for years.:'(. And i totally know what you mean about the subconscious picking. Im going to try and stop and it would be great if you joined me:). Im on here everyday if you need my support. tmrw will be day 1 for me again:) heres hoping for day 30

[mythai05]

hey i have the same problemm i know this sounds weird but i find things to fiddle with so that i cant touch my face. like, filing my nails, or playing with my hairband on my wrist lol... hahah i find it honestly helps. also, being around people! i wont touch my face around people cause i dont want them to think... what is she doing!?!?
havent touched my face in a while! yes gonna keep it uppp. goodluckkkk:)

[daveoh]

Hi Cotton Candi, you are not alone in picking. I find it to be a nervous habit as well, and sometimes go too far. I'm 36 and I still get acne, so don't feel like you're the only one who still gets it. I have one of those Silly Bandz I'll wear, and if I catch myself picking I'll snap myself on the wrist with it. Mostly I just try to find something to do with my hands. Hang in there!

[CottonCandi]

Hi Cotton Candi, you are not alone in picking. I find it to be a nervous habit as well, and sometimes go too far. I'm 36 and I still get acne, so don't feel like you're the only one who still gets it. I have one of those Silly Bandz I'll wear, and if I catch myself picking I'll snap myself on the wrist with it. Mostly I just try to find something to do with my hands. Hang in there!

LOL! If that were the case I'd be snapping it all the time. I'm doing better today, haven't picked once! We'll see how it goes.

[OmgZep]

I got out this picking habit after a crazy night with drugs,
it was an ecstasy like drug where it heightens your senses (if your happy youll be 10 times happier).

So when everyone was asleep the only thing i can think about for literally 8 hours straight was
"I AM GOING TO GET RID OF ACNE NO MATTER WHAT THE COST"

and then for a second i pictured my face in my mind,
ive seen my face many times in the mirror but this time when i saw it in my head my face was clear.....
I wanted that face really badly.

after the first 2 weeks of going no picking it was kinda hard.
But it helped me alot when i looked at the mirror in the bathroom if i just had a big smile on my face and just think to my self "Acne, YOUR DAYS ARE NUMBERED! Its only a matter of time until i get rid of you!" and then i would just walk out the bathroom.

now after 29 days of not picking at my skin my face hasnt looked this good in i dont remember how long.....
i think 14 more days and my skin should look very very good.


On the challenge its all a mind game.
You just keep telling your self, "If i pop you now youll come back in 2 weeks"
"If i dont pop you, youll never return"

Keep in mind it takes a pimple 2 weeks to form so your face will break out like crazy for those first 3 or so weeks.
Remember Keep telling your self Positive stuff like "I WILL BEAT YOU ACNE"
that helped me alot.....
hope i didn't bore you to much

[J.G.]

Hi CottonCandi,

I know how you feel. I started picking at my skin when I was 10 years old when I had my first mini acne outbreak. I didn't get my picking under control until 6 months ago when I started using benzoyl peroxide and I'm almost 22 now. There were periods where I picked more and periods where I almost stopped picking altogether but I never had it completely under control. I would do it looking in the mirror, I would do it while sitting at my desk, I would pick while I was falling asleep and sometimes I even subconsciously picked my face in front of other people. Then I'd catch myself and think oh my god, what will they think of me?

Then I'd wake up the next day and look in the mirror and feel totally ashamed. Why couldn't I break this habit even though I KNOW it just makes my problems worse? Sometimes I felt like it was controlling my life. It was horrible. Even now sometimes I pick a little bit but not to the extent I used to. I only have/had very mild acne but I made it look a million times worse by picking at it.

I wish I had some good advice to offer you about how to stop picking but I don't know other than to not give up. I'm not sure if my experience will be helpful to anyone else here, but here it is:

I stopped picking 6 months ago because as I was walking through the mall I saw this girl working at a kiosk with beautiful, glowing skin and I immediately felt so envious of her. I wanted that to be me.

So I stopped picking for a few weeks but my skin was so irritated it seemed like it was taking forever to heal on its own. It got harder to refrain from picking because I was impatient and I wanted to see results SOON. I don't know about others here but when I did manage to have clear skin, for brief periods of time, I found it easier to resist picking. So I felt like if I had clear skin immediately I would never pick again and therefore not cause any future acne and break the cycle.

Anyways after a couple weeks it seemed like just refraining from picking wasn't going to do the trick so I ordered Dan's BP and started using it in conjunction with a clean & clear cleanser and a cetaphil moisturizer. I don't have severe acne like some others do around here but I found that the BP really helped heal my skin quickly and made it easier for me to resist picking.

An aspirin mask might help you too, since it's an anti inflammatory. It also just feels like a nice treat for yourself- like getting a real mask or a facial except not expensive or irritating There's different recipes for aspirin masks but I find just dissolving 3 tablets (make sure you get uncoated aspirin) in a few drops of water and then applying it GENTLY to the face and letting it sit for 10-15 minutes helps my skin a lot.

Sorry if this sounds like an advertisement for BP/aspirin, it's just that in my experience those both helped me a lot, and believe me I used to pick my skin CONSTANTLY for years, and I know how horrible it is!


There's also this dynamic with skin picking, where you're constantly thinking about how badly you want to stop yet keep doing it more. I found that trying to "empty" my head, or meditate, whenever I thought about my skin, helped a lot to resist picking. This even counted for when I thought about how good my skin was looking, if it was clear that day- I just tried to not think about my skin, whether it was good or bad. I know that sounds weird but I was just trying not to obsess over it. I tried doing 30 day challenges and the like (before I joined this forum) but it didn't help because I was still thinking about my skin!

The most important thing is DON'T GIVE UP! If you stop picking for a few days and then start again, don't think of it as a failure, think of it as a process... A process that eventually will lead you to being liberated from this habit. It takes a lot of tries and patience to stop picking!

Edited by J.G., 01 July 2011 - 11:59 AM.