No one else seems to have this problem, even though its all picking..

I wish I had someone to talk to.

When I spoke with my doctor about how alone I felt about picking, he mentioned that there are more out there than you really know because those people pick in places you can't see. I don't think you are disgusting, I just think your compulsion manifests itself in a different way. I would definitely try maybe neosporin+pain relief on where you picked.. I have also heard that things like Aveeno diaper rash cream is good for nicks and cuts when you shave so maybe try that as well. As far as making picking a part of bathroom visits, I also have habit of picking my face when I am done washing my hands in the bathroom. I have found using the bathroom in the dark where I cant see the mirror helps to reduce my compulsion. Maybe this would help you? ... Don't feel alone.. No matter where we pick, it still sucks and is a cycle from hell.

I have heard of several people who also do this. You're not disgusting. Despite the fact that it may be rarer to pick those areas (just guessing, it also could be something people admit to less) we can all at least understand the picking part of it, no matter where it manifests itself. I'm sure you're not alone, there is bound to be others, probably even on this board. I tend to think picking is relaxing too. That is probably one of the first steps to stopping, trying to change that association. I haven't entirely figured out how to do that myself. Its a personal evolution, but don't give up!

You are certainly not the only one. I pick everything! pretty much every body party you could think of that might have some sort of flaw in it. My vagina isn't too bad, but when I get ingrown hairs I pick at them which usually causes scabs so I typically have 2-3 scabs at a time.

I am so happy to have found this. My picking is extremely bad, to the point that it gets infected. I pick everywhere. I'm ashamed of myself, and more so if I try to have a relationship with someone because I don't want them to see me naked. On top of that, I'm pretty heavy - so not only am I fat, but I'm fat with scars and scabs. I have been doing this since I was a child. I get in this zone and pick so much that it bleeds. I have been diagnosed as Bipolar about a year and a half ago.. My doctor explained that this is most likely related and is worse only in certain episodes.. I've tried to stop but it gets the best of me. I don't know what to do anymore. My doctor said my bipolar meds would help with this but it hasn't made a difference at all.

No you're really not alone and thank you for having the guts to bring it up. My friend and I are both pickers, also both 26 and have decided to try and put an end to it all this year, or at least make a start. Reading the account you wrote of your behavior was almost word for word a description of what she does. I have not seen her damage but from what I understand it's, like any other picking, a constant cycle of sabotaging all the skin down there. In a way WHERE we're all picking is incidental (at least it should be). Like a previous poster has already assured you, NO, you're not disgusting. Unfortunately we live in a very coy and prudish world, and understandably this automatically makes you feel that picking around your privates is in some way worse than other places. But it isn't really is it? It's still skin and they're just orifices like our mouths are, and as you said, you're not unhygienic so the psychological problem with this is stigmatic. As stigmas have a habit of prevailing, I'm not suggesting you declare to the world what you do, because judgement would no doubt preside over sympathy and understanding, BUT, what you CAN do is start seeing yourself and specifically your problem for what it is: compulsive skin picking, not WHERE it is. On a side note, completely agree that skin-picking doesn't feel like self-harm. Also had quite a long history of cutting, from 15 to 22. The skin-picking severely from about 19 (though to some degree think I've been this way my whole life. Anyone else remember trying to fall over on purpose so that they'd get scabs on their knees, that could later be picked off... oh dear), anyway so they overlapped, one did not replace the other. I also have other OCDs (hand washing, general tidiness beyond the call of duty etc....) and am convinced that's what this is. My skin picking is basically my face, arms, legs and cuticles but I'm also addicted to plucking hairs with tweezers, not my scalp, mostly my legs, underarms and bikini line, they then become ingrown as I'm majorly prone, which I then chronically pick at, with needles, tweezers, whatever works. I've pierced right through veins and all sorts, there really is no limit when it comes to digging deep into my skin. I almost enter into a state of hypnosis where pain and the threat of imminent post-picking guilt and damage temporarily dissipate, and I quite literally have zero control over it. Just zone out. There's an awful lot of people who will think THAT'S disgusting but the sterile and sanitary conditions under which I perform these rituals (that's not to say I think it's normal) have sort of lulled me into a false sense of security for all these years. No longer though. Another thing I'll say is that whilst I don't pick around my privates, the addictive and compulsive nature of dermatillomania makes me think if I started picking there I'd be as hooked as you are. PLEASE DON'T BE ASHAMED, and you do have people to talk to, when it's getting you down come back to these pages. The more we all talk about this, the more we'll learn about it in ALL its manifestations, and with any luck we may eventually beat it. Contrary to my usual personality, I'm actually hopeful about this one, if only because there is so little said or written about it, that I feel there must surely be undiscovered avenues of treatment and resolve (and I'm not talking about meds). Don't give up on a cure. On a practical note, I will talk to my friend in more detail having come across your post and keep you informed if she finds anything that helps her, that in turn could help you. And to everyone, real aloe vera gel (plant only, nothing in a tube, not even if it's 99.9%, because they've all been treated and are therapeutically hugely inferior) is by far the best thing for wounds and scars, both old and new. You have to be consistent but it works. I'm a very pale caucasian with very noticeable reddish/purple scarring and decided to focus my healing attention towards my face because that's what bothers me most. At night after washing I rub aloe over my skin, leave it overnight and wash it off in the morning. Wounds heal faster, old red marks fade faster, best thing I've come across by miles. Been doing it about 3 months and I say most of the old scars are no longer visible, and many of them have been there for years. Still picking and creating new wounds of course but like I said with the aloe they heal quicker and flatter. Tried 99.9% for years with no joy, in fact gave me eczema under my eyes, long term it really isn't any good.

Well, I'm so glad to know that I'm not allow in my skin picking condition. I'm a 46 year old woman and have been picking my skin for many, many years. It has caused me so much embarrassment over the years. I've been wearing long sleeves shirt in the summer for many years and don't know exactly when this condition started. I've suffered life long skin break-outs, know as ezcema. I've felt like God somehow cursed me in my life because I've never known anyone with this condition.It has definitely affected my self confident's and I would like to add that I'm a woman with a weight problem as well. I do try not to let it affect me to much but, in all honesty it has. My skin is badly damaged and I just want to be feel of skin picking. I also suffer from other compulsive behavior such as latenesses, problem managing my finances and my home is out of control. I just want to straighten it all out and live like the rest of society.