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NiceOnTheIce , 12 Oct 2011

30 Day Challenge! Join In!

Any new members or returning members care to join me in a no-pick challenge? I am 20 years old and have been picking my face since I hit puberty. Picking my back came shortly after that, and my chest/shoulders after that. A few years ago I started picking the keratosis pilaris on my upper arms, and now I pick at my legs as well. My arms are definitely in the worst shape at the moment; they are easily accessible and you don't need to look in a mirror to pick at them :/ Anyways, I am just completely fed up with feeling self-conscious and embarrassed about my looks. Moreover, I HATE the feeling of being so helpless and out of control! So I was hoping that someone would join me in trying not to pick for 30 days. I tried this before and it worked great for a short while... this time I'm determined to stop! WE CAN DO THIS!
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animator_1
October 27, 2011
Hey secretskin - your blog, I was thinking of doing just the same thing! It's a very good idea. I'm really busy with a few projects at the moment so I don't feel I can set one up and maintain it myself, however, if youre actually open to the idea of anyone else contributing, I'm working to document my progress over the next 28 days. I've written lists of things to do every day - crossing off 'did not pick' every morning and evening feels like an achievement! and I'm taking a photo of my left arm (my most hated arm) every morning and hoping to chart a visible difference, however small or gradual, in my skin condition over this time. Im hoping that if a difference shows this can motivate other people to try and give up for a short length of time, as this will lead to longer lengths of time! If you're up for any of my documentation or anything of the sort, let me know, because I'm happy to get involved if youre setting up the blog and am detailing my progress every day here at home. Let me know! ...can you PM on this forum? haven't really looked round enough to know! :)
secretskin
October 30, 2011
Hey animator_1, my blog is really helping me, as it's a focus, and I HAVE to share if I have picked... it's almost like there is some pressure to not do it! And whilst I'm still not 100% pick free, I'm doing SO much better than I would be normally. If you want to contribute to my blog that'd be great, I think we all need to support each other... even if it's just posting in the comment boxes? If you want to email me, you can at secretskin@hotmail.co.uk http://secretskinpicker.wordpress.com/
animator_1
October 27, 2011
Hi! I know day 4 is just a drop in the ocean but I've been totally clear and resisted so far! I feel such an improvement with my face already and am beginning to be much happier to see myself in the mirror without having to cover up difficult, fresh-picked spots! It all depends on how this goes but I'm actually planning to document any progress I make in a blog after this 30-day thing. I don't have time to start one now but I'm keeping a record of everything I do each day - I'm basically trying to see how much difference a month of working hard to live well might do to my body, so this includes picking and also eating sensibly and doing morning and evening workouts. I'm taking a photo of my left arm every day and am hoping that, after these 28/30 days, I can put these photos in sequence and see a difference. This alone is sort of motivating me because I know that if I lapse, it'll show up in the photo! Ive also found it helpful to print out a list of things to do in a day, like workouts, documenting what I ate and whether I picked or not, and it feels good to cross them off and move on to the next day. Im feeling the most positive I ever have on controlling this, because I know that 30 days is not forever - its an achievable amount of time, and then I can take it from there. Won't pretend that the compulsion isnt still there - running my fingers over my arms or my face at night still throws up every little bump and makes me want to 'sort' them, but for the moment I'm trying to put a bit of faith in spot treatments to see if they can actually do the trick. The main thing is though, that I know that loads of people on this forum are also trying as hard as I am to make a difference in the next few weeks - so it's really spurring me on! :)
empathy
October 28, 2011
Congrats to you 4 days is still something to be proud of! I'm proud with one full day. My max yet is two weeks. I just did 5 days and had a big relapse on a stressful beginning of week. I love your idea of taking a picture. I think I'll think abut that every time I touch my face..."how will that look on the picture tonight if I pick". It's a great idea! Don't give up, you're doing great. It's so good when the skin is healing. It gives us hope that it could be over for real one day.
animator_1
October 28, 2011
Day 5 now and still in control of the urge to pick. Taking the pictures is actually really helping me resist, like you said because you consider what the actual image will look like when you see it back. It's like im under surveillance! With my arms in particular its sort of an impartial judge - at this time of year I could hide my arms under long sleeves as much as I want, but taking a picture of the whole of my arm area means I can't hide that secret from the camera. Honestly I have to say the skin on my face in particular is the best its been for a very long time and it's really making me pleased to see how even a short length of resistance can give improvements! Two weeks is fantastic, I hope you can make it to that and beyond! Im hoping that as time goes on I'll want to pick less and less. The risk:reward factor of all of this is absolutely the hardest thing - half an hours relapse can erase all the good work of a week or more, its not like when trying to lose weight for example - one days cake binge can't put on a stone overnight!
luvkitties2
October 28, 2011
Same here...haven't been able to completely stop and wanting to so very badly just plain sucks. We have to remind ourselves that this didn't get out of control overnight, and it won't go away overnight either. We can overcome this, even if it's a little at a time ::hugs::
doodlebug
October 28, 2011
So this is day 3 and I had a little bit of a pick today, just a couple of spots, but that was in the morning and then I didn't pick for the rest of the day. I've been wearing gloves around the house and having my husband watch me wash my face, but even when I'm just driving in the car my automatic reflex is for my hand to go up to my face and scratch something :( I REALLY want to succeed this time. I feel like if I can't really stop this time then I won't ever believe I can stop in the future since I've failed so many times. Tomorrow I won't pick anything! And I think I'll start taking pics as well to see my face healing and keep up my motivation. C'mon everyone, we can do this! We have to get control of our picking! Thanks everyone for your stories, it's very supportive :)
beingfree
October 28, 2011
Greetings, I am so encouraged to see that there is a 30 day challenge available. I can't do this on my own, so I am happy to join! I have been skin picking my left leg for 6 years and I have tried counseling but it did not help. I am encouraged in seeing that a few of you are going on day 3 and 4 (have to catch up with the posts), congratulations! Here I go: Starting tonight Oct 27 even if I skin picked my leg about an hour ago, I will not skin pick and aim for 5 days without skin picking... after the 5th day, I will renew my goal to more days until I complete the 30 day challenge... I am doing it this way because it makes the goal more tolerable and realistic for me. Will report my progress. Thank you to the creator of this challenge!
animator_1
October 28, 2011
Hi to everyone! halfway through day 5 now. To anyone considering taking daily photos - DO IT! It is really, really helping me - the camera doesn't lie! Take the photo at the same time every day - I'd suggest the morning personally, and think about maybe taking a photo from more or less the same angle of the same place so that hopefully in a few days time you can line your pictures up and see a gradual difference. Its helping me so much because I know that I could cover up my picking with makeup or by wearing a long sleeved top or cardigan right now - but documenting my skin as it is without any cover is going to show the real results. I'm sure we all are hoping so much for a time when we don't have to stress about how we conceal the symptoms of this behaviour.
vitaebella
October 29, 2011
Okay! We can do this! I'm just joining in, just got done picking my acne on my face for a good hour and am FED UP. I'm 21 years old and have been doing this since I was about 12, and let me tell you, it shows! To any younger pickers out there, good for you for trying to break the bad habit early, you and your skin will thank you later! I love the idea of taking a picture every night; I think what I'm going to try to actively do is every night when I usually start to pick my skin (it's become a nighttime/de-stressor ritual for me), I'm vowing to instead come online, post a comment and take a picture. Will I be perfect? Of course not, but hopefully I'll be on the road to recovery. And here's an even better incentive: Thanksgiving is basically in a month! We'll all look great for those family photos. We can do it!
NiceOnTheIce
October 29, 2011
Hi everybody! Just wanted to congratulate everyone on the great job you're doing! You should all be proud of the effort you're putting into attaining your goal, together, as a team. Thank you everyone for the updates, and welcome to all the newcomers! I can proudly say that today is Day 9 for me and I have only picked twice throughout this stretch. One squeeze each, because I allowed myself to. I am feeling such an increase in self-control, and am slowly losing the urge to pick. One super important factor that is contributing to this, is happiness. School is going well, I'm done exams for a while (this is a great source of stress for me). I am looking forward to having a great time with a good friend this weekend. I am also keeping myself busy. Not only do I enjoy being busy, but it keeps me from having a chance to sit down and study my skin. I feel happy/content with my life, and I believe this is ultimately what's keeping me from wanting to pick. So whenever you're feeling down, smile! Laugh! I know it's more difficult than that, but truly make an effort to be happy. If you're like me, happiness will wear down the vicious cycle of "I'm stressed/unhappy, so I pick, then I'm stressed/unhappy because I picked, so I pick more..."
readyToStop
October 30, 2011
Ok, I'm joining too! I had so much work to do today, but I ended up wasting my time by picking my face/chest/arms/legs for hours. Plus I spent an hour picking at the split ends in my hair. I hate the way I look, and I hate how this is taking over my life. 30 day challenge: bring it on
lisa2324
October 31, 2011
I feel a little pathetic joining another one of these "No Picking Challenges" after failing so many before, but I honestly don't know what else to do. I'm tired of letting this stupid disease rule my life and hinder me from living it to the fullest. I'm tired of going to bed and waking up with tears in my eyes because I feel like the ugliest girl in the world. I'm tired of canceling plans because of this habit and letting it ruin my social life. I'm just so tired of it all.
secretskin
November 01, 2011
lisa2324... we've all felt like this at some point, and I'm trying to stop picking too, it's not easy, but you don't have to do it on your own. We're here for you, this forum is wonderful, everyone is so friendly and positive. If you want come to my blog, tell me how you are getting on, on a day to day basis. I'm posting there every day. www.secretskinpicker.wordpress.com Help is out there, and you aren't alone. x
NiceOnTheIce
November 08, 2011
The fact that you are here once again and that you won't give up shows how strong you are. It's not failing if you pick yourself up and try again. We can all share your feelings; we are all in this together. Good luck.
readyToStop
November 01, 2011
Day 1 = success! No picking today, and I feel great :)

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