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Skin Picker Looking for Support
I have been reading these forums and most of you have a very similar story to mine, but I feel like it would be therapeutic to tell what I've been through just to get it down in writing.
I started picking almost five years ago, when I started grad school. I had always had fairly clear skin, but all of the sudden I started getting the occasional cystic pimple, which I would pick until it forms a scar (I still have a small one on my cheek hanging around..). Ever since that time, I have tried countless things to get myself to stop. I have started a behavior log, bought hundreds of dollars worth of skin products, got microdermabrasion treatments, chemical peels (don't do this if you are a picker! It makes your skin flake and turns your face into a picker's playground), and I've seen a dermatologist more times than I can count. I went to a therapist a year ago for about six months. I spent all the money I had and I improved slightly. However... a few months later I got engaged. With the stress of planning a wedding and picking up a second job (I'm a school psychologist by day) to afford the wedding, the picking came back with a vengeance. I had an awesome makeup artist on my wedding day and everyone said I looked beautiful, but I just wanted to hide the entire day. I just got back from my honeymoon and I felt the same way, not wanting to go to the pool and caking makeup on my face every few hours. My husband knows that I pick and he hates it. He wants me to go to therapy again but sometimes I have little hope that I can get help. I'm afraid that I'll lose him if I don't stop. I have missed more days of work than I can count due to being ashamed and embarrassed about my face. I worry that this will cost me my career too. Face picking has dominated my life for five years. My face is all I can think about- probably 95% of the time I am worrying about how my face looks. I feel like skin picking has taken my life from me. I know this was long and rambling, but thanks for listening. Any tips are appreciated :)
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