[NotDeadYet]

I have this really bad habit of picking at my skin either it be zip, scabs, ect I like to pick at my skin (I also chew on my lips to the point of bleeding) It's just so tempting to pick at my scabs and I haven't found a good way to stop. They often get quite a bit bigger in size due to picking at the scab so often. At one point a small scratch on my chest turned into a big scab due to how much I picked at it. I pick at the scab til I cant anymore and even the ones I know bleed a lot still get picked at (and my clothing is often covered in blood) What can I do to stop such a habit?

[Skeezyks]

I don't know anything about this in particular myself. However here's a link to a website I stumbled onto a couple of days ago while replying to another post similar to yours. I don't have any first-hand knowledge about it myself. But it appears it may be a useful resource:

https://www.skinpick.com/

Also, family therapist, Kati Morton, has a video on her YouTube channel on the subject of dermatillomania, excoriation & skin picking. Here's a link to that video:

My best wishes to you...

[LaraR4444]

I struggle with skin picking too. I read where someone compared it to being an alcoholic, but you always have a bottle strapped to your body. Someone even mentioned a 12 step program for it. I didn't try it because I just wasn't feeling it at that time, you know what I mean? You've got be at a certain place to start some things.

I could "get away" with picking when I was younger because I healed faster. It seemed like one day later, the evidence and temptation was gone. Now it takes forever to heal and I keep picking at the same place over and over and it makes a terrible scar.

I don't do that thing some people talk about where they stand in front of the mirror for lengths of time messing with things, just when I'm not using both of my hands, I'll find myself feeling for things and if I find something, it's got to go. But, of course, there's no such thing as "going."

I've tried different things to keep my hands busy, and it might would work if I could find the right thing. So far, I've tried sitting on my hands, fastening a button that felt good to the pillow I sit my laptop on, a ring, and a necklace. I was going to buy one of those fidget cubes until I found out the people that designed it wasn't selling them, someone had stolen the idea from them. The ring thing might would help if I could remember to put it on.

It helps in the winter when I'm wearing pants and long sleeves, warm weather like this is terrible.

Do not use liquid bandage! I thought it would help me stop, having a barrier between, and help it heal faster but it made a place that took forever to heal.

Lotion helps some, if you're putting it in a place where a stickier, less absorbing lotion can actually stay. It does make you less likely to pick. Just be careful to get a non-comedogenic lotion to prevent getting more bumps to pick.

I saved the link the poster shared above to read more thoroughly later.

I wonder how much it would help if I could actually lower my overall stress level?