I have a chronic problem.

I have had a serious problem with skin picking for as long as I can remember. My parents have told me that I have pulled at the skin on my thumbs since I was old enough to have motor control, and I can remember being scared of having my nails cut as a child, as I would have to reveal how badly I had picked them to my mother. As a teenager, I picked at every spot I got until I got something out of it, and almost always caused my scabs to get infected. In my late teens, I always had at least one enormous, cystic pimple at a time, often on my chin or cheek, and I would pick at these as often as I could, even going on breaks at work to do so. As I got older, my picking expanded from my face to my neck, my chest and the soles of my feet, from which I would rip huge sections of skin at a time. This made walking very difficult and I was in constant pain. These wounds are always slow to heal, and make working in retail very difficult. I am still doing all of these things, and have bad scarring on my chest and face from years of destructive picking. I suffer from anxiety, depression and high levels of stress, and come from a difficult home situation. Although I am living out of home in happy circumstances, I am often plagued by memories of past difficulties which cripple me with grief and a feeing of overwhelming humiliation. Apart from my partner, the only person to ever address my skin was my grandmother, who has recently died. I take medication for my anxiety, which I believe has positively changed my life, and have been referred to a psychologist, but am skeptical about how effective this will be. I don't believe that skin picking is taken very seriously, and indeed, didn't take it seriously myself until recently. I am crushed by this overwhelming compulsion and would like to hear from others coping with the same trying as myself. I would also be very grateful to anyone who would bewailing to share their success stories or advice with me.