Each year we see a growing #dermatillomania community 💛 #skinpicking #excoriation #bfrb #clearskin

[noorieiversen]

❤ It is very difficult. I suffer a lot.

[mushixmocha]

yes i thought i was alone too❤ ur part of a community!

[NativeNYerChicHK]

Girl, I couldn’t hide mine unless I want to walk around wearing gloves all the time 😩 I JUST stopped shredding my “cuticles” which is not really the cuticle at all but health living tissue called the Proximal Nail Fold. We’ve just been severely misinformed to believe that skin should be hacked into, for cosmetic reasons 🤬 The cuticle is actually only that very thin bit of almost invisible skin that grows stuck onto the nail plate and can be scraped away gently with the right products and tools. The skin that looks dry and dead around our nails is very much alive and shouldn’t ever be cut. That skin should only be pushed back gently and left alone as it protects our nails beds from infection and promotes healthy strong nail growth. We’ve just been lied to for these impossible, often dangerous “beauty standards” 🤬

But right now while I type this the urge is SO damn strong and in this very moment I feel like it’ll never go away. I know objectively the intensity of this urge will eventually subside because I stopped biting my actual nails 30 yrs ago and have had ZERO urge to do that in decades. I’ve always messed with the skin around my nails but really started the more severe skin picking after I started messing with nail enhancements at the start of the pandemic. It felt like I went right back to nail biting in that I feel strongly compelled to *have to* do it almost all the time. I just have to stay ever present & in the moment at almost all times in order to be mindful about not submitting to these harmful unconscious habitual behaviors and replace them with healthy ones. Like taking meticulous care of the health of my nails and repeatedly oiling my cuticles to get rid of dry, jagged edges and calloused hard spots that only pique the skin picking urge. It’s hard as hell. I’m on week 3 of not messing with my skin and my nails & the skin around them look better than ever. But for some reason it feels harder today than it did 3 weeks ago. Ugh 😩 I know I have to give myself all the grace and kindness I can muster, because if I entertain the negative thoughts, I’ll just devolve and go right back to tearing my poor fingers apart. What a vicious cycle these disorders truly are.

Now that you’re shedding the shame and acknowledging the issue, you’re well on the path towards one of the hardest parts of all of this: Acceptance. Make a plan for how to go forward, take your time in this phase so you’re giving your subconscious brain time to process while you educate yourself and fill your bank of knowledge, because that’s truly where our power lies. Find yourself a healthy alternative to put your focus on and don’t beat yourself up for setbacks, we ALL have them. Many, many of them. Just go by the old adage: if at first you don’t succeed, try, try again.

You’re so NOT alone and you have nothing to be ashamed of! Good luck!! ♥️💪

[norahovermier]

i have it really bad on my face i'm still young i don't know if it will ever get better

[jacksondaniels]

I think shame is definitely related to skin picking in general

[wasabizzz]

im going to be honest. I pick at my skin for years, and it has gotten bad recently. I have like 6 scabs that ive had for a couple months, and i think they might be infected, but im still scared to go to the doctor and admit i have a problem. I said i wasnt going to itch today, but i ended up relapsing :(

[cassiewoodlands]

I just found out I have this. I have a very strong urge to constantly pick at my face because of acne, and pre-acne scars.

[somdeepdas]

Uhmm I've never came across your yt channel but what is exactly this disorder ? Like is it what it sounds like? Just asking cus I'm curious