am i the only 16 year old on here!!!!!!

im 15 years old and i feel the same way,

I'm 18. Its good that you are trying to tackle this earlier on.

I have been picking and eating(sometimes) for most of my life, I am 43. My earliest recollection is five years old. I used to hide it like most of you that I have read about and just pick the areas under my shirt or anywhere covered but in the last few years I have been attacking my arms and legs without being able to stop myself. They are now horribly scarred up with fresh and old scabs and all I ever wish for is to be able to stop doing it but I think about it constantly and touch the sores constantly. I am happy to have found this site and see that I am not alone. It makes me want to try harder to stop and not give up hope. I am also grateful to finally have a name for this horrible compulsion. Perhaps with a little help from everyone I can beat this and help someone else along the way.

I'm 16, and I've been skin picking and biting since I was about 8. None of my friends have this problem and recently I've been feeling alone, until I found this site :D

i'm 19 and i've been picking for as long as i can remember

I am sixteen and I have been doing this for about 6 years. I hate that I can't wear long sleeve shirts or leave my house without makeup. I feel like no one else gets it.

Hi : My son who has ADHD and possibly Aspergers started skin picking in 5th grade at age 10. He only picks the bumps on his arms. The bumps are caused by clogged pores. He won't let me put the treatment cream on his arms, but he does wear short sleeves that cover most of it. I am worried that he might continue this behavior, even though I have tried to get him to stop. He does not think the kids at school "see" him doing it, but they do, as teachers have emailed me about it. He already takes an antidepressant and a tenex based medication. I am not sure what else to do. He struggles to fit in socially, and this problem is making it harder. Has anyone had any luck with anything besides medication? I am open to suggestions. Thanks to all of you for sharing your stories.

Hi, I am also 16, I also thought I was the only one of this age on here, but there are lots of different ages that post things on this website.

Oh I'm do glad I'm not alone or crazy. I thought I was the only one with this addiction. I didn't even know it was an official disorder until I realized since I have OCD and anxiety disorder it probably is all related. You are so not alone. I'm 16 too and I started out picking just at my face in 6th grade. My parents were worried and tried to force me to stop because it was noticeable and I would have new scabs on my face every day. Then I got good about not going so far that my skin bleeds everywhere. I also cover it up with foundation but my parents don't know I still do it and I'm in 11th grade now. What's worse is that i now have every single picking disorder. The worst ones are the face one and more recently my inner cheeks are like mutilated! I can't stop biting my mouth! Even when I don't realize it I do it!

I am amazed at how many people suffer from this disorder. I thought I was the only one with this problem I've had this problem since primary school, I used to pick the palms of my hands and stop 2 years ago. Im 16 years old, start of this year I have been picking my finger tips, only recently decide to look up this disorder.

Hey i'm 17 and pick at my hands. We're basically the same age

I'm 18 and have been picking since at least 14- you're not alone :)

I'm now 21 but I started picking at 10. You're not alone!