Compulsive Skin Picking Anyone?

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I always pick off scabs when I have them.

I pick at my face, scalp, neck, back, shoulders, arms, feet, and around my fingernails. I also pick at any scab or dry patch of skin I find. I tend not to cause bleeding on my face, as I'm more careful there, but I have little scars all over the rest of me. I have pimples, and I pick more when I have a break out, but I think it's just because there's more to pick at as opposed to wanting to actually pick the pimples off.
I'm embarrassed to say that I'm the "on call blackhead remover" for family. I guess they realized that I'm good at it or something, so they ask me. I also tend to point them out if there's a big one. I don't know if it's related to my skin picking.

Guilty.
I pick at areas on my scalp and along my hairline. I also mess with blemishes on my face. Somehow I have told myself that the public is more accepting of someone with a scab on their face than a pimple. I guess that probably came from the boy in high school that felt the need to shout, "Look at the size of that zit" and point at me when I had a blemish in the crease beside my nose. That happened in my Jr. year.

I currently:

-Chew all the topmost skin off the insides of my lips. Natural sloughing gets it started, and I will do this for several days until they are raw enough to stop - then they regenerate.
-Twist my hair, ripping out sections over time. To compensate, I like to let my beard (neck) area grow in so I can start ripping it out, starting with the longest hairs first. If not, I will make bare spots in my mustache or goatee.

I used to:

-Pick all the skin off the bottoms of my heels. Once they were pink I would stop and they would regenerate.

At times, stress would cause me to skin pick too far, causing bleeding.

When one area has been damaged or "beaten" I move onto another. But there is only a limited set, of course (If only I could rip out all my pubes - that would save me a lot of trouble! LOL)

Yes... I pick at my scalp until it bleeds sometimes. The skin there is... not good to begin with. I don't know if I could pick at my "Regular" skin. Nothing coming off to get started. I have a problem scalp.

My daughter (5) DOES pick at her skin and it's got me really worried. She's got "boo boos" that I fear will leave scars because she keeps reworking them. I NEVER see her do it either, but I know she does. If anyone has an idea of what I can give her as a replacement for picking at her skin, I'm all ears.... or anything else I can do to get her to stop...

Me too. I actually run my fingers over my skin looking for bumps or irregularities that can be picked off. I have ezcema spots on my arms and I have discolouration scars from constantly picking off the scabs. I have always picked any spots I got on my face, and regularly pick bits of skin from around my nails. Both my children (pending AS assessments) also pick scabs they get and things from around their nails, even though I haven't 'displayed' my own picking habits to them.

I used to pick on spots until they bled.

Oh, gosh yes.

I CANNOT leave scabs and pimples alone, despite the irritating hovering and criticisms of my family when they catch me in the act.

Oh, gosh yes.

I CANNOT leave scabs and pimples alone, despite the irritating hovering and criticisms of my family when they catch me in the act.

As a teenager I was an obsessive face picker. I even catch myself doing it now but at least I'm catching myself so I can try to suppress it.

I've done this my entire life. My Dad did it and all three of my grown sons do it without thinking. I've tried to stop, but I couldn't and I still can't. It definitely makes for awkward facial expressions, but I really have no control over it...and it's only one of my many stims. Add it to the list, along with picking/scratching at the skin.

Yes...... I'm doing it right now

Fior will skin/scab pick until he looks like a Meth head. It's stress related. I get chronic hives, and will scratch my self bloody. It drives me absolutely wild, and I wind up taking antihistames to let my hives/scratched up skin heal up.

Yep, I do this. I claw holes into my skin.

Fior will skin/scab pick until he looks like a Meth head. It's stress related. I get chronic hives, and will scratch my self bloody. It drives me absolutely wild, and I wind up taking antihistames to let my hives/scratched up skin heal up.

I'm always biting the skin off of my lips. More out of boredom than anything else.