Tell me about yourself...

I'm going to call myself Sam on here... I've done this for years. I'm 21/ F/ East Coast, USA. I've only recently been able to discuss it with my parents without breaking down. It started with picking at blackheads/ whiteheads when I was twelve. Now, I target anything that even remotely resembles a bump - it's usually just my pores, and scar tissue. I've come to the conclusion I'm trying to dig something out, get whatever's toxic out, that lies just beneath the skin... The only assurance that I haven't always been like this are photographs of me prior to it. It has since mutated into this compulsion.. I've tried to identify the reason for it. There is no history of sexual abuse I'm aware of. I cut my nails to the quick to try and stop... I only find other ways. It can go from minutes to hours. Nearly every day. I think the longest I've gone without it was a week or so. I don't remember. When I finally thought to research it, and found this site, it almost made me cry. I thought I was alone, a freak. I've worn long sleeves in hundred degree humid weather simply for the benefit of "saving face" and "protecting others from being embarassed by me". I've targeted my arms mostly, from wrist to shoulder. Sometimes, my legs, chest, back, face, throat... Always my arms. It's shameful, and guilt plays a huge part in me continuing to hide. I want help. I want to stop. I just don't know how. So there's my story, in a nutshell. What about you?