stop picking my skin

so today has been rough. i am on an awful diet (medifast) and got into a bad argument with my boyfriend. two big triggers i guess. i am depressed from not eating anything and too tired to go out and exercise. i will not pick on my face no matter what. i am actually mad about it this time!!! this is it for me…i’m so done with this stupid habit. my face looks awful and everytime i look in the mirror it is a reminder of how much i have abused it. sometimes i wonder “what would i look like if i never did this and never smoked cigarettes.” it is depressing, but i have quit smoking and am in the process of quitting this forever. the way i quit smoking is similar to how i am going to quit picking my face…i will NOT do it no matter what. no exceptions…i am doing this!!! writing really helps a lot…especially online…i feel like i am finally coming forward with it…even if no one reads it-it’s out there in the universe.

Well after a long while, I have decided to start writing blogs again regarding this issue. I have far from given it up and I havent gone a day without picking for awhile. My face is in pretty dire condition right now as a result of frequent picking of pimples and scabs… Tomorrow is day one.

I just bought some Vitamin E Skin Cream, so I am hoping this is going to improve my skin (and not end up breaking me out >.<)

...I was doing so well (post-creating a wound on the side of my nose the size of a dime when it probably would have gone away on its own after a day or two), but I broke down tonight and re-picked the previous eyesore after it swelled again….i reasoned that I had to do it since it was already picked once….if it scabs over and looks hideous tomorrow, shame on me….if it looks ok and the swelling is gone, then i’ll try to stay on the right path….what the hell is my problem….can anyone help?....

still going strong. i have caught myself a few times (not in the mirror) touching my face or itching it and immediately thought “i don’t do that anymore” and stopped. i haven’t looked at my face close in the mirror and don’t plan to. i am even getting my eyebrows waxed for a while so that i don’t have to look at my face up close until some time has passed. i feel so relieved this time is for good. i have tried before so many times. for some reason, i feel like it has clicked this time. will check in again later…writing about it helps…it keeps me more conscious of my recovery.

i have picked my face for as long as i can remember. sometimes more than others and sometimes not at all. i have slowly begun to overcome so many of my bad habits (drinking, cigarettes, food) still working on the food thing…but stopped smoking cigarettes for almost two years and have gotten my drinking WAY under control. (one glass of wine per month or two) if i can control these aspects of my life i KNOW i can do this. i have a pretty face…amazingly my skin looks pretty good considering what i have done to it over the years.i definitely have scars and tell tale signs, but not nearly as bad as what i deserve to have. i hereby now officially SWEAR to quit! this is my contract…it is a done deal. no matter what the situation-i WILL NOT DO IT. i will cover my mirror with an inspirational picture for the next four-five months during my quitting phase. i WILL do this-i want this SO BAD!!!! by clicking the “save this entry” button-the contract is signed. i am handing over this problem to god…it is out of my hands…literally! god will guide me and provide me with the strength and wisdom necessary to quit this awful habit once and for all!!!!!!! Hereby officially signed NOW!!!!!!!!!!!!

I’ve picked and picked at my face today, until it looked so bad that I didn’t want to leave the house. Then I was left with a feeling of self-disgust. It was beautiful day. I had things to do. So why do I do this to myself?

...I had a pretty good week, a few slip ups, but nothing major. I found that going to the gym not only got my mind off of picking at stuff that shouldn’t be picked, but it also fatigued me (leaving little energy to lean over the mirror like an idiot). I hope I can maintain my progress, but I feel a few bumps that might be tempting. I gotta beat this crap….

I am having a horrible time with this goal. Trying to deal with my boss and final projects and eternal exhaustion and weight gain, my stress is through the roof, and my face is a war zone.

I tend to pick in streaks. Anyone else do this? Like, I can go for a few days or a week without picking, but once I slip and have a really bad picking session (which always happens eventually), it makes my skin all red and bumpy and it actually creates way more acne than was there in the first place, meaning that I feel like I have to go back and “clean out” my skin that’s already quite damaged, making it yet worse, and worse, and worse. When I get like this (like I was today) I tend to pick pretty badly every hour or two – it’s not like I’m even doing it every night, it’s multiple times a day. I’m going to have to just deal with the extra spots (that I created myself) without picking them afresh and break this cycle, but it’s so hard. It’s like my hands aren’t my own. I’m really not looking forward to waking up tomorrow morning and having the realization that I have to try to cover up all of the damage I did today.

The good news though: I made it six days last week and for three of those days I was off concealer, wearing no makeup at all. It felt great. Since I’ve done it before, I know I can do it again… eventually…

Keep at it everyone. If you slip, don’t be too hard on yourself. There will be more opportunites to make better choices.

So for halloween I ate tons of chocolate, cookies,and stuff with milk products and a coke..all bad for my skin. I started to fast monday off of all bad stuff I broke the rules on during halloween but I justified doing one good clean over of black heads and pimples. My esthetician used to do that and it was fine after a day.Thing is I can’t stop. I haven’t done any major damage..but i’ve broke my good disciple.
I revisted this website which makes you understand how fragile your skin is and our problem. Hope it helps someone. It helped me stop for a while last year. http://www.stoppickingonme.com/index.php