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Skin picking

amiablePal9825 July 6th, 2022

Hi! Does anyone have any advice on how to stop skin picking? From as far back as I can remember I’ve always picked at the skin around my nails to the point that they bleed, I do it for most of the day and I don’t even notice that I’m doing it most of the time. My fingers are always scared, cut open and really inflamed and bleeding because of the picking.

Over the last few months I’ve started picking at the skin on my face, and I’m really struggling to stop! I’ve always been self-conscious about how my hands look but it was something that I could hide easily but now with my face I’m feeling really paranoid and stressed that people are staring at me which is causing me to pick more.

I’m just wondering if anyone has any tips to try keep from picking (especially at my face). I’ve tried fidget rings and wearing a rubber band to flick, and they work when I’m focused on doing them, but then once I’m not paying attention to the fidgets or feel stressed or anxious I’m back to picking at my skin, sometimes without even noticing!

Thanks!

1
ariesaristocrat July 6th, 2022

@amiablePal9825 I definitely struggle with this as well, especially picking at my face as I deal with adult acne.

Unfortunately I don't have a fool-proof way to prevent it, but I keep a small tube of anti-bacterial polysporin in my bag at all times so that if I pick, I can put some on and avoid infection. It also helps with scarring and makes it more difficult to pick as the area is moisterized!