Any advice on how I can (eurgh) stop picking at my feet?

[HorridFeet]

I know franny had a thread on this a while ago and I wondered if anyone had any tips for me.

About a year ago I developed some hard patches of skin on my feet that I picked and picked and picked - it is like an addiction - every night I do it, pulling bits here and bits there - each time convinced I am just pulling off dry skin, but each time it goes too far and bleeds and then it hurts to walk.

How can I stop this?

Each time I think right that's it never again and the next day I am hobbling and cursing myself.

Wear socks at night, to make it harder?

I used to do this - I stopped because I was doing pregnancy yoga, which involved being barefoot. That was over 7 years ago, and I didn't start again - once your feet aren't all bumpy, it's easier to not do it, iyswim.

Or could you do meditation type breathing at night instead?

NQC - I remember you saying about the yoga thing before. Can I ask, when you stopped did you have to do anything to get them back to normal or did they just sort themselves out?

thanks for reply - very encouraging that once you got over it you never went back. Meditation sounds nice and I wish I was more focused and did it, but this is an infront of the telly of an evening thing - nice!

They just sorted themselves out. I do still get hard patches, sometimes, but I don't pick at them (oh, and I'd been picking my feet since I was a kid, so they had been pretty bad - they sometimes bled). They look absolutely fine.

Ok, so you know when your trigger time is, find something else to do with your hands then (and wear socks!). Knitting? Sudoku? Have a book in your lap? Pick up juggling?

give yourself a pedicure instead? Have handcream and foot cream on the coffee table, next to the TV remote, anywhere so that you see it easily. Have two or three tubes dotted around the place. As soon as you feel the urge to pick get rubbing cream in instead.
I've not had the foot issue but this is one of the ways that I got away from picking the skin around my finger nails.
Good luck.

you couild book a reflexology session for a months time and you would have to stop!

A friend of mine used to shave the hard bits off with a razor...
ok maybe that is worse...

Wear socks!

Seriously, I have found that if I can't, I won't.