My Story ft. 30 days no picking proposal! We can do it!!

Hi everyone, I have been reading the comments, introductions, stories, treatments on this site for over an hour and for most of it I tried very hard to not associate myself to it. I wanted to not be apart of it, read about skin picking as if it was something that happened to other people and not myself. Suddenly I realized I have been hugely in denial of my skin picking. I have done it since I was about 8 when I was put into "kumon" which is an after school math program. I had to complete worksheets and while I did them I would pull out hairs and place them on the desk. When I got a little older I became extremely shameful of my little secret of pulling out my hair that I swore I would never tell anyone. As I got older it evolved into picking at my face every night to "let go" of all the stresses of the day. I would let a single thought run circles in my mind as I mindlessly allowed myself to go WW2 on my beautiful skin. In a couple weeks I will be 25. I have had this apart of my life story for so many years. My last boyfriend was the only person I told and he truly could not understand it. "Just stop" he would say. Sometimes he would even put bio oil on open pick marks I'd have on my back. Throughout the day I would pick at my back and head without even realizing it. He was empathetic but still did not understand. I can say though that there was a few times in my life when I didn't pick at all and my skin was radiant. That was when I worked as a camp counsellor- I would keep my days totally full, at the end of the day I was so exhausted the last thing I would ever consider was dragging myself to the communal bathroom mirror to pick. Also being in the sun all day gave my skin a sun kissed glow. Everyone always says that the sun is our enemy when it comes to skin care but I think we need to learn to create a loving relationship to the sun. It gives us so much! The second time I never picked was when I did a 10 day silent meditation retreat. Now that was no easy feat. It was by far the hardest thing I've ever done. But you truly face your true self- flaws and all (which includes that part of you that NEEDS to pick). By getting to know yourself and send yourself love and kindness there is no need to pick because you're no longer allowing yourself to indulge in that activity. Also we had to go to bed at 9pm every night (wake at 5am) and eat a vegetarian diet. Eating well and getting lots of sleep does wonders for the body (and skin is a big part of the body). If anyone is interested google 'vipassana meditation' for your closest location. I hope maybe this has helped others in having some ideas for how to stop picking. Currently I'm using an aloe Vera face wash from a all natural company called green beaver. You can find this at any health store. I think this would be the perfect opportunity to try and do 30 days of NO PICKING!!! Lets do it!!!! Cold turkey!! That's the best way. I will be here cheering you on!!! Thank you. This is really amazing to share such a personal part of my life with strangers. I feel totally at ease here and fully understood which is one thing no one in my life has ever given me because no one actually seems to get why I can't just stop. Sending so much love to you all!!!