1 reply to this topic

[justwannabeperfect]

Heya! so, i've had acne for a year, i know not horrible. but trust me. ive gone through alot, so the acne isnt really helping my situation. IVE TRIED EVERYTHING. you name it. cleanandclear, proactiv, toothpaste! and im sticking to hollistic treatments right now.

so my problem is, is that I CANT STOP PICKING. i had a scab, picked it off. my forehead looks discusting with all the scars and marks. even my dad complains to me about it!

i suffer from anxiety, depression that stuff, and acne is just making me more sad and depressed. like after everything, and i mean everything. IM STILL NOT CLEAR. why why why why why.

im just really horrified of what my face will loook like in a year. i try not to pick, like ive tried everyhting. from slapping, gloves, everything. UGH IM HOPELESS.

please help:( ive been to the derm, but all they perscribed was BP, and IM ALLERGIC TO IT. WTF.
AND THEN, i tried SSA, ALLERGIC TO THAT. WHAT IS WRONG WITH ME.

[Eric S.]

Hi there! I can definitely sympathize with your difficulties with skin-picking. I'm 23 years old and have been picking my skin grotesquely for many years. You feel almost possessed when you do it, don't you? Right now I'm waiting for a very large and very bloody scab on my cheek to heal and fall off.

Since you say you've had acne for only about a year, my guess is that you're a teenager. (If I'm wrong, please correct me.) When I was a teenager, my acne cleared up for a while when I took doxycycline and used both Duac and Retin-A micro gels. It seems to me like you have two problems to deal with: first, getting the right treatment for your acne; and second, not picking anymore. Based on what you've said, I wonder if you're not picking just out of frustration at not having the right treatment.

A doctor who just gives you benzoyl peroxide for acne is not doing their job. You might as well just go to Walgreens in that case. You need to seek out a qualified dermatologist, or at least a different one than you have, who can prescribe you the right treatments. Talk about how acne is negatively affecting you and you'll probably get more aggressive treatments. Perhaps Accutane is even needed in this case -- I'm not sure based on what you've said. Once you have those correct treatments -- and I know this is easier said than done -- you should try congratulating yourself every day that you use them correctly without picking. Getting clear does take a while but not picking is worth it.

Then again, if you could see my face now, you probably wouldn't take my advice that seriously. Just know that I feel your plight.

Eric