Skin picking

[Ursalabearface]

All my life I have picked. I have mild OCD and anxiety and take sertraline already which works well for me. But nothing seems to help stop picking, my body is full of scars. I also hair pluck but quite mildly. I’m wondering if anyone offer any practical suggestions that worked for you. I have most recently tried covering up anything that might be a pick risk with plasters. It’s almost involuntary and mindless.

Sorry if I’m in the wrong talk topic.

I have a friend that reduced this by having a selection of fidget toys in their pockets, next to their bed, work station etc. rather than picking she played with the fidget toys to keep her hands busy.

Her counsellor also recommended breathing exercises to calm her anxiety.
her skin on her fingers looks much better now it used to look so sore.

Good morning. There are fidget toys that are supposed to mimick the sensation. A friend has had some luck combining these with wrapping sports tape on the areas she's trying not to pick.

Thank you both. I haven’t heard of the mimicking fidget items but will look into. I knit currently which works temporarily.

Hypnotherapy can work well for skin picking, nail biting, hair sucking, etc. All were adopted as self soothing strategies at some point in the past, so it’s a matter of letting the mind know that it’s no longer necessary.

I've seen these picky pads, with little beads etc embedded in kind of silicone or something. I pick my scalp and keep my nails really really short so it's harder to get traction.

@MuggleMe I’ve found some and bought to try. Great suggestion! This post is the first time I’ve reached out for some help. Thanks all.

Always a nail biter too 😔 I wonder also if thumb sucking was. a sign of what lay ahead, as I did that too.

fidget rings help

@TeaIsNice thank you, another new thing! Some very pretty ones from a quick google.

My youngest dc is a picker (of clothes more than skin) and we buy loads of picky pads from Temu (they are much cheaper than Amazon.) my house is now full of discarded beads that wreck my hoover, but it’s better than him unravelling all of his clothes. 😂

I was a terrible skin picker on my fingers from the age of about 10 to 40. It really was debilitating I hated anyone seeing my hands. Made sure my clothes always had pockets. Could never have a manicure as I was so embarrassed. Going swimming was awful, wet dead skin and scabs seem to 'glow'. And people saying "what's happened to your hands?"

It's not easy. You have to make a conscious decision every time your hands move towards a picking site to stop. It's exhausting. You are reprogramming neural pathways that have been embedded for decades.

Practically I moisturised all of the time. Moist, soft skin was not satisfying to pick. It had to be dry for me to get any satisfaction from it. I literally sat on my hands in the evening watching tv. Keep little tubes of handcream everywhere.

If a site is looking ripe for 'picking' moisturise it. Keep your hands busy or inaccessible i.e. knit, do housework, or put gloves on if you just want to watch tv.

Thank you so much. I have noticed that when healing it’s the worst as there is dryness and itching. I’ve started using bio oil. I love the sunshine but ashamed how I look currently, I want to go swimming but can’t.

my thumb is a right state at the moment - to the point of needing a plaster to cover up the battleground!

The number of times I’ve done that to avoid anyone at work seeing it (for their sake as much as mine). Hope it heals quickly.