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nomorepickingplease , 04 Mar 2011

Stopping for good this time.

Ok. I can do this. I am not going to do what I usually do and wait until tomorrow to try again - I am stopping NOW. I don't care that I have already picked today. Although I am halfway through the day I am going to make this day 1. I am going to be really strict about not looking at my skin or touching it apart from when I put my makeup on in the morning. This has worked before for a few days, but I've never made it past day 3!!! Wish me luck! I am going to update this every day - join me in doing this if you want to and we can support each other!
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nomorepickingplease
March 12, 2011
but only 10 mins! Well done for not letting yourself pick for longer. I have come to the conclusion that lent was too big and scary to tackle - I am taking it one day at a time now. Join me! When I have had a good few days and then I let myself down by picking a bit I try to tell myself that I have at least given my skin time to heal which will make the next day easier. You are starting back at day one but you have just given your skin three whole days to heal with only a bit of picking! That is really good! Whatever you do don't give up and give in to a long picking session - that's what I usually do and three hours later I wish I had just stopped after 10 mins :( I know it is upsetting when you slip up after doing well but look on the positive side that you didn't pick for too long. Start again tomorrow and try to beat your previous record. If we do that for long enough we will beat this in the end! I know how hard it is but we are all in this together and we can all support each other. What we are doing is much more challenging and life changing than the average lent! We can have our own lent. Plus I reckon we should be rewarding ourselves more often than once on 40 days! I'm trying to come up with a good reward for day three - I have a few tv programmes lined up but I'd like a better motivation than that!!! Try to think of something you can reward yourself with too :) Let's try to congratulate ourselves rather than beat ourselves up like we usually do! Good luck. Stay strong.
lexyw
March 15, 2011
thank you so much!!! i haven't been on in a few days (actually since i wrote that last one) b/c i was moving all weekend. which was a great distraction from picking cuz i was always around people and just so physically exhausted. but, that's not to say i haven't picked here and there - honestly, after "ruining" official lent, i kinda felt like oh well, just a few mins here and there. but you're right, there's no way we could do the traditional lent. this isn't giving up sweets or booze! this is seriously the hardest thing i've ever dealt with. so, thank you so much for the encouragement and support - it truly makes a difference! you've inspired me to go cold turkey again!! tomorrow will be my new day 1 :) and i'll def. think of a reward for making it to 3 days, i hadn't thought of doing that before! good luck tomorrow!
nomorepickingplease
March 12, 2011
Day 1 - so far so good! Am not dropping my guard down this time though - am expecting a challenging (but successful!) day tomorrow.
nomorepickingplease
March 12, 2011
messed up again :( only for 15 mins but that's enough. It's 1pm but I am going to make this day 1 otherwise I will give up and pick properly. Here we go again.
nomorepickingplease
March 13, 2011
I am starting from scratch yet again tomorrow. It's 1am and I've been picking for the last hour. I think I have stopped believing I can do this... need to be more positive. Felt really depressed today about the whole thing. Told my best friend at uni about it though and it turns out she picks her skin too - not to the same extent but as a sort of bad habit she does every now and again. I'm glad I told her. Hope you are all doing better than I am! Will write again tomorrow, hopefully with good news.
nomorepickingplease
March 14, 2011
Day 1 - Completed. Have the most annoying spots in the world on my cheek which are itchy and massive but have not given in. Hurray. Am sceptical about tomorrow...
anonymous31894
March 14, 2011
that's awesome!! seriously we have all been there and have felt that uncomfortableness but to finally realize that you are not gonig to make it any better and the itchiness is your skin healing is key. stay strong!
llama06
March 14, 2011
Stay positive!! Look at what you have just written. You have spots on your cheek that are itching and annoying so you are constantly aware of them and YOU HAVE NOT GIVEN IN!!! I hope you can see what an amazing thing that is! I only know you through this thread, but I know enough to be able to say that you would not have been able to do that a few weeks ago. You wouldn't have even tried. Really really happy for you to have made that much progress. Tomorrow is another day, with its own challenges but the fact that you made it through a difficult day is really truly fantastic. :D
lexyw
March 15, 2011
i know what you mean about the areas that itch and bother you. it's like there's a neon blinking sign on your face hypnotizing you. sometimes, when it itches, i put ice on it for a while. that way, the skin gets numb and kind of puffy (i.e. not as itchy and definitely not very easy to pick). hope you're staying strong!
REH5057
March 14, 2011
I haven't picked in a few days. I've covered the spots on my back with neosporin and band aids and I exfoliate every night. No more scabs! Just shiny pink spots which is definitely good news. The urge to pick has reduced significantly seeing as there are no more scabs to pick at. I'm very happy :-)
llama06
March 14, 2011
Haven't written over the weekend so thought I'd give an update. Things seem to be going pretty well. Not perfect though. My skin is getting much better, so there's less spots and scabs to pick at, but now it's all the blocked pores that are driving me crazy. Obviously I can't see them until I start checking really closely in the mirror, but when I do I have slipped up a couple of times. I just don't believe they will clear without me 'helping'! I tried buying those pore cleaning strips you put over your nose, but they don't seem to work. Anyway, I have managed to stop the couple of times i've done it but it's annoying me I still haven't managed to completely stop doing it altogether. I'm now really waiting for the day that I don't want to check in the mirror all the time. Having said that, the absolute need to pick isn't nearly as strong anymore. :) So it does get easier. You have just got to break the back of it. Got to watch myself though, because I've noticed that i've become worse at picking at my chest and legs now that my face is 'off limits'. These aren't areas that i've been obsessed with previously, so I need to make sure I don't just switch to another area, and have to start all over again. I really like having this thread to update on, and it's lovely that there's a good few people now to help us all out. I do really think this is possible, we've just got to find that bit in our head that's determined to stop and ignore that evil little voice telling us its ok. I don't know who it is in my head that wants me to destroy my face, but I wish they would leave!!! lol
anonymous31894
March 14, 2011
i completely agree with you, its only the whiteheads that I want to get at now and I can honestly say I leave them alone for longer and let them come to a head so they are easier to get out but I know that some are small enough that I should just leave them to rid themselves =/ Today is day 18 and I will keep counting to 21 but it wasn't exactly cold turkey.....a big thing for me though is not to have any sessions where one leads to another, I now have this more defiant conversation with myself in front of the mirror saying you don't want to do this and I hope you get a huge scab for this, stop, stop, stop, and it actually works to a point...I have more self control that if a whitehead doesn't come out then I can actually leave it until a later point. So I see this as phase 1? I think I'm going to start over to day 1 this Friday and start a stricter stage 2 of the 21 days....keep checking in :)
anggoespublic
March 14, 2011
i've given this up for lent as well (although, to be honest, i'm only pick-free since saturday). i slipped up a few times. i now have a blog chronicling my journey... i've been uploading my struggles and even some things that have helped me in the past or that i'm hoping will help me now... follow along: anggoespublic.tumblr.com we can beat this together!
adecadeisenough
March 17, 2011
I'm not at all familiar with blogs so I need to ask: Is opening up in a blog like facebook public where most anyone who knows you can see your postings? That is so unbelievably impressive to me. How'd you get past shame & embarassement? Any tips (although I'm sure I could never be that brave)? Is going public helping you?
nomorepickingplease
March 15, 2011
Day 2 - made it right to the end then just picked for 15 mins or so... it's annoying but actually I am feeling quite positive because I have only picked a minimal amount and my skin is definitely healing which should make it easier to start again tomorrow! Oh dear this is going to take some time I think but I am going to keep at it. 15 mins is hardly anything. So although it is a pain to start at day1 it's not a complete disaster - i still feel like I am doing quite well!
nomorepickingplease
March 16, 2011
rubbish rubbish rubbish am definitely not finding this easy. picked for two hours today. Start again tomorrow I suppose :(
Steve
March 16, 2011
I think i started in another thread but i'm gonna continue in this one since it seems more active. Day 2: still haven't picked my face, but by god the longer i go without picking the more "pickable" the scabs/pimples/bumps on my face seem to get. I'm hoping that just a few more days will give time for the scabs to heal completely and there will be less temptation, but right now i can't help but every few minutes rub my hands over my face and feel every tiny scab or piece of skin or whatever that doesn't "fit" with the rest of my face, there's got to be at least a couple dozen, and it's all i can do not to pick them. The good news is that I had a test today, and usually I pick till I bleed during tests (and have to cover it up somehow until the bleeding stops), but not today. I've also been using a bunch of different tea tree products, not sure if they're working but hopefully I'll find out over the next couple of days. keep hangin in there guys.
anonymous31894
March 16, 2011
Yesterday, I decided to start a phase 2 because I had gone 18 days pick free but lately had been finding myself in front of the mirror "searching". Not until tonight though did I actually spend significant amounts of time in front of the mirror. Must have spent at least a half an hour there today :( It just one side of my face and its mostly just raw/red scars with little bumps here and there. When they don't cover with make up I get so frustrated! I just put tea tree oil on and i'm done for the night....never made it to the gym cause I couldn't get my make up to go on properly I'M SO DONE WITH THIS. ugh. And I just really don't want my 18 day streak to be a waste and come home friday with fresh new scabs, i neeeeed to get it together.
adecadeisenough
March 17, 2011
I can relate- I can't tell you how many times I've peaked in a mirror before planning to head out and after being in front of that mirror I either can't bring myself to go out or I have to try to conceal my activities and go out but with self-loathing. I tried getting rid of any makeup/foundation but that never worked so well. Anytime I have to try to cover my blemishes/scabs with makeup- especially when they were freshly picked- I feel dirty and anxious to get back home and wash my face. And then I think that what I need is days where I don't have to go out- that those will help. They don't. Now that I'm almost a stay-at-home mom, I may have less instances of caked on make-up and public shame, but I also have more opportunity to pick:-(

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