hey i’m not sure the title is accurate but i couldn’t think of anything better
basically i’ve been struggling with skin picking for my entire life
it started small
picking some overhangs and scans around my nails at 6
nothing too serious
as years went by it evolved into pretty severe skin picking, where i wasn’t able to go a day without making a lesion
and recently (like in the past year) the habit developed into full blown dermatilomania
i keep on picking to the point where my lesions can’t heal properly
the worst of it is i started picking skin on my heels to the point where i can’t walk properly anymore and when i do it causes me a lot of pain
it catches up to me in the evening when i’m bored
i’ve been advised to “occupy my hands with something” but what nobody seems to get is that it’s something i do absentmindedly i’m not sure what to do anymore
does anyone have similar experience or am i beyond help at this point ?
have a nice day
It’s worthwhile to see if professional. Especially because this is a long-term issue.
You can try the variety of individual remedies people are giving you, but the psychological barrier is real. And you need to address it as a real issue.
If pain is a deterrent, you could put some hot capsaicin oil on the areas that you normally pick, and then picking will be painful. Especially when you break the skin it’ll burn. That might be a version therapy of a sort. But definitely seek a professional