I googled it, that really seems like something I could try with my therapist. I just need to tell her about this problem first. Right now I'm the only one who knows about it.

I know, I also get a strange pleasure out of picking. And even though I really want to stop, I always end up doing it "just one more time".

It's really stress related for me too. I've been doing this to some extent for years, but it started getting really bad last winter during my super stressful internship. I started picking my scalp and ended up buying all kinds of expensive shampoos and other hair products because I thought I had some wierd skin condition, even though I was causing it myself. Right now I'm super stressed about my job, and it seems like the only things I do at the moment are working and picking my skin.

I never thought about it as a form of self harm, since I've used to cut, which I've managed not to do in a very long time now, and that was very different from my picking. When I cut I wanted it to hurt, when I pick I don't really care if it hurts or if I bleed, I just really need to pick my skin. But since I'm damaging my skin and have a few small wounds I'm actually a bit scared might get really inflamed but still keep on picking, it's quite clear it's also a form of self harm. Just another way to calm myself down.