Incentivization: List all the ways skin picking gets in the way of your life.
Be honest. List all of the negative consequences of picking. Write as many as you can.
Now list the ways your life would improve if you no longer picked at your skin.
Let yourself imagine a life without picking. What benefits would you enjoy? How would
you feel?
Awareness training: Now, describe what leads up to you picking at your skin. Go ahead and try picking now for a moment, and pay attention to what leads up to it.
This is important. Take a minute to pay attention to exactly what happens physically before you pick.
Self-monitoring: Next, take a minute to print the journal below. Keep a pen handy for the next 7 days and record every time you feel the urge to pick at your skin.
You should find this to be quite eye opening and interesting.
Competing response: Each time you find yourself starting to move your hand to your skin to pick, instead of picking, perform the following:
• Hold your arm out straight in front of you or down at your side and make a fist.
(Alternately, you can make up your own, but these are the two which were consistently recommended in my readings.)
or
Social support network
Let your family and friends know what you're doing. Get them involved!
Watch the video to get an idea of what I mean:
Post in the skin picking messageboard (a subforum of the Emotional and psychological effects of acne forum). I'll give you a link to it plus the info you need to get started after you click "Start chilling out".
I'll give you a link to this after you click "Start chilling out".
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