Hello! I'm 24yo and I have just realized that I have been skin picking for my whole life. I always thought I had really bad acne (which may also be true at some point, but I took accutane and it got a lot better), but turns out most of my scarring comes from skin picking. I never noticed I did it, but my partner told me last week, while we were experiencing turbulence on a plane, to stop picking at my face and that I was making myself bleed. It was the first time I noticed that what I was doing was subconscious and not okay and was eye opening.

I thought I always did it consciously (even if I ended up with big scabs) in order to ease my acne and pop some pimples, and I always felt shame about it. Now that I know that I do this, it's giving me intense distress. Every time I see a pimple, I get really anxious and it covers every one of my thoughts, to either pop it or leave it, always trying to find an excuse to pop it. I also have the tendency to try and rip out every bump I feel either on my skin or my partner's, who has lately told me that I do it as well.

I don't seem capable to change my mindset, and I can't afford therapy. Luckily, I live in a country with free health care, but the wait list for non-life threatening mental health issues is long. What can I do in the mean time? Please help.

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I feel nervous about going to a group therapy session. How has your experience been?

Hey, am I the only one thinking that Band-Aids aren't helping and are just prolonging the healing process? Same with showers - every scab is way softer and opens at every opportunity after it? Any life hacks for that?

Hi there! I am new here. I have had a recent increase in all of my picking activities. I have been picking forever. I pick my skin all over, I am currently missing a finger nail that I have totally destroyed. Ugh. I also chew the inside of my cheeks/mouth. I have pulled out hairs from time to time. It's like if I focus on not biting my nails my brain is like, "Ok let's chew the mouth up." I feel like I will never stop mutilating my body. I truly hope that this program helps me control this. I am so heartbroken everytime I see the evidence of my self destruction.

Am I the only one that picks their toenails? Very severely?

I was wondering if anyone who has been participating in this program has seen any positive results? I have had BFRBs almost my entire life. It started with nail biting as a child. I managed to kick that habit on my own but it got replaced with occasionally popping acne, picking ingrown hairs and the one I do most often which is pick my lips. The last one I do a lot and often without even realizing it. Unfortunately it's basically become automatic and various things seem to trigger it like watching TV, being bored or feeling stressed. I've tried so hard to break this habit on my own but my last attempt only lasted about 2 1/2 days. I'm currently not employed and paying for this program wasn't an easy decision but I am desperate for help. So I'm hoping my money was spent wisely.

Is it just me or is anyone else's skin picking habits triggered by body image or other insecurities?

What happens when a therapist also lives with trichotillomania... and another is also the parent of two children with BFRBs (skin picking and hair pulling)?

You get a conversation that's honest, relatable, and unlike most discussions about hair pulling and skin picking.

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It ranges from picking at ingrowns on my bikini line to picking dry skin off my labia lips. I'm married and I'm sure my husband notices that I have my hands in my pants a lot (it's incredibly embarrassing) but I've never spoken to him about it and don’t know how to explain it. It's so weird because it's not masturbation or enjoyable, just compulsive picking until my skin is raw. I'm really struggling

I have read so many stories of people going months without picking before a relapse and my longest is 72hrs. Since starting the program about 3 weeks ago I was on track and felt confident but this week I fucked up and picked badly for a few days. I hate that my brain goes to "yeah it's fine to pick just one of those scabs to find the hair" I know I'm only human but if anyone else is having this frustration I would love to connect or for some peer help

I recently got an LED light therapy mask, the ones that look like a robot face, and I have been having good results with it, and I was curious if anyone else has experience with one of these?
The one I have is a cheaper model, but is certified to have light in the therapeutic range. I've been alternating one day with red light and the next day with blue light. Sometimes on flash mode, sometimes not.
It seems that the places I pick at on my face are healing a bit faster, and that it is decreasing new blemishes from appearing, areas that I would definitely pick at if they were there.
I originally was trying the red light saunas available at Sun Tan City (don't worry, I wasn't using the tanning beds, just the spa treatments! ♥️), but it was too expensive and time consuming. However, if I had the time and money, I would do the full body red light sauna all the time because it's so relaxing and would maybe clear up the spots I pick that aren't just on my face.
These are fairly new technologies, and none of my close acquaintances have done them, so I was curious if anyone else here had tried them.

My brain will give me a headache if I try to resist the urge, making it difficult to stop picking.

Hi. I'm very new to this website. I know this is nearly 10 years old, but I hope someone sees this, as the community seems very sparse. I am a teen guy who is just recently realizing I have the worst kind of dermatillomania; dermatillophagia. I remember from a very young age, I would "bite my nails" all the time except even when I was so young, I knew deep inside it wasn't just "biting nails" and it was actually biting my skin on my nails and eating it. Even though I was still young, I accepted the "nail biting" because I knew it was far less embarrassing than calling it "eating your finger skin." Fast forward many many many years, and now I've adopted more skin picking and eating. I still do the fingers, but now since I'm a lot older, I actually realized I developed keratosis pilaris on my arms and legs (inherited from my dad) and have been since picking and eating the bumps. (Eww, so disgusting to actually phrase it...) I also run my fingers through my head and pick at the bumps and eat those. (Ugh...) There's actually a really big scab on there that I pick often. This leads me to my main question/fear: bringing it up to my partner. I have a boyfriend who I recently started dating a few months ago and it's going great but I have a very niche concern: him running his fingers through my hair and possibly finding the scab. I dread the thought of this so badly all the time it's genuinely insane. Like, what if he's just trying to be lovey to me and all of a sudden he's disgusted by my disgusting scabs all over my head? Sometimes I look at my hairline (another place I pick a ton) and it looks so gross. Anyways, the main point is I'm afraid because I've never talked about it to anyone. Also, recently my baby cousin (mind you, she's 8 years old so she's still not got a very good filter) asked me why my arms looked infected. I had to explain to her it was my skin condition (the keratosis) but the more I look, the more I realize it genuinely looks infected. I'm so ashamed of it. It's disgusting. Please help.
TLDR:
HOW DO I TALK TO LOVED ONES ABOUT MY SKIN PICKING WITHOUT FEELING EMBARRASSED AND/OR ASHAMED?

I have been picking my skin for a long time now, especially on my face. it's frustrating because I don't even have acne, just small clogged pores that aren't even visible to anyone but me. I have two huge scars/scabs on both of my cheeks that have been there for over a year. i cant stop picking at them, but i don't want my face to look like this forever. i'm also the kind of person who cares a lot about their appearance, I try to use makeup to cover it up but it only does so much. I pick at my back and chest too, i want to wear low cut/open back tops but theres redness and scabs everywhere. i'm young, and don't want this to last forever. is anyone else going through this?

Hello, I signed up for the groups but do not know how to get in the meeting. Anyone experience this?

Hello! I don't know where to turn. My wife suffers from dermatillomania, and I am NOT a good support. In fact, I am an enabler. I fall into the trap of believing that I am helping by letting her do it or even using tweezers. I have tried even keeping the tools under lock and key, but I always somehow convince myself that it's ok. That if she could get this "one thing" out, it will all be over and she'll heal up and everything will be ok. That just isn't realistic, and I want to be a better support and actually take action. When she's picking, I feel helpless and I can't seem to make myself do anything but panic and cry. Afterwords, every time, she tells me that I did nothing to help her and that I am making it worse. Bottom line is that she needs someone who can take action instead of panicking. What do I do? Where do I start? Please help me. I'm so lost, and I want to help, and I want her to be safe and ok.

Self harm mention trigger warning

For the longest time my loved ones have compared my skin picking to self harm, and they act as if its something I could just stop so easily if I wanted to. Its so frustrating, especially because I have actual self-harm experiences and my skin picking is not that. Its been years but it feels like they haven't even tried to understand. I know they love me and it comes from worry for me, but its hard.

I just started this program, and its making me realize how much I actually need it. But its insane I will unconsciously start picking while I'm actively recording/recognizing an episode right before. When I manage to fully stop I feel like I'm suffocating or claustrophobic and I had no clue it was this bad for me.

Has anyone felt this way? And have you been able to make any progress?

Hi!
I don't see a way to search past posts, so I don't know if there's already a conversation with suggestions, but I'm looking for ways to heal picking scars. I feel the older I get, the faster I scar and the longer the scars last. Mainly redness and skin discoloration in those spots. What have you found that works or works best?

Thank you!!