Skin picking and other issues *Trigger Warning*

[sydneykieng]

I’m 18 and female. I was diagnosed with anxiety disorder a few months ago but I’ve always had it ever since I was a child. I started to notice a habit I’ve had for a while but never paid any attention to. I have an obsession with picking at the skin on my fingers and toes. It becomes so bad that my fingers hurt or are sore for a couple days. I feel a sense of satisfaction while picking but then after I see what I’ve done and I get aggravated that I’ve picked so much. I don’t know if this is from anxiety or another issue. I haven’t told my therapist about this so I haven’t gotten professional advice on it either.

Another constant habit I deal with is, severe procrastination and lack of focusing on a task that seems boring. I first started noticing this when my room and bathroom would remain dirty with clean laundry never being put away, or dirty laundry never making it to the wash. I’d look at what I have to do and become mentally overwhelmed with the task at hand. Then I would have to close the door and walk away so I wouldn’t get frustrated with myself because I couldn’t bring myself to actually completing what I had to do. Other times I’d try to dedicate my time to cleaning up, but I’d end up only completing half and then calling it a day. Not only do I notice this with chores but I also notice it with school. Whenever I have to complete assignments that seem lengthy, I put them off as far as possible so that I don’t have to do them. Just seeing the long instructions and boring topics makes me overwhelmed and anxious. I can’t even focus on short assignments unless I try super hard to pay attention to what I need to complete. Math is extremely tiring for me because I get impatient with the amount of problem solving I have to complete. I know this isn’t normal, because most people don’t find any problem sitting and completing school work. I become so depressed and self conscious because I feel like I’m a lazy person who never wants to complete anything, but at the same time I’m frustrated because I want to complete those things and feel like I’ve accomplished something. Does anyone else with anxiety have this? Is this an anxiety symptom? Please let me know because my therapist is pretty booked and I can’t see her for a while.

[MAS_Nurse]

Hello Sydneykieng

Thank you for your message. It seems as though you are having a difficult time. Could you tell us more about your general situation?

Regarding the skin picking. This is something you need to discuss with your therapist. If you do not have an appointment soon maybe you could talk with your doctor about this? I have put a trigger warning on your message ,as many of our members are vulnerable and may be distressed at some of your descriptions.

It can be difficult to say what is normal when you describe feeling overwhelmed by home or school situations. Our members are very supportive so may have advice they can share with you.

If you are feeling more distressed or anxious about what you are experiencing then yes you do need to talk with your therapist or a doctor. Do you have any close friends or family that you can talk with?

The topics and pinned posts may have more information on these issues.

The charity MIND at mind.org.uk also have a helpline 0300 123 3393

Do let us know how you get on

Best wishes

[Hidden]

Hello, I’ve never posted or replied to anyone on here so I hope not to say the wrong thing. The skin picking I think is called excoriation and is definitely worth mentioning to your therapist in my opinion! It’s something I really struggle with too and wanted to let you know you’re not alone in this experience. I say this not to merely echo your sentiment, but to hopefully be a voice of support.

Regarding the skin picking, I find it really helpful to have a go-to thought or action you do to break the fixation and focus on something else. It acts as like an alarm when you’ve gone into a deep sleep, if that makes sense. You decide on something beforehand so when the compulsion comes over you, you don’t have to start overthinking you can just perform the other action to break the fixation. Something positive that feels good for the soul and the psyche, for example playing your favorite song when you notice yourself starting to pick or saying an affirmation out loud that you truly believe in. From personal experience, it’s an issue that I associate with an obsessive compulsive disorder, so while it could be entirely different for you I thought it worth mentioning in case it helped you in any way. Try to keep your fingernails short and clean and you can even cut the fingers off of thin gloves to wear in triggering environments! My general practitioner was even a great help and discussed things like preventing scarring and infection with me so that’s another thing you can do if you need or want some extra support. Best of luck with everything, I’d of responded to the rest of your post but I think the word count for my response is far too high already, my sincerest apologies for that. All good vibes your way. 😊

[krishna54]

It sounds like a problem that would likely be medicated away (temporarily, anyway) by conventional therapists and doctors, who are HEAVILY influenced by the medical-pHARMa cartel. One thing your conventional therapists might not know or mention is that a disturbance to the BALANCE of microbes (aka microbiome) that keep your human cells "healthy and happy" (so to speak) can cause all sorts of issues like this. Your body SHOULD have about 100:1 non-human cells:human cells - in the right places and proportions!

There are LOTS of things that can cause this sort of thing! Rather than trying to pinpoint the exact nutrients you need (a costly proposition that doesn't actually CHANGE what's happening,) I recommend you start by supplementing the things almost everyone is deficient in that seem to have a statistical relationship to that. In this case, use "magnesium oil" (a salt of magnesium that can be rubbed on to INTACT skin, NOT where there are lesions or pain! so called because it releases skin oils) - the body will absorb just what it needs without triggering intestinal symptoms nearly as easily as oral magnesium usually might. You can also paint the bottoms of your feet with Iodine ("Lugol's Solution") for the same sort of mineral boost to the microbiome - read the book by Dr. Brownstein for more details on the various benefits to boosting Iodine.

I also HIGHLY recommend you find a Chiropractor, as that form of care is well-noted to assist the body in making it's OWN repairs without regard to the immediate cause (which is often just an EFFECT of something else, perhaps long ago!)

[TheVoid]

I pick my skin alot too. It's hard to break the cycle. My therapist told me as I focus on sorting out what makes me anxious and conquering that picking is no longer needed as a distraction. I've started to moisturise when I get the urge to pick, plus it's hard too when it goes all soft and I tend to forget about it for a while. Discuss it when you can and let us know if you find any helpful ways to stop. I think I'm doing it less but it's hard, sometimes I don't realise I'm even doing it.

[Hidden]

I do the procrastinating to the point I annoy people, but the skin picking is something that I have done twice and both times it was when I was on quetiapine, last year I picked and scratched my face and arm into a real state, then I came off them it stopped, I went back on them it started again. Now I'm off them where I was picking as almost dissapearing. I often see drug addicts with the same kind of marks all over their face, now I wonder if they are quetiapine or the likes. Quetiapine most certainly made my obsessive and compulsive behaviour and thoughts worse, which is bad enough, I had never had a skin picking session until I took quetiapine. Maybe look at your meds