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Buddy System to Stop Picking
Hello! I am a fifteen year old girl and I have been picking my skin for as long as i can remember. My main areas that i pick are my face and my arms (I have Keratosis Pilaris) but i will also do my feet, hands, back, and armpits. I discovered this website last year but i havent been on in a long time. I've been trying to stop picking for about two years and i think i might have finally reached a bit of succees :) my mom is in grad school to become a therapist and she knows people, so i found a therapist nearby that specializes in anxiety and agoraphobia and anxiety-related disorders, such as CSP. I found therapy to be pretty helpful but i would have many relapses. I have a good friend who is a cutter and also in therapy. We decided we were both going to stop, and it has been working so far. The buddy system is a great way to stop picking because you have someone to lean on. She has often called me when she wanted to cut and I talked her out of it, and vice versa. I also wear a rubber band on my wrist and snap it when I catch myself looking and feeling at my arms. It's been almost four days since I picked and I'm feeling good. I wish you all luck in your quests to overcome this disorder. :)
May 27, 2011
I just found this site and this is the second post I have read. I just can't believe that I have already found someone just like me!! (Mostly pick my face and arms... I have keratosis pilaris too!!) I pick other areas, but my upper arms get the worst of it. My theory is that I don't need a mirror to see them and they are the most accessible of all pickable body parts. But really, it doesn't even look like I have keratosis pilaris anymore, the bumps seem to have morphed into big red icky blemishy things from all the picking :(
I'm only 20 but have been a picker for as long as I can remember, starting with my face, then expanding onto my back (that got pretty bad for a while) and my chest and my scalp. I only started on my arms maybe a year ot two ago, and my legs were even more recent (they are not too bad yet, fingers crossed they stay that way!!) For me, I find that I have almost grown out of picking my back and chest (I still do but on a more moderate level, and they are starting to heal :)) but have continued picking my face and have moved onto irritating my keratosis pilaris full-time!! How the heck am I supposed to stop!?!
I hate not being able to wear short sleeves/tank tops without feeling disgusted with myself :( I usually only uncover my arms when I'm at home but I still try to hide it from my family. At work I stretch my "uniform" sleeves down as far as they will go (luckily I'm small and the uniforms are kinda big.)
Your buddy system sounds like a good idea and I find that my boyfriend has already started doing that for me (we spend A LOT of time together) and whenever he catches me picking, he he tells me "don't pick!" in the most caring and non-judgemental way :) And sometimes he'll distract me from the idea. He wants me to stop hurting myself and I really want to stop too... it's just so hard!
I notice that pick when I'm stressed with school/exams, but I also just pick whenever! I don't feel especially bored, nothing's bothering me that I can tell... maybe it's just habit now :( I might try the rubber band thing but I'm sure that my wrist will be red and raw after the first day! Any other ideas? :)