Found out on Saturday

I had failed to mention before that this is my first post and really admire all of you for sharing your stories!

Welcome to the forum Cammyz. I want to start by saying, you are defiantly not alone! I started picking due to getting scabies, for 4 months I didn't know why my skin felt like it had bugs crawling on it, and sore appearing out of no where. I use to sit for hours and hours (no exaggeration) scratching at my skin, and peeling the scabs off ALL of my sores, they were everywhere, I counted them one day, for the ones I could see there was 264 cuts.. At the time I was extremly anxious for 2 reasons, I didnt know why this was happening to my skin, I had nice skin beforehand, it was by no means perfect, but it was nice, I was confused and in pain and I was also in an abusive relationship. He was the reason I had the scabies, and the reasons I was anxious, He would tell me things like Im not pretty, my skins grose, he use to make me feel worse then dirt but every time I tried to leave, he would make me feel guilty and I would always stay.. Eventually my doctor and I worked out what the problem was, and we treated it, but my scabs and anxiety was still there.. I used picking to help calm my nerves.. I found that changing what I did to calm my anxiety really helped, I used exercise and a form of release, I also use photography. You have to find what works for you, A good technique (My apologies Im not sure if you male/female) but it can work for either, I use a clear nail varnish, and I put maybe 4 layers on my nails without preparing the nail bed first, and when I feel like picking at my skin, I simply pick the varnish off.. its great because you get the feeling off picking that calms you, but not the painful sores. I hope this helps you and makes you feel a little less alone, I may be on the other side of the world to you.. But Im happy to be there for support. :)