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Basta , 18 Dec 2011

25 days' commitment

Dear forumers. I've been picking on my skin in 15 years now and I'm very tired of it... :( I hate myself because I can't stop. But I have to stop because my skin gets worse every time I pick on it. My hands are always all over my face, head, breast, my shoulders and back - I pick all day long - :( it's terrible. I am afraid I won't be able to stop from now on and forever at once, that's why I want to do it 25 days now. Why 25? Because I've read that it's best to squeeze acne 5 days from the mens. period start and it'll be somewhere around January the 13th. I realize that I need a place I can come and people like me to talk to, so I'm hoping that this forum will be helpful. Maybe someone wants to join me until January 13th? The official start is tomorrow morning (it's 23.17 here now).
57 Answers
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Basta
December 19, 2011
Day 1 On my way to work, wearing no makeup.. Afraid of meeting someone I know. Hoping that they won't think I'm too disgusting at work.
amgoingtochange
December 19, 2011
i am the same-have been picking for about 11 years but have improved big time since postin here. wat do u mean it is best to squeeze acne 5 days before mens, period starts. thot we should not squeeze at all??
Basta
December 19, 2011
It's best 5 days after start because of hormone levels and less risk of inflammation. I need to have a date when it'll be legal to squeeze, otherwise it's too overwhelming to stop. It feels like leaving a friend. It's so psychological, grrrrr!! I am though happy with my day today - I put the mirror inside the closet so I didn't pick. At least the face. I have been examining my back and did scratch a bit, but it was really minimal.
Basta
December 21, 2011
Day 2 went so well!!! I didn't touch my face but my back and arms a bit, but not too much. I made a mud mask yesterday and felt like a winner. Day 3 Today is not so good - my skin is flaking (because of all the skin that I didn't peel off the last two days) and I'm kind of nervous. Really want to peel the skin with my nails but understand that it will only worsen the problem. So I am struggling now. A really fun thing happened to me yesterday! I went to "doctor fish" with my husband - it's 300 small garra rufa fish who peel your dead skin from the feet. It was so much fun! I am definitely going to do the whole body peel by fish soon!! I've read that they are really good for people with acne/psoriasis and other conditions.
Basta
December 21, 2011
Gosh, it's hard!!! The only thing I am thinking about is to "clean" my face and shoulders now... :( I have examined my skin on the back and now feeling really anxious... Please pray for me! I'm going to make manicure now, hope it'll help!!!!!
Basta
December 22, 2011
Day 4! At work again :) My skin looks much better, but the pores are already clogged and there are five inflamed pores... I've found some advice online about how to stop picking, and one of them say: Tip #3 Bribe Yourself When I was a child, my aunt helped me to break the thumb-sucking habit by rewarding me with a quarter for every night I went without sucking my thumb. Before I knew it, I was free of the bad habit, and I had a pocketful of quarters. You can motivate yourself in the same way by paying yourself for every day or week you go without picking. This reward could come in the form of new makeup, skin care, or even a new outfit or shoes. If you can’t keep yourself honest, refer to tip #2 and call a friend. I have promised myself that I will give myself a cosmetologist treatment when I'm done with this challenge.
Basta
December 22, 2011
My anxiety levels are very high now - I'm eating all the time, I'm trying to stop my hands from picking my back and shoulders. I've never really realized how much I pick. It's ALL THE TIME!!! I
Basta
December 23, 2011
Day 5: It went really well today! I haven't touched my skin too many times, I'm happy! But I had bad dreams tonight and was in a really bad mood today, just thought it is awful how many bad things I went through as a child...
DawnSturgeon
December 24, 2011
10 days: I went and it was hard. I have not gone that long in years. My friend made a deal that I would have to pay a set amount of money to her and I kept increasing the days and was doing very well but then the black heads got to me. Nothing else not the bigger ones but the black heads because I just could not get rid of them with the products I was using. Does anyone have suggestions for black heads. I feel bad because I tore up my face tonight. Lame. I try again tomorrow.
Basta
December 24, 2011
Hi! I've ordered some peel-off masks and clay masks in hope that when the blackheads are very big, then I'd use that. When I used clay mask the other day, I steamed the face for 10 min first to open up the pores and put the clay mask right after, it did suck some sebum out of the pores.
Basta
December 24, 2011
But something tells me that I need to learn to live with the blackheads! My skin does produce more sebum that other people and I'm just lucky that the pores are open (that's why the sebum gets black). Just need to bleach them and suck sebum out of the pores regularly. The lesson here is to learn to NOT TO BE PERFECT and strive for 100 perfect skin. What's your intention behind cleaning the pores?
Basta
December 25, 2011
Day 7 I have 7 infected pores all over the face now and want actually to pop them. But I won't do that. The urge is also smaller than some days ago, so I'm quite ok with that now.
Basta
December 26, 2011
Day 8: I didn't get new inflamed pores since yesterday and it's wonderful. I've made a picture of the progress today, hoping that it'll motivate me even more. I don't know if it's bad, but I haven't told anyone that I'm struggling with this, I'm ashamed.... Thinking about the reward I'm going to give myself. On the 24th of January I'm going to a specialist who's going to look at my skin and analyse the condition and find a good cream for me. So I decided that my reward would be to buy this cream no matter how much it's going to cost me.
Basta
December 27, 2011
Day 9: I did squeeze the worst pores yesterday.... :( but I stopped RIGHT AFTER doing them. I'm sad that I picked but glad it didn't get out of control as it usually does. I didn't touch my face nor anywhere else today.
pine919
December 27, 2011
I am ready to make a change in my life and want to end this horrible cycle of incessant picking. It's at its worst right now and my face is proof of that. I'm trying a new acne medication but it's slow to work. I want to make a commitment to stop and hope that if I log on and post to this forum every day that I'll feel more accountable. Although I've already picked numerous times today I'm going to start now and count today as DAY ONE.
pine919
December 27, 2011
Well, I have been using a RetinA cream at night which is supposed to take up to two months to reach it's full effect. So far, it hasn't really been able to work it's magic because I continue to pick. I am inspired by your 9 days. It seems like an eternity. I was exercising more self restraint (ie not picking at the very small pimples, just leaving them alone) but I struggled more over the past few weeks. I have been picking at every tiny blemish on my face and haven't conjured any self restraint. It's at the point where it looks so bad that I tell myself "what does it matter if I pick some more". I know what a remarkable difference a few days can make so I am determined to let my face heal. I use a tinted SPF 15 lotion from Kiehls during the day with a mineral powder on top. It covers up fairly well but the real nature of my face is evident once I wash it off. I have a dermatologist appointment on the 6th so I'd like to go in there without obvious evidence of picking... Thank for responding to my post.

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