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Megara85 , 18 Jul 2011

OCD Picking

I have been picking my cuticles basically my whole life, I believe I started at around 5 or 6, now i'm 26 and i'm still doing it. I not only pick my cuitcles I pick zits, dry skin that's anywhere on my body, my scalp, and most recently there have been zits on my breasts that I cannot stand and could spend most of my days picking at them until they bleed. This disorder drives me crazy and it's something that most of my family and friends don't understand, I don't understand it myself all I know is that it's something I have to do on a daily basis. People think that if they tell me i'll get an infections from doing this that i'll stop but truthfully that's the farthest thing from my mind; I do the most damage to myself when i'm stressed but I do find myself picking when i'm bored or to pass the time. My four year old son is constantly asking me why I have all these booboos and i'm at a loss to tell him why in a way he'll understand. I hate doing this to myself but I don't know how to stop and it's frustrating. I've tried acrylic nails and they work until they break off and then it's back to square one, i'm at the end of my rope and I really don't know what to do and that's why i'm here; to hopefully get support and possibly I can kick this habit but until then picking will always be a part of my life and day by day it's getting worse.
2 Answers
kmurphy
July 18, 2011
I wish I could say I can't relate but I can. I am also 26 and having been picking for as long as I can remember, I cant wear shorts or tank tops that show my back due to all the scarring. I wish I knew why I did this to myself and unfortunately I don't know how to stop. I try to cut back on things with caffeine because they trigger nervousness and anxiety which will lead to more picking but lately, I've been targeting my scalp and face which is the worst since that's what people see first. I really hope it doesn't get worse for you. I think if I didnt workout it would be worse, releasing stress and tension in other ways will be your best bet. Now you know you're not alone...
Megara85
July 19, 2011

In reply to by kmurphy

I wish completely that I could say I couldn't relate to this horrible thing either, but i'm so glad that I found this site and know that i'm not alone with this struggle. I have dry skin on my scalp and i'm constantly on that along with my cuticles, yesterday I left to come home from my vacation which was a 20 hour drive and all I did the whole way was pick unless I was napping. I did not know that caffeine triggers nervousness and anxiety which results in more picking so i'll have to cut back on that. I got a pedicure last month and the woman doing it saw my picked fingers which I was trying to hide and she said I better stop before I get an infection; if only it was that easy. But I hope to find support here that will hopefully help me put an end to this, thank you for replying to me and making me feel less alone with this I appreciate it.

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