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beanieGrl95 , 19 May 2011

15yrs old girl and i have picked my skin ever since i can remember! Please read, i NEED help to stop.

hi, i'm a 15yr old girl and ever since i can actually remember, i have always picked at ANY imperfection on my arms, legs, and sometimes face, i cant let the scabs heal because i cant help but pick at them too! For some reason my brain has gotten into thinking that if i take off the scab it will heal faster, and it just doesn't, it starts bleeding again and its basically just one big circle and even though i know its not logical to pick scabs i compulsively do it anyway! I honestly do not know why i do it. My family have given up telling me to stop because it never helps. Even though i really really really want to stop more than anything in the world because i don't want scars all over my arms or anywhere anymore. I want beautiful, young skin. I have read a lot of the posts on this forum and i just realized i'm not the only one who is going through this and a lot of the story's are very similar. Basically i have these weird little bumps that when i squeeze them or pick them, its kinda like white heads and i have to get all of it out from my skin because it doesn't t feel right leaving it under there to just fester away ... i don't even know if the stuff is meant to be there but i just do not like it. Sometimes my skin reacts differently to different spots that i pick, like it will get really hot and red and irritated in that little spot, or it will bleed a lot, or it will just be like a little bit of blood and then just weep. Some of the sores get infected and i have to squeeze the puss out of that too. Some of the scabs just get really itchy when they are trying to heal and i scratch the top off it and it bleeds again! I am really over it all and i have tried EVERY SINGLE type of moisturizer, scrubs, oils, everything! But nothing helps. I've tried using vitamin E oil for healing the scars and i don't notice any difference. I also herd somewhere that if you don't let your skin heal it puts u at risk of skin cancer and everything like that. Also not letting scabs heal is a form of self harm? I am just so confused about my skin, i would appreciate ANY help or similar scenarios because i am too embarrassed to talk to anyone else about it and whenever anyone asks why i have so many sores on my arms, my automatic response has just been that "I have Mosquito bites and i scratch them because they are really itchy" I also try to put band aids over the sores to stop me from picking at them anymore but they always fall off and the band aid just makes them all wet so they just peel off even easier! I am quite convinced NOTHING works! But if anyone is in a similar situation to this or has bee and has been helped then i would appreciate any information. Thank you.
6 Answers
mrsbieber123455
January 06, 2013
i have the same problem so i have to wear long sleeves to hide it and sometimes people see it so i say thatt i got food posioning on my arms and it itches so i scratch it and im only 13 and nothing helps it one of my doctors said to try not to pick at it but i cant help it i dont know what to do...
Trumplet
March 21, 2013
Hi, it was my 14th birthday last week, and you're the first girl my age I've found on this website. I've picked since forever. I pick almost everywhere. I have the same logic, because when you pick at it over and over and over and over again, it scars over. I feel like that is faster than letting it heal. And more fun. My family wouldn't understand. My friends don't understand. No one but people here understand. And I've never met any of them. I have millions of those little white dots. Mainly on the back of my arms, and my face has it to but it's acne. I pick everywhere but with the whole PUBERTY thang, it's been worse in my face. I tried a facial routine but you can ask anyone; I can not hold a routine. I've dealt with it. And amazingly enough, I forget I even have the scars and scabs and imperfections around my best of friends. Especially around my crush. When I'm with him, I feel perfect. :) Sorry...sappy lovey dovey stuff XD. Anyway, reply and we can talk. I would love someone my age to talk to about this. I think it would be better to connect with you, rather than a middle-aged man. -Jasmine
TurtleDove17
March 22, 2013
My arms I've been picking since I was 8, I'm 17 now! I still do it! I hate it! I also pick other parts of my body, some have gotten bad. My arms are left with alot of tiny scars everywhere. I mean ALOT. Today I decided I'm not going to pick. I'm going to take it 1 day at a time. I know it's not impossible for either of us. I know that urge to pick...and I know how hard it can be to stop once you've started. But I PROMISE you, it's not impossible. I'm not giving up on my skin and neither should you. Scars can be treated and there's alot you can do to help them fade. The main concern is just to stop creating them! Stop the vicious cycle! I'm right there with you, I'm suffering the same terrible frightening stressful situation. But there's gotta be a way out, and I'm done waiting... I'm determined to seek success and find it!
ishouldstoppic…
May 06, 2013
I'm a 15 year old girl too and I pick nearly everywhere. I am stopping today, right now, right here.

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