Compulsive Skin Picking Anyone?

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Interesting. I must note that everybody I know irl who I have suspected of being AS (or close to it), picks at tiny imperfections on their skin. I mean habitually, more than the average person.

Weird as that might sound, it reassures me some. Thank you.

I pick at my lips more than anything else...almost constantly. My scalp is probably second. Then anywhere else on my body that I can find something to pick at.


Yep, exactly the same for me. As soon as it scabs up, I'll pick it right off again.

Yeah. I've been picking at my skin since I was a little kid.
I have a good amount of scars on my back, arms, legs, a couple on my face. Thankfully my face isn't picked/scarred to hell anymore because I was able to switch it out with other parts of my body.
I really wish I could stop. I'm workin' on it.

My husband wants me to stop because it grosses him out, but I enjoy it too much to want to stop.

This is so reassuring, haha. Absolutely brilliant. I'm so glad I'm not the only one with this and that it IS just another little aspie quirk... I always suspected as much but hadn't ever seen it mentioned in any literature.

I guess it also proves I've always 'had it in me' and that aspiedom is just something I was born with. As I said, I was bald till I was almost starting school.

'Any little bump is the start of a wound that I won't let heal'

- That sums it up. I even look deliberately for tiny, tiny little spots or blackheads or bumps or the beginnings of new ones just so I can pick at them. Nobody's ever commented, except the boyfriend (he knows me well enough that he knows I won't care) who said I should stop but.... I can't! I wish I could but I can't. I just accept now that it's just a part of who I am, so erm... whatever!

Hypnosis, perhaps. Seems to work on everything else I've ever done.

I constantly nibble at the inside of my cheeks.... it looks awkward with a strange look on my face/lips when I'm caught in the act.

I just can't stop though... 25+ years of doing it...

My Aspie brother used to do that. I imagine he still does.

You mean some people don't?

Great; yet another bizarre neurosis that I apparently have; I'll add that one to the list too. I absolutely cannot leave scabs alone, even when I should; and I chew my lips quite a bit, can't stand having a hard outer layer on them. I lufa somewhat compulsively in the shower. And anything that is peelable must be peeled. (I actually used to derive great satisfaction from this aspect of getting a bad sunburn when I was young.)

Now I just need to decide if its more of a stimming thing or an OCD thing.

Good fortune,

- Icarus is defined by his neuroses...

Lol @ Icarus.

I've been a bit like that since I discovered this site. "Omg, I do that, I've always done that, never realised it was a part of the AS...!". I always thought that because I've 'adapted' so well it's 'all gone' (completely in denial), but now I'm accepting it as a good thing I'm realising that actually, it'll never, ever be gone... it'll just exhibit in more subtle ways.

used to make my lips and cuticles bleed from doing this too much. and i get great satisfaction from picking and peeling the skin off my heels in long curly strips. i love the smooth pinkness underneath. i don't get sunburned much anymore but i still love to peel. i am a hypocritical picker though because i get grossed out if i see other people do it.

I pick my lips all the time too! (I can't believe I just said that so excitedly, LOL.) I never thought about it as being related to AS, although I know it's odd and my mom always tells me to stop. I've learned not to do it in public, but just now I clicked on this thread and realized I was picking my lips as usual...

But like Icarus said, I wonder if it could be a stim? Hmm...

WARNING: This video is hilariously astute, related to the topic of this thread although some delicate ears might find the strong language used by Mr. Carlin a bit too scathingly abrupt for their senses.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HyM6SucVtfs[/youtube]

You should see the state of my thumbs right now. My boyfriend goes mad at me because I'm always scraping at them until they bleed. I think it's got a bit to do with anxiety as I'm pretty stressed at the moment.

The scalp picking is pretty bad at the moment too. It seems to calm me down a lot. Maybe it's like the feeling monkeys get when they groom each other.

I've never considered it an AS trait though as I definitely inherited it straight from my Mum who will pick at virtually anything, whether or not it is on her body.

i'd like to stop picking, please help! i keep squeezing and picking spots on my face, i want to just let them heal and stop picking them but i cant, im going to cut my nails but i no this isnt the real problem