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Trying to find support
I’m 17, so I still live at home with my family of six. My parents know that I pick at my face. Yet they brush the problem off like it is no big deal. It is a big deal to me though. I want to stop picking so badly. I’ve done it for so long now (seven years) and have been trying to stop for four years. Lately, I feel like I have given up. I don’t try to stop anymore, I pick at my face everyday at least once a day for at least twenty minutes. I feel like I have no control over my picking anymore. My mother told me today that my skin looked horrible and I told her that I know, and that it’s because I pick at my face. She just said you shouldn’t do that and I said I can’t help it. I told her I needed therapy. She said that is stupid and a waste of money. I showed her the website and she told me it was stupid. I don’t know how to stop picking on my own.
April 24, 2010
at your next doctor's appointment, open up and talk about this. repeat everything that you've said here. you're probably going to school, is there a school health department that you can go to and discuss this, school counsellors? it's unfortunate that your immediate family is not providing the support you want and feel you need. keep looking for who might be good to talk to about this. in the meantime, research as much as you can about it here in the many menus on the site and the many topics in this forum. there is also stoppickingonme.com. gather all the information and knowledge that you can to understand it better and to learn of the many tactics you can use to tackle it on your own. ultimately, it is something that you have to beat. other people, including therapists, can only assist "you". medicines can only assist. tactics can only assist. people can too often let you down. medications have side effects. understanding when, where, and why you pick can help you change your behaviours into different, better ones. figure out what those can be from all that you learn by doing the research and discussing this with health care professionals as well as people here struggling too. make a personal commitment to stop harming yourself and take it one day at a time. just one day at a time, or if that's too hard, one hour at a time. be strong, be determined. nip it in the bud now and you'll be thankful for all your days ahead. healed skin feels nice. very nice. all the best to you. hope to see you in a challenge here! <3 <3 <3