New resources!

Hey all, sorry it’s been so long. I recently started a small group for Trich and Derm and it’s going great. One girl hasn’t pulled her hair in 6 weeks, and her success has given me faith in myself. It’s possible to stop picking!

I guess as much as I tried, there was something in me that felt it wasn’t possible. Now, I have post-its on my wall labeled 20-1, and I’m on 13. That’s SEVEN days without picking my face!

I just found this awesome post from High on Health:

http://www.highonhealth.org/how-to-stop-skin-picking-for-good/

I encourage all pickers to use positive thinking. I have a picture of my ideal self taped to my mirror. She is patient, empowered, and naturally beautiful, and she inspires me to avoid picking in the short-term for my long-term goals.

Please comment with questions or support.

Thanks!

Inspirational Lyrics

One problem I suffer with when it comes to picking is my fear of facing anxiety.  I hope to better sit with my anxiety instead of acting on it. Here are some inspirational lyrics for all skin-pickers.

Incubus: Drive

“Sometimes, I feel the fear of uncertainty stinging clear
And I can’t help but ask myself how much I let the fear
Take the wheel and steer
It’s driven me before
And it seems to have a vague, haunting mass appeal
But lately I’m beginning to find that I
Should be the one behind the wheel

Whatever tomorrow brings, I’ll be there
With open arms and open eyes yeah

Whatever tomorrow brings, I’ll be there
I’ll be there

So if I decide to waiver my chance to be one of the hive
Will I choose water over wine and hold my own and drive?
It’s driven me before
And it seems to be the way that everyone else gets around
But lately I’m beginning to find that
When I drive myself my light is found

Whatever tomorrow brings, I’ll be there
With open arms and open eyes yeah

Whatever tomorrow brings, I’ll be there
I’ll be there

Would you choose water over wine
Hold the wheel and drive

Whatever tomorrow brings, I’ll be there
With open arms and open eyes yeah

Whatever tomorrow brings, I’ll be there
I’ll be there…”

Support

Here are some great resources for skin-pickers:

http://www.contextualpsychology.org/act

http://www.trich.org/

Amazon.com: Get Out of Your Mind and Into Your Life: The New Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (9781572244252): Steven C. Hayes, Spencer Smith: Books

http://www.skinpick.com/

http://www.stoppickingonme.com/

My story

Thank you for taking the time to read my blog. This first entry will be an introduction to my life with Dermatillomania, an impulse control body dysmorphic disorder that gives me intense urges to pick at scabs, zits, and blackheads. It’s an embarrassing problem to discuss, but I look forward to your feedback and support.

I’ve always had a problem with picking at scabs and zits. I remember making sores on my face in elementary school and making up absurd lies about their origins. Before college, I got my first facial and became obsessed with picking my pores clean from that day forward. My episodes became longer and more intense.

Finally, I went to the counseling center at my school for a few issues, and my interviewer said I might have a  Chronic Skin Picking Disorder, and that it was treatable. I was thrilled and started therapy right away, expecting my problems to be solved before summer in 2 months. Unfortunately, I was just beginning to understand my problem.

I returned in the fall and saw a therapist who taught me about ACT therapy, a technique I use to this day. However, I studied abroad in the spring and did not start therapy again until fall of 2009.

I’m excited to say that I’m currently taking some psychiatric medication which is helping some, and I’m starting a small group for people with Trich and Dermatillomania. I’m thankful for the resources my school’s counseling center offers.

I hope to use this site to share resources with others struggling with this problem, and to reflect on the reasons why I want to quit–mainly: to regain my life!