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New to this site and I want to stop NOW
Wow. I have been reading through many posts and didn't realize how similar we all are with this terrible obsession. For me it is a trance and to be honest, I get relief while I pick. Only to feel terrible and regretful later. We all know the cycle. I am 28 and have been picking since 13. I did some math the other day. I have been picking for 15 years. Assume I spend approx 1 hour a day picking in some form. That's 5475 hours. That's 288 days! I have spent more than a year picking at my face! Imagine that, doing nothing but picking for more than a year 24/7. Yuck!
Anyhow. I have been trying to stop for years. I have kept logs, I have tried to use other more desirable behaviors, I've asked my husband to help, I've rewarded myself for good behavior.
Now I am excited because I think this can be a support group. I want to stop picking now and I am going to track my progress on this forum. Please, join me and track your progress.
Over the years, I have learned that I respond better to positive reinforcement, therefore I try not to dwell on the negative. I note the negative and focus on the positive.
Today has been about average when it comes to picking. I have made 3-4 visits to the mirror and done a fair share of mindless picking. I have done a good job of limiting the amount of time I spend in front of the mirror. I have found it helps to allow myself to say what I am thinking out loud, "Why are you doing this? Get out of this trance! STOP picking!"
My goal is to make it through the rest of the day without picking. I will check in tomorrow.
May 31, 2011
So last night was pretty good. I only scratched mindlessly a few times, but no damage. This morning has been very good so far. I struggled a little bit while getting ready for work, but managed to talk myself out of it (which is much easier to do in the mornings).
I hope to make it through the day without any mindless scratching.
Note - I was picking at my knuckle a little bit during a meeting. Again, it was mindless picking.
June 01, 2011
Today was good, until I got home and finished eating dinner. Dang it!!!! I picked all the major pimples on my face and got a few on my chest and back.
I think the hardest part about stopping is that you have to make it cold turkey. If I allow myself to scratch a bump on my shoulder, before long I am checking my neck and then scratching that scab on my jaw that has been troubling me for weeks. I know I am doing it, but I don't stop until it is too late! What the hell!
Again, I need to remember cold turkey. I like to other post about channeling emotion. That is a wise recommendation. I am going to focus on that tonight and in the future to see if it works.
On the lighter side of things, the weather was amazing today, work was excellent, dinner was a success and I have my health. We all need to keep the positive thoughts and remember that life is short - and we need to stop wasting our time picking!
June 01, 2011
Today is crazy at work so far - busy busy. I did catch myself scratching at a scab under my chin during a meeting. The mindless scratching is where it always starts for me. I managed to stop before doing any damage, so I will consider this a success.