Day 0

Hello! My name is Stephanie. I haven't posted on these forums in a while, but I will be for the next 30 days. What I'm about to do is more than a 30 day challenge. In fact, my ultimate goal is going 90 days without picking. But let's not get carried away too soon. ;) I know the mind is capable of beating disorder. I know this because I've crushed depression by myself. It's not a matter of over and done with, but a matter of knowing triggers and perpetual maintenance. I barely do anything out of the ordinary now to manage my depression. I've simply made it a habit to do the things that dissolve it. Today I start my final run to do the same to dermatillomania. It's a matter of self-discipline. I have little to none in regards to skin picking at the moment. That's okay. I'm not going to sugar coat anything. It's reality. But what I can do is build on what little self-discipline I have in order to jettison my success. Like lifting weights, it will be gradual and difficult, but worth the results. I reference a lot from my favorite blog, stevepavlina.com. I've read and used insight from his blog for years and it has truly changed my life. It's well worth multiple visit, but I won't need to twist your arm once you visit it once. He had a series on self-discipline which I am using to crush my habit for good. Below is my plan for doing so. Objective: I will break my habit of skin picking by working toward and going 90 days without picking my skin. Acceptance: I have a low level of self-discipline, but I can build from here. Willpower: I've made a plan. - Establish the beachhead. (Cover trouble mirrors, put something on coffee table for touching fixation, keep nails short and painted, put my goals in front of me everywhere, install scoreboard, post motivations, create reward system) Hardwork and Industry: Stay on track. Do the hard work and work hard. - Daily (post on forums, take progress picture, wash face morning and night, update scoreboard, post current day in bathroom) Persistence: Maintain actions regardless of feelings. - If you slip up, jump right back on the train. This is so much more than appearance. Is building the discipline to create the life you love. Keep lifting weights! I have a scoreboard installed that I will update daily starting tomorrow. It has on it the date, current day without picking, current streak, longest streak, next streak to a reward and ultimate goal (90days). This keeps me on track. On it I have motivational quotes as well as the 'bonus packs' I get from succeeding including self-discipline, self-esteem and self-confidence. My reasons include looking great in photos, feeling great, showing others it's possible, wasting less time and completion of a goal. My goal is not to go from tomorrow to 90 days in one shot. That would be like trying to pick up a 150 lb weight when I haven't been training with 20. I will simply increase the days I can go without picking until the ratio is in the green. This will help me gradually get to my goal of 90 days. I will post here everyday. Sometimes short posts, sometimes long, for at least the first 30 days to help keep me on track. My secondary hope is that I can be of some help to others facing this problem that I've battled for so many years. Best of luck, Steph