Has anyone successfully stopped picking?

[fedup078]

For as long as I can remember I've picked at my face
I will pick anything . I can make the tiniest spot which is invisible to the eye into the biggest scab
I'm so sick of it
I just can not stop
Every time I think 'right my face is pretty clear now so leave it alone!'
I do it again
In 37 now and haven't found anyway of stopping
Even cutting my fingers nails right down didn't work
I did it last night and in the morning it's like when you've made a tit of yourself when drunk the night before and that feeling of 'oh god what have I done' washes over you

My sister does this . I don’t. I have all manor of other quirks and OCD type habits . I’ve grounded my teeth (expensive) , chewed my nails and I twizzle my hair till lots fall out in the bath. I clean my house at 2am and paint skirting boards as the sun rises 😂My sister though has none of my ‘issues’-perfect teeth and hair and much better at following a diet and normal human circadian Rhythms etc but digs the crap out of her face. I think it’s an emotional thing, something to do with nerves and insecurity . Probably from the adolescent years? It also replicates grooming ( Darwin ape stuff) so picking might be triggered by emotional things to do with lack of intimacy or contact? Disclaimer: random theory. Not qualified. Trying to be helpful .

@IloveStrawberrylaces

It does for me, urges just go. It’s weird. You need to be very strict about taking it. It only stays in your system for about 8 hours, so need to take the right dose, twice a day, every single day.

It doesn’t work for everyone, but trials show it works for a large percentage of people.

I used to be terrible for this. Magnifying mirror and tweezers every day basically poking and probing everything. Also used to bite my nails and pick the sides of my fingers till they would bleed. Definitely a compulsion. Got gel overlays and problem pretty much disappeared! Not really possible to do any more! I could still do some damage with tweezers but weirdly the compulsion is not there if I can’t pick.
When I couldn’t have my nails done because of COVID I was straight back biting and picking again till I went back to the nail bar and presented my stubby chewed bleeding fingers for them to fix.

I suspect its related to dopamine shortage or an interaction between that and hormones. Im a picker and nail biter, suspected ADHD inattentive type, interestingly DS3 stopped biting his nails overnight when he went on ADHD meds but DS1 still bites so it's a complex picture. I don't attack my face as much but now I'm getting through menopause im not as spotty (i do pounce on other people though). Hobbies that keep hands busy always help me like knitting or crochet.
Im revisiting an old habit, pulling off split ends as my lockdown hair is long enough to reach, i bite them off too, probably going to end up with a furball! I tried NAC but i felt like I'd had a triple espresso so i s stopped, maybe i should have persevered?

Going to try the NAC, thank you. Nothing ventured and all that jazz.

@ArnottsUnderpass Great! Check out dosage to make sure you take enough, and take it with lots of water, or it will give you a weird sort of heart burn. The key is to be really strict with taking it, don’t miss a dose. Talking about it has got me back into the habit today, usually takes a few days for the effects to kick in.

I'm literally doing it now as I read this thread.
I pick face, feet, toenails, fingernails, anywhere i can get some skin or something to pull away. It's a terrible habit

I'm due to put in another Holland and Barrett order soon so I'll try some of that stuff

Following. This is me. It's awful but I can seem to stop. Am looking up that supplement thanks. I also knit to keep my hands busy. I just can't do a journey without having knitting to do.

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Excoriation_disorder

Well that was a journey of discovery!
It seems to be an addiction. NAC can help. It would explain why we want to stop, but just can't.

I pick at my fingers mostly(blood and scabs galore), but if there's anything on my face that works too. Being stressed makes it even worse.

The only thing that worked was having gel nails. They are to thick to grab and pick anything so for years I was fine. Had them off since lockdown last year and I started again right away so I definitely didn't kick the habit.

@AccidentallyOnPurpose yes I've just had my nails done for the first time since jan 2020 but I will still have a go
In fact the harder it is to pick the more effort I make and therefore the more mess
I once cut my finger nails off and filed them down to nothing and I still managed to pick , in fact it was worse because I could feel more tiny spots because I had no nails in the way

[quote fedup078]@AccidentallyOnPurpose yes I've just had my nails done for the first time since jan 2020 but I will still have a go
In fact the harder it is to pick the more effort I make and therefore the more mess
I once cut my finger nails off and filed them down to nothing and I still managed to pick , in fact it was worse because I could feel more tiny spots because I had no nails in the way [/quote]
Oh I still tried to pick ,I just couldn't do as much damage and my fingers had time to heal. Tbh at my worst I did use tweezers or nail scissors but that was rare.

I have to go back to getting them done at some point.

@AccidentallyOnPurpose I had to wrap my thumbs in plasters when I was at work once to stop being able to get at them

It's not a habit though, it's an addiction. So kicking the addiction is going to be really really hard.
I wonder if anyone has actually managed to?

@Howzaboutye You're right, it is addictive. My main target at the moment is my feet and I have to buy big packs of wound dressings in the pharmacy every week. Also picked my face to shreds - I have pretty good skin otherwise (no spots or wrinkles at 40) so I'm just destroying one of my very few good features.

For me it goes along with other addictions and compulsions I have (more conventional ones...) and I also have a history of more obvious self-harm - a long time ago, but very severe.

I pick my face/head all the time, have done forever (I’m 48). I get round it by either scratching DH’s head - he loves this so is v happy. Or I crochet, or I play with a little flower made from tactile material. I have to really try hard not to pick my face. It’s a compulsion for me.

I have an end of year essay due soon so I'm particularly bad at the moment

I bought NAC in H&B today. Will take 1 a day and see how that goes.

I wonder if anyone has beaten this awful compulsion? I'm an expert on concealers now, but I'd rather not have to be.

@ChairmansReserve

I'm literally doing it now as I read this thread. I pick face, feet, toenails, fingernails, anywhere i can get some skin or something to pull away. It's a terrible habit

Me too. I'm bad for picking at my scalp. If there's nothing there to pick, I create something to pick. It's just as well I'm not blonde.

I'm not a picker but I have trichotillomania which is compulsive hair pulling. It started at age 12, so I'm sure hormones play a part. It's a semi unconscious thing - half the time I don't even know I'm doing it until I find a very thin spot on my head.
I have it under control so it's no longer visible to anyone else (although I suspect my hair stylist has suspicious) but I've never managed to shake it altogether.

@TracyHorrobin I've just read your post on this thread. What an enormous relief. I really hope the menopause has a similar effect for me as I started pulling around the same time my periods began. It's waxed and waned in severity but I've never shifted the urge

I also bite my nails.... never managed to stop that either

Interesting that it could be linked to hormones. For me, my skin is more spotty with PMS. So there is actually spots to 'get rid of'. It's just that I'm then in a cycle and can't leave them alone.
And yet I'm so pleased whenever my skin is 'clear'. Generally after I've been ill and haven't been near it.

@Howzaboutye same