stop picking my cuticles

i compulsively pick my cuticles until my fingertips bleed.
my mom did it for about as long as i can remember and it’s gotten worse for me since she was diagnosed with cancer and then passed away.

My name is Angela Randall. I have always picked my finger and toe nails. Last night I picked my toenail so much that it took most of the nail and cuticle off. I also picked my fingernails too. Any ways to stop

hey guys
i’ve been reading all of your articles because i’m now OBSESSING about stopping. your lotion idea has been really helpful, i’ve been reapplying lotion as frequently as i can and then washing my hands to apply more.
i pick them until they bleed. it’s disgusting, and the worst part is that my nails are long and pretty, but my cuticles are gross.
for the last 14 hours i haven’t touched them but i have a rubber band constantly attached to my wrist. whenever my hands are stationary, i force my fingers to play with the rubber band. i’ve had the urge and it’s ALL i’ve been thinking about. but that’s like any habit, right?

someone try it. i hope it helps! i’ve seen lotions by “control it” but i think that’s more for biting than picking because of the taste.

gah. i hate this!

Happy to know there are pickers like me out there. Right now every single finger is raw most with sores. I pick out of nervousness and boredom. When they start to heal it’s worse because the scabs are dry and tempting to pick. I used to have acrylic nails (which are thick) and that prevented me from doing too much damage. Now I can’t afford them or want the maintenance; I just want to be not embarrassed by the condition of my hands or the fact that they are always in my mouth. So I’m keeping my nails really short and filed low and using Burt’s Bee’s Almond Beeswax Cream at night with gloves. I’ll also pick up a stress ball for home, work and the car to fiddle with.

The last two days have been a little rough, but I’ve resisted the temptation to pick, even though my hands are dry from the antibacterial soap at work (probably wouldn’t be an issue if I didn’t pee every 45 mins). Having Maurice the Stress Ball at my desk has definitely made a huge difference. The second I realized I’ve started to pick or even thought about it, I pick up my stress ball and fiddle with it until the urge passes.

I’m not sure how much good the cuticle cream is doing, since my hands are still really dry, but I’ll keep using it for the time being.

My hands are really dry today, and I had a hard time remembering not to pick this morning, so I went to Walgreen’s at lunch and finally bought a stress ball to play with while I’m working. (I’m an editor and spend the vast majority of my time reading in front of a computer, with nothing to keep my hands occupied but picking at my fingers.) I have dubbed him Maurice, because I have an uncontrollable need to name inanimate objects. He’s cute and looks a little like a sea anenome.

I hate this goal. I hate it because something like this should be so simple to overcome, yet I’ve been really bad about it again lately (although I did much better this past weekend). I know it’s a stress issue and a boredome issue (like magnoliazz), and I’ve been very stressed lately working on the house. This week, I’m going to pick up one of those stress balls to use while I’m at work and watching TV, because those are the times I’m worst about picking. I’m also bad about it when I’m lying in bed trying to get to sleep, so I got some Burt’s Bees cuticle cream to put on before bed.

Wow, I’m just surprised at how many people do this too… LOL! I’ve stopped before, so I know I can do it again :)

Home with a migraine yesterday, I slept most of the day and spent the rest of it on the couch watching TV… and picking my cuticles. My left thumb is raw and bleeding today. I put Neosporin and a Band-Aid on it this morning, so I can’t get at it at the moment.

This goal just seems insurmountable. I want to stop, but I’ve been so stressed out. I know it’s just in my imagination that this actually relieves stress, but I can’t seem to help myself.

Any suggestion? Please? Help?

Last night, I picked at my thumbs pretty badly, and now they’re ragged, which just makes me want to pick them more. I’m trying to leave them alone, but for some reason I don’t have much willpower today. I’m not sure what set me off last night. I wasn’t feeling particularly stressed, although my husband’s out of town for a few days. (To be honest, as much as I love my husband, sometimes a few days to myself is a blessing. It gives me a chance to reset and clear my head, do the things I want to do when I want to do them…) I dropped him at the train station after work, did a couple of errands, ran W2D2 of the Couch to 5k program, and then started cleaning the house (MUCH easier to do without his help, ha ha). I made dinner and then folded laundry while watching “Clean House.” By the time I finished with the laundry, I was wiped out. Maybe I was just too tired to keep myself from picking at them?