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Thread: OCD- Obsessive skin picking...

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    Veteran Member angelicat's Avatar
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    Default OCD- Obsessive skin picking...

    I have OCD (obsessive compulsive disorder) with picking at the skin on my face. I have pretty good skin, the occasional hormone related breakout on my chin around my period and a pimple here and there. My problem, is that I will sit in front of the mirror, and pick at it for hours! I have been in a constant battle with this addiction for about 4 years...

    I have tried throwing away my magnifying mirror, changing my bathroom lights to red bulbs, placing tape over my fingernails while I'm watching TV, etc (stop me from running my fingers over my skin and spreading bacteria while feeling for something to pick) and talking myself out of doing it when I feel the urge. It seems uncontrollable. I have finally made the decision to stop. I have made an appointment to see a therapist (this form of OCD is sometimes a form of self mutilation among other things- I dont know the underlying reason for mine but intend to find out) and an appointment to go to a hypnotist.

    Does anyone else have this problem? My goal is to go one month without picking at my skin. If I can do it, I know that I can stop it completely.

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    God/dess Mare's Avatar
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    Default Re: OCD- Obsessive skin picking...

    If the hypnotist works let us know. I scratch at the psoriasis on my scalp ALOT. Probably is ocd at this point.
    I found when I had acrylic nails I couldn't do it. Problem was after a year or so I got 3 fungus nails and I hate sitting there for an hour or 2 every 2 weeks. Plus the expense was just one more thing. But the ends are blunted.
    Good luck. Hope you find a way to stop.

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    Default Re: OCD- Obsessive skin picking...

    i pick at my skin all the time. i will sit in the bathroom for a long ass time and just try to pick at every little thing. i never thought about it being ocd though. i have pretty bad anxiety and something about picking at my skin is relaxing but its my skin look a lot worse than it is. if i get a small pimple ill pick at it until it scabs over and then i'll pick at it again. im curious to hear your updates. sorry i dont have any solutions b/c i do this too

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    Featured Member glitzy's Avatar
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    Default Re: OCD- Obsessive skin picking...

    you should see my frankenstein hands. ever since i was a kid i've picked at the skin around my nails & it's especially bad on my thumbs, to the point where i bleed. there's a ton of excess calloused skin there from years of doing this.

    i also pick at my scabs & acne on my face. it's terrible & i can't stop. i'm pretty sure i have OCD (i do dumb counting shit in my head & rituals), schitzo & depression run in my family, & i used to have an eating disorder. i work hard at trying to keep my life on track, but it's so hard when i have these habits & some of them are genetic.


    if the therapist or hypnosis works, let me know!!!
    oh yeah, acrylics help me stop the picking too, but i play classical geetar, so i probably only get them done once a year for a special occasion or a day when i'm feeling really down.

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    Default Re: OCD- Obsessive skin picking...

    My wife has this problem and it pisses me off to watch it. I never thought about OCD so I am glad you brought this up. I struggled with OCD for a long time and actually went through a desensitization process. It actually worked. Since I am a physician, my OCD revolved around contamination fears in addition to the counting rituals which are so prevalent. It was pretty tough until I had this done.

    One piece of advice is that a competent PSYCHIATRIST, not PSYCHOLOGIST can help since medications will curtail this. I was on Prozac and Anaphranil for a while, but it did make me gain weight. A good desensitization therapy will help though.

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    Veteran Member angelicat's Avatar
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    Default Re: OCD- Obsessive skin picking...

    lotsoffun- Thanks for the advice. I can understand how your wifes problem would bother you... But I'm sure it is something she feels she cant control. My boyfriend feels the same way! I would like to deal with this without medication, if possible. Prefer to do things the natural way.

    Eve- This is my favorite site to read through. Was not aware there was a forum, will check it out.

    My appointment with the hypnotist is on Monday the 6th. Long way away but the fact that he is busy is a good sign! I will keep you posted on what is going on.

    So far, the one thing that has worked fairly well, is replacing my bathroom lights with red bulbs. I keep a regular one on hand for when I need to do my makeup- but the rest of the time it is near impossible to see any skin imperfections. The hard part is not putting the white bulb in when I get the urge! Works some of the time...

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    Veteran Member sparkleeyz's Avatar
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    Default Re: OCD- Obsessive skin picking...

    I have a different type of OCD inspired self-mutilation disorder. I have trichotillomania. The hair pulling disorder. I pull eye lashes, eye brows and the hairs on my head. Mainly my eye lashes though. It's to the point where I now have a perma bald spot on my lower lash of my left eye. I have to put extra liner and mascara on to hide it.
    "I Can Sell Raid To A Bug. i'm A Hustler I Can Sell Salt To A Slug" -Cassidy

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    Default Re: OCD- Obsessive skin picking...

    omg i do this when i have a full set... when i take them off, i constantly bite my nails- i just started picking my face though
    "You have to pray a whole lot to do the things I do"
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    Quote Originally Posted by kaiarose View Post
    I keep reading about how we "sell" our bodies. Um, as far I as can tell I still have mine so it hasn't been sold.
    Quote Originally Posted by ViolaStrings
    ^ I know, we just lease out visual rights for short intervals.
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    Default Re: OCD- Obsessive skin picking...

    Quote Originally Posted by sparkleeyz View Post
    I have a different type of OCD inspired self-mutilation disorder. I have trichotillomania. The hair pulling disorder. I pull eye lashes, eye brows and the hairs on my head. Mainly my eye lashes though. It's to the point where I now have a perma bald spot on my lower lash of my left eye. I have to put extra liner and mascara on to hide it.

    i did this all through childhood and have the edges and bareley there brows to prove it-my lashes hurt when i pull them, but i went through that stage also..... OMG i'm OC
    "You have to pray a whole lot to do the things I do"
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    Quote Originally Posted by kaiarose View Post
    I keep reading about how we "sell" our bodies. Um, as far I as can tell I still have mine so it hasn't been sold.
    Quote Originally Posted by ViolaStrings
    ^ I know, we just lease out visual rights for short intervals.
    "

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    Veteran Member sparkleeyz's Avatar
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    Default Re: OCD- Obsessive skin picking...

    ^^^My lashes hurt when I pull them too. It's weird I press my lashes and look for that tender feeling, when I find it, I try to pull the lash that is causing that tenderness in the skin. The problem is, I end up pulling 12 hairs before I get to the one that's bothering me.
    "I Can Sell Raid To A Bug. i'm A Hustler I Can Sell Salt To A Slug" -Cassidy

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    Veteran Member misspthesweetesttaboo's Avatar
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    Default Re: OCD- Obsessive skin picking...

    ^^^ that's why i usually don't mess with them, besides picking dried mascara- but i barely wear it unless i'm working
    "You have to pray a whole lot to do the things I do"
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    Quote Originally Posted by kaiarose View Post
    I keep reading about how we "sell" our bodies. Um, as far I as can tell I still have mine so it hasn't been sold.
    Quote Originally Posted by ViolaStrings
    ^ I know, we just lease out visual rights for short intervals.
    "

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    Featured Member aviendha's Avatar
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    Default Re: OCD- Obsessive skin picking...

    I have trich as well. Eyelashes, plus body hair and a little head hair. Ironically I guess I don't really see the body hair issue as a problem because I'd be shaving it off anyway, and I do have perfectly groomed eyebrows. *heh* But eyelashes mainly, been that way since I was 3. If there was a pill that would make me stop, I'd start taking it 5 minutes ago. *sigh*

    The real bitch about it is that I can go a week, even 2-3 weeks without doing it, but all anyone ever sees is the result of the 5-10 minutes when I *do*.

    At any rate, nail-biting, face picking and hair pulling are all of a set of essentially a disorder of the natural primate tendency to groom.

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    Default Re: OCD- Obsessive skin picking...

    I have this. It's embarrassing. It's an extension of my BDD. I also have (self-diagnosed) Impulse Control Disorder. I'll have freak outs where I'll pick at every bump on my face. It relieves built-up tension and feels good--but I feel fucking terrible after I'm done. I thought about starting a thread about this awhile ago, but it was too embarrassing for me to admit.

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    Veteran Member angelicat's Avatar
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    Default Re: OCD- Obsessive skin picking...

    ^^ I agree. I finally have started telling people (my family and a few of my close friends) I was surprised to hear that both my mother and my sister do the same thing, just not to the same extreme.

    I love picking, but afterwards am like WTF did I do to my face?!?! I hear ya.

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    Default Re: OCD- Obsessive skin picking...

    ^ Yup. I can literally turn what would ordinarily be a few days of bad skin (hormonal acne) into a week or more of recovering scabs.

    There's some quote out there like "You'd get put in jail if you did what you do to yourself, to someone else."

    Things I'm trying:

    -New birth control (I'm only taking it for acne): Ortho Tri Cyclen. Seems to be helping.

    -Glycolic Acid/Vitamin C/Salicylic Acid peels. It sort of satiates my urge to pick because I can rub my skin (Philosophy's Vit C peel).

    -Inositol supplements. Some people have had luck with this--it can help curb obsessive thoughts. I'm not sure if it's working for me, but it'd be worth a try.

    I can literally spend hundreds of dollars at a time buying new skin care products....searching for that one "miracle product." But at the end of the day, I'm the one who is mostly responsible for my problem, because I exacerbate it. Pretty sad.

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    Default Re: OCD- Obsessive skin picking...

    kfasldfkas;
    Last edited by J_Lynne; 07-24-2009 at 03:00 AM. Reason: sad,fmas

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    Default Re: OCD- Obsessive skin picking...

    Quote Originally Posted by TheSexKitten View Post
    I had this for about a year in 6th grade, and it got to the point where some of my classmates would tease me about it. In 7th grade I had a fucking mohawk of babyhairs growing out of the top of my head from plucking out all the "coarse" hairs. These days I will pluck off split/dry ends compulsively if I have them, or I'll just run my fingers along a few strands of hair without actually pulling them.

    Yes I have the skin OCD thing. I will pick my face for up to a half hour at a time, even though my skin is nearly perfect when I don't fuck with it. I also compulsively remove sebum and blackheads from my boytoy's back. It's really weird IMO and it's cool of him to put up with my weirdness.

    I also bite my nails, but I've been manicuring them and they are back to normal people length. I know that if I let the polish get too chipped or if I remove it without putting more color on, I will revert right back to biting them.

    If I were a parrot I would be one of those crazy self-plucking ones.
    You brought tears to my eyes with that one! You are too funny. I'd be perched next to you, featherless with chicken skin. LOL
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    Default Re: OCD- Obsessive skin picking...

    What if your just picking at your acne all the time? is that OCD, or just gross lol.
    REDHOTHONEY

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    Default Re: OCD- Obsessive skin picking...

    Quote Originally Posted by redhothoney View Post
    What if your just picking at your acne all the time? is that OCD, or just gross lol.
    If you feel compelled to do it and can't stop yourself, then it's OCD.
    "I Can Sell Raid To A Bug. i'm A Hustler I Can Sell Salt To A Slug" -Cassidy

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    Default Re: OCD- Obsessive skin picking...

    im terrrible I am always squeezin out my pores constantly. its definitely a problem it makes my skin worse

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    Default Re: OCD- Obsessive skin picking...

    Blech, I have this problem too. I pick at my face, back, anywhere there is the slightest bump. I've recently picked up the habit of peeling the skin off my heels too. I've had this since I was 13ish. Seventeen years is a long time to be pissed at yourself.

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    Default Re: OCD- Obsessive skin picking...

    Have any of you looked for any sort of treatment for this? Anything that has worked?

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    Default Re: OCD- Obsessive skin picking...

    For trich, the only truly effective technique is behavior modification therapy. Essentially, training yourself to substitute the action of pulling or picking with a different action, like squeezing a ball or something else. (Which you don't have to do by yourself, there are therapists who specialize in this, now that the disorder is getting more attention.) I've heard hypnosis can also be effective, and I've thought about trying that.

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    Featured Member aviendha's Avatar
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    Default Re: OCD- Obsessive skin picking...

    Someone mentioned that they took Anaphril to help, but part of the really annoying thing about trich is that it's not a true obsessive-compulsive disorder. Part of the "payoff" in the performance of hair-pulling is the pleasure one receives in having actually pulled, and the stress build-up followed by the relief is actually closer to disorders like Tourette's. So that's why drugs that help other OCDs are not effective with trich. Some people may find varying amounts of relief with antidepressants, but overall, that's not an effective therapy. Which is a big bummer.

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    Featured Member aviendha's Avatar
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    Default Re: OCD- Obsessive skin picking...

    No, I pretty much am in a picking phase right now. I work on a computer all day so I don't have a hand free for that kind of thing.

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