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Cerrida , 01 Aug 2013

Black Swan

Who else saw that scene in Black Swan where she pulls the skin off of her finger and said, "Yes! I do that!" I actually did something similar last night where I had some skin next to my nail and pulled it off. It bled a little and it still hurts, but at least the skin's gone! I've been anxious lately; we've been short-staffed at work and the boss has been completely unhelpful. I can usually make it until I get home because I'm very conscious now about picking in public; it used to be that I did it so much, I didn't care. I
2 Answers
rubberducke
August 01, 2013
I do that all the time and I hate it. Everyone always tells me to stop eating myself, but it's not that easy. The skin on my fingers is all messed up, and sometimes they get infected. Sometimes if I press really hard with my teeth, I make dents in my nails that don't go away, and my nails get deformed. It looks terrible and I hate having anyone touch or see my hands.
Cheer
August 02, 2013
Yeah, I found that scene in Black Swan very confronting because I do do it too. I didn't want to think that I had anything in common with that character I felt that scene was melodramatic. The music and the visuals were over the top. Picking and pulling and biting my skin is an every day occurrence for me. I don't feel anything when I do it. I do it to vague out and avoid feeling. I felt the portrayal of mental health issues in that movie was generally over the top. Someone was looking at it from the outside rather than someone who had experienced it. I want to look at my skin picking with compassion rather than terror. It is just a part of who I am. There are heaps of other people who do it too I've just recently discovered. We should all treat ourselves and other people with this and other mental health issues with compassion and acceptance.

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