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Someone help...
I've been picking at my lips, my skin, my nails...for years...since I was 12. I'm 21 now, and it's getting worse. I'm not sure what to do, half the time I don't even know I'm doing it. I feel really ashamed of myself...but I can't get help at home. My lips look terrible and I feel like a freak...I don't know why I'm doing this. I thought I was the only person with this problem, and I've been trying to hide it for years. Please, are there any tactics to hellp lessen this problem, or make it go away? I'm sick of having sore and blistered lips, I'm sick of people asking what's wrong with them.
It's driving me insane...I don't want to be like this...
September 30, 2011
You're not alone, and I understand. You'll make it through this, dar'lin.
http://www.stoppickingonme.com/
I read some of this and stopped picking for a record of a month after I have been picking for 6+ years. Of course I've tripped up, but you must have the willpower and determination to reach the goal to quit. You're not a freak, or perhaps we all are. Perhaps we simply need to come to terms with being freaks, and be PROUD of it. I'm not afraid to be different anymore. I'm not afraid of what people think. I'm going to be better and quit my addiction to better myself, for myself. BECAUSE I CAN. Always remember you can quit, and that you're not alone.
October 04, 2011
I have had a LOT of luck with the amino acid N-acetyl cysteine, which is sometimes sold as N-acetyl L-cysteine, for my 11-year-old daughter who severely picks her skin (arms and legs). I'm hoping that everyone on this group will check it out. We started out at 1200mg each day, 600mg in the morning and 600mg in the evening. Then we worked up to 2400mg, 1200 mg in the morning and 1200 mg in the evening, within about 3 or 4 weeks. The study that was done in 2009 showed the best results were after 9 weeks of continuous treatment with this amino acid, also just known as NAC. We saw great results after 6 weeks. Please consider trying it. I am not a doctor, so please weigh out the risks for yourself. It has truly been a godsend. My daughter used to pick to the point of staph infections. She has scars all over her body. It works by regulating the URGE to pick. You can download the summary text of the 2009 study on this website - http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19581567. The study was for hair-pulling, but skin-picking and nail-biting result from similar sets of urges.