BFRB Withdrawal Symptoms?

I think it's just something like OCD. Or since picking is very much like an addiction, it very well could be withdrawal. What I did find interesting that you wrote is that you get more urges around your period? I couldn't figure out if it was in my head or if that really was the case for me too. It seems like I can ALMOST quit picking, or at least less picking without much damage so my face is practically healed and then suddenly I lose that control and mess up all over again....and it's usually around my period. That last couple months is what made me notice. I was doing so well, then messed up so bad, and of course I'm questioning myself on how and why did I pick when I was doing so well....and then my period shows up. It makes me feel like no matter how good I do for a few weeks, I WILL mess up because of my period (hormones I guess?) It's so frustrating

@Nikki, appreciate your response. And yes, it very much can be made worse by hormones, but no, I just can't accept that we're completely screwed and will always fail because that means this thing gets the best of us--and that is complete BS! My therapist told me today that when you get down to the more primal urge of it, you can't expect yourself to be able to use the same strategies as you would if you were in a higher mindset, like able to reflect. Literally, when the urge takes over, your IQ actually drops! Which means it's not your fault that you can't think your way out of acting on the urge. What we can do is try to find something to do that doesn't require that higher thought. For me, I'm working on thinking of a way I can make my husband aware that I need help without having to say anything (because when it's bad, it makes me want to avoid strategies that would make me stop). Another thing is I'm going to try and practice some sort of strategy when I'm in a higher mindset that becomes a reflex, so I just might be able to use it when the urge makes me dumb lol.

I know I learn something every time I mess up, but I'm with you--this is insanely frustrating and I just want to want to make it better, especially in the moments when I want to destroy my skin.

You have no idea how difficult it was for me to go 3 months without picking.. and at that time I had great skin because I did a lot of treatments. Anyways....I was going mental and became incredibly depressed and frustrated. It doesn't feel like woo hoo I'm abstaining yay. It feels like damn I'm abstaining and dying inside because the urge is so bad. When I finally caved in, I picked feverishly and with extra zeal. Like a crazed drug addict finally getting their hit. It's scary to quit cold turkey because it overtakes your mind. You can barely function because all you will be thinking about is tearing up your clogged pores and pimples. It's just a very sad disorder to suffer with. I don't know if I'm capable of fully quitting it. The obsession intensifies and then you are forced to put up with the inner torment. This is what I fear most and this is why I pick....to escape the pressure of my own mind.