Got diagnosed with bipolar type 2, got on mood stabilizers, and I haven't picked since. I never in a million years would have thought that was the cause. So... I guess you never know.

Context: I’ve been picking my face for 3+ years. I cannot stop. I was recently diagnosed with OCD (shocker).

I’ve always had bad social anxiety, but this has made me so unbelievably frustrated and withdrawn. I feel constantly insecure about myself and my face. Every time I’m in public I think that people are looking at my face and judging me.

I’m completely destroying my skin, I have deep and textured scars everywhere. I don’t even pick at acne I just pick at any irregularity I can find, including old scars.

I feel so hopeless because every time I think I’m making progress I have a setback. With all the pressures that already exist for women to look good, I just feel “ruined”. I know that I’m scarring up my face for life and I absolutely hate myself for it. I don’t know what to do and at this point the damage is permanent.

I’m in specific OCD therapy 2x a week and haven’t been for long enough for it to help my skin picking considerably.

Any time I’m using substances I find my way to the bathroom and get lost in a picking session. I cried afterwards today because I just hate I can’t willpower my way out of this. It feels like my whole life I’ve had to be resilient and get over things and I hate struggling this much with something that nobody around me is struggling with.

It’s so embarrassing and it makes me want to not go outside, not show my face, not see anyone I know.

I hate this.

I was in my weekly meeting with my manager today and she asked me why my fingers were so red. I immediately felt embarrassed and explained that I bite/pick at my cuticles. I had a particularly rough week last week with picking, and so my fingers weren’t in the best shape, but weren’t bad by any means. I was honestly shocked that someone had noticed, since I’ve improved so much the past few years.

She talked about how her kid has the same behavior and shared about all of the things they’ve tried like picky pads, fidget toys, lotion, etc. Yet in the same conversation she would say “you shouldn’t do that” (I could tell it came from a place of caring, but yeah if I could stop instantly I would!). I could feel myself start getting defensive and over explaining myself. How I’ve been dealing with this almost my whole life, how I’ve improved, gotten worse, tried everything, etc.

I explained that it brings me embarrassment, and then the tears came and I got choked up. So on top of feeling vulnerable and ashamed about someone at work pointing out my fingers, I then visibly cried in my manager’s office. She became uncomfortable and apologized for pointing it out, which made me then feel even worse.

She came from a place of caring and listened to me as I continued to explain myself, and she reassured me that emotions are human nature, but I can’t help but feel mortified. It was such a small comment that she made, but it brought up such feelings of shame. Especially since having others notice my skin is my top motivator for not biting or picking.

I’ve been replaying the conversation in my head ever since, and just wish it had never happened ☹️

so as the title says i am addicted to eating my own skin & blood. for more context i often self mutilate then lick the blood off & wait for the scars to scab over, i then pick them off & eat them. aswell as the cuticles around my fingernails, insides of my mouth, my dandruff & dried blood. i dont get any sexual gratification from doing this, it started as an anxious habit i developed as a very young child to deal with my complex ptsd but became more of a unhealthy obsession. if i dont have any scabs to pick at during an episode i will get extremely upset and dig my fingernails into my skin until i bleed & bite at my cuticles. i just love how my own blood & scabs taste & its very comforting to me. the idea of consuming someone elses blood or scabs absolutely disgusts me. id classify this habit as an addiction because i do it all the time, as i write this im picking blood off my leg and eating it. there has not been a day i could remember where i didnt auto cannibalize in some way & i cant imagine replacing this coping mechanism with anything because nothing soothes me in the same way. if you have questions, i am an open book! & if you can relate to this PLEASEE tell me, ive never told anyone this because i am ashamed of it & if i know just one other person does this it would make me feel so much better.

I can’t stop picking my scalp. I cover my head, I try to limit myself to only in the bathroom for 5 minutes tops but then I zone out and before I know it I’m picking again. I’m so angry, I hate this stupid curse, my scalp is distressed and so am I. Idk what I want from this post, I just need someone to know without the lack of understanding most people have. I don’t think I’ll ever be free :(

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(Before yall try to come for me: Yes - I used AI to help me organize and write this post! If I didn't have AI to help me put these thoughts together, I probably wouldn’t have shared this [as I'd be stuck in the mirror holding my skin extractions in tweezers towards the light, analyzing & contemplating busting out my kids microscope 🤦‍♀️]

—but understanding this biologically has been so helpful to me, and I really wanted to get this out there in case it can help you, too.)

For a long time, I never had a name for the little, spiky, white, or clear things you sometimes see on the underside of a scab, or see in a wound that is actively trying to heal.

It’s so easy to trick ourselves into thinking they are something that "needs to come out"—like a cyst, a whitehead, some kind of plug or defected follicle.. something "bad" that we have to extract.

But I recently learned the actual biology behind them, and it has completely changed how I look at my skin. Seeing it in this perspective helped me realize: my body is not infected; it is just doing exactly what it was beautifully made to do.

Here is what is actually going on:

🔑 They are Natural "Molds" of Your Skin (Keratin & Pores) When a scab forms, dried fluids and natural keratin (the protein in your skin and hair) seep into your tiny pores and hair follicles. As it dries, it takes the shape of those tiny crevices. It’s not "extra" stuff inside you; it’s literally just a natural, microscopic mold of your own skin's texture!

⚓ It's Your Body’s Natural "Velcro" (Fibrin) Your body uses "fibrin" (a natural, fibrous protein) and dried serum (clear healing fluid) to create a protective, translucent meshwork. Think of it like tiny scaffolds or glue. It hardens into these pale, pointy shapes to safely anchor the scab in place so your brand-new skin can rebuild safely underneath.

🧩 They are the Blueprints of Your Skin (Rete Pegs) Did you know our skin layers aren't flat? They interlocking together like puzzle pieces or velcro to keep the layers from sliding apart under stress. In biology, these interlocking "finger-like" waves are called Rete Pegs (or epidermal ridges). When a scab forms, it molds to this natural, wavy, peg-like shape to help anchor new cells, manage force, and allow nutrient exchange.

💔 Why pulling them hurts (and delays) healing: Because those "spikes" are actually the scab’s deep structural anchors, pulling or picking them off doesn't "clean" anything. Instead, it forcibly rips away the scaffolding, tears the newly forming skin, and destroys the "puzzle piece" blueprint, forcing your body to start its self-repair process all over again.

Seeing this as my body’s natural, beautiful self-repair blueprint has helped me find some peace in those moments of urge. There is nothing to "extract" or "fix." Our bodies are doing exactly what they were meant to do. Let's let them do their job. 🩹✨

Anyone feel free to call me out in 5 days, months or years - I hope with all my being Ill be able to give a positive update!

Hi! I’m looking for support. My partner has told me my picking at them is ruining a big part of our relationship. I touch them and before I know it I’m itching/picking/popping. It’s subconscious. I sometimes see a zit and literally can’t stop thinking about it, resist five hundred times but finally do it even though it’ll make them mad.

I pick myself too. My hands are constantly scanning. I hate it.

I’ve been treated before. I’m back on meds. I’ve ordered some fidgets and gloves. I’m really going to try to stop again.

I think having a chat would help with accountability and less guilt or shame. Does that exist? Anyone open to that?

Ive always been a bit of a scab picker but since going to college shits been NUTS. It doesnt help that I have keratosis pilaris (Strawberry skin) so I have a LOT of material to pick from. I also have OCD so this is probably a compulsion related to that. I see my therapist in a few weeks but how would I go about dealing with this now or at least trying to calm it. My arms look like the moon with blemishes and craters and its so bad in some areas on my body that I think I got to the fat layer on my pectorals.. I try to exfoliate to smooth my skin so I can't pick but it doesnt work. But yeah, just looking for advice on how I can start dealing with this

My thumbs look disgusting and it’s my biggest insecurity, i wanna stop picking at them so bad but i can’t stop everyone tells me to just stop or restrict the picking or hydrate it nothing works it’s automatic idk how to make it stop. Worst thing is that it actually feels good or satisfying in a way and that sounds disgusting to even write but it’s true. It’s like a cycle of trying to pick the hanging skin off to “even it out”, i guess, and it just getting worse. I’ve been doing it since forever, since i can remember. It gets so bad, not just a hangnail here or there it’s all over the nails, down to the knuckles and under and sometimes i pick even to the other side of my thumb. Second thing is i’m really into washing my hands, idk it’s always been like that. Always lots of soap, scrub long, repeat. All the time. My hands are never not clean but them being picked until bloody makes me feel even more gross than not washing my hands. And everyone telling me it’ll get infected just makes me wash my hands more to prevent that, making my skin drier and more picky, not fixing it at all. It’s like i said all automatic, usually idek i’m doing these things. It never stops, not when i’m not anxious or uncaffeinated, not when my hands are busy, never. I even catch myself doing it as im falling asleep. The thing is everyone tells me i ain’t ugly but i can SEE them looking at my hands, i can feel the look they give me right before touching my hand in any way. Even in my prettiest photos i see it. It’s so ugly sometimes i wish i could just amputates them and live thumbless i guess.
Another issue is, i’ve been through a lot mentally for unrelated things, i’ve been through loads of doctors and appointments, and i saw all the effects it was having on my mom. I can’t bring myself to make her come with me and go through another round of this bullshit just to try and figure out if it’s caused by something. At the same time if it really is OCD or whatever it wouldn’t surprise me that much, i’ve always had weird habits of repeatedly doing weird things and being obsessed with made up rules for myself i HAD to do always, and i can see this ain’t just me being the special one from my family. I’m sure it’s the same for some of my family members too. I can’t prove it obviously, who knows maybe they’re just real perfectionists.
Please for the love of god don’t take this as me self diagnosing or asking to be diagnosed. I just want it to end whatever it is and whoever knows how to end it

it’s pretty much just as the title says. i literally cannot stop picking and digging at the scabs left behind by my acne, even when i know i’m making things worse. i’m fourteen, have diagnosed adhd, and i’ve noticed that i constantly need some kind of stimulation or dopamine to stay focused throughout the day.

i’ve talked to my doctors about my dermatillomania, and i was put on birth control to help with my acne and mood swings (among other things). 😭 i’ve tried wrapping individual fingers in bandaids, keeping a spiky fidget in my hand 24/7, using pimple patches on spots i know i’m likely to pick at, taking NAC twice a day, and wearing fidget rings every day. picking at my nails and cuticles is another bad stim of mine, so my nails are always short, which at least makes it harder to pick with them.

i’ve been on birth control for about two months now, and it’s helped clear up my new acne, but that hasn’t stopped me from scratching and picking at every spot that’s healing. i think some of my biggest triggers are stress and feeling overwhelmed, especially when i’m sitting in a bright classroom and struggling to focus.

i’m honestly scared of being left with permanent scars because i can’t seem to stop, even though i’ve tried so many different things. i know this is something other people struggle with, too, so i was wondering if anyone has found anything that genuinely helps, especially if you also have adhd or find yourself picking almost automatically without realizing it.

i’d really appreciate any suggestions, even if they seem small. i’m just feeling pretty frustrated and would love to find something that actually works.

I have been picking my lips until they bleed everyday for 14 years. I pick other things too but my lips hurt so so so bad. I start picking and I can't stop. Its like I am in a daze. Then when I am done it BURNS. My fingers will be covered in blood and I am in so much pain and I just can't stop. Over the years so many people see me picking and ask if it hurts. Yes! Obviously it hurts to rip my skin until it bleeds! I am in so much pain everyday. Don't you think if I could just stop I would. Do you think I'd put myself in this pain if I could stop? It feels so humiliating to have this disorder and I have tried so hard to recover multiple times and at this point I don't think it is possible and I am just doomed to be in pain and have blood covered fingers for the rest of my life.

I can't stop it idk what to do i teyed serval methods pls help me

press on nails.

gloves (when practical. for me when im sleeping).

cutting them down as much as possible and filing them every morning and every night.

(pro tip: run your nails against the file "nails on chalkboard" style to get them extra short. dont worry, i find the sensation isnt that bad once you make them as short as possible by filing normally first.

extra pro tip: leave a nail file on your desk and just file whenever bored)

hi! ive been researching Dermatillomania recently, and I've never related to something more. I bite/pick at my fingers so much and it definitely bothers me. if my hands arent busy with something i am most likely picking at them, especially around my nails/fingertips. been doing it for as long as i can remember. usually leads to pain or nasty wounds. I wonder how the diagnosis process for Dermatillomania is? it feels kind of embarrassing to go to my gp to say something like "hey i pick at my skin and it bothers me help"

so, is there anything i can prepare for or do to possibly get diagnosed? ty in advance :)

Hi everyone, I feel so alone and depressed in this situation. I know I should stop but I don’t know how and I feel lost.

When I was a teenager, I used to have acne and it gotten progressively worse. I started picking my skin occasionally but it eventually progressively got worse especially if I was stressed. Somewhere around uni, I took accutane and my skin cleared up beautifully. I reduced picking to see the results of my accutane and was pleased. I was spending money on my accutane so I really wanted it to work

I noticed I picked less or almost none during accutane because when it cleared up, I literally had nothing to pick on it. But alas after stopping accutane, I feel my tiny bumps and acne slowly coming back and I have this urge to constantly push out any tiny deep bumps I feel, closed comedones, nodules, tiny tiny oil seeds. I normally pinch, scratch, push, dig with my nails or fingers to the point it gets bloody.

I sat down and tried to figure out why do I do this. It was in my mindset that I think im pushing out the gunk and hoping it doesn’t become a bigger pimple. My boyfriend keeps telling me to see that I’m doing a lot of damage but it’s hard because this whole cycle has become an addiction.. or at least it feels like one

Things I’ve tried 1) Hydrocolloid bandages when skin is damaged 2) Extremely short nails 3) Reduce looking at the mirror (I walk away and refuse to look at the mirror but I may still run my fingers on my skin and do blind picking) 4) Rubber band snapping (not efficient as I keep forgetting, lost in my skin picking)

I have yet to try long nails but I worry of breaking them.. (I’ve broken a toothbrush from brushing too hard haha)

If anyone is going through this, please help me and I would appreciate it a lot :(

I have no idea why I have so many itchy sores but dermatologist say it’s eczema and I keep picking at the sores and it doesn’t heal at all. It’s damn itchy and makes me want to pick more so I pick and the scabs fall off and the sores become open and raw again and again and does not heal:(

Send help please!!

Please help me. What sensory methods help you when you get anxious or overstimulated?

I have a really bad skin picking disorder (paired with maladaptive daydreaming) and when I get overwhelmed, my hands automatically start going all over my skin like my arms (I have KP which makes matters worse), legs, back, searching for bumps to pick and soothe. I cant break out of it.

Yesterday, after taking a bad medication, I spent more than 10 hours skin picking because the anxiety and overstimulation (it was a stimulant) were too intense. By some coincidence in the past, I found that rocking or running my hands up and down my hairy legs helps, but it is not my first response, in fact I was provided many methods over years, barely used them, don't feel right, never my first choice, never have the capacity to do any "exercises" and I don't like those sensory toys because they're not always on you and they don't provide enough relief.

Any help at all would be so appreciated. Thank you.

This is my first ever post on Reddit so forgive me if I do not follow the correct formatting. I am a 20 yo female in college with AuDHD, IED, Major Depressive Disorder and Generalized Anxiety Disorder. I have picked at my skin since I was in elementary school.

It started at my scalp, then spread to my face in middle school, my arms and back in high school, and more recently, to my legs. The most badly affected areas are my back and arms. I look like I abuse steroids and meth, my clothes always have blood on them.

It should be worth noting that I have tried legitimately everything to stop and nothing has worked in the slightest. Thankfully, I haven’t been hospitalized for infection, which is a miracle in of itself considering how much I pick and the severity of the wounds.

Since starting college my health has taken a decline. I have seen multiple specialists and cannot seem to get any answers as to why I’ve deteriorated so much. The disorders I have been tested for and the ones that most align with my symptoms are under the dysautonomia umbrella.

What I am concerned about the most is that in the multiple blood tests I have had done in the past year, the inflammation markers are through the roof. I’m worried that I’m sick because my body has grown tired of fighting off infection, and healing the massive amounts of wounds across my body.

I guess my main question here is if anyone else has experienced something similar? I’ve only meet one other person with this debilitating condition and it is very difficult to talk to most people about this without unnerving or disturbing them.

Thank you, any insight is helpful and appreciated.

Edit: Just to clarify, I know this is dermatillomania. My intention regarding this post was to ask if anyone else with this disorder has been able to directly link elevated inflammatory markers such as High Sensitivity CRP and Trans. Growth Factor beta 1 to their skin picking. I am concerned my immune system can’t keep up.

I developed a skin picking habit since last year, but I mostly picked at my forehead and chin. Over the past couple of months, I started focusing on my nose because of the blackheads. I would squeeze them out, they’d turn into scabs, and then about two weeks later I’d remove the scabs myself. Underneath, I’d see what looked like even bigger blackheads, so I’d squeeze them again, they’d scab over, and the whole cycle would repeat.
Now I really regret doing this because I’ve stretched out the pores on my nose and they look huge. Right now, my entire nose is covered in scabs and red because I squeezed out a bunch of the larger blackheads two days ago.
I also ended up damaging my forehead. I get a lot of whiteheads/closed comedones, so last month I went overboard and squeezed every bump I could see. Now I have what looks like an acne scar in the middle of my forehead because a scab came off early and another one above my eyebrow, and scabs that are healing. I haven’t touched my forehead for a week, but I have very visible white heads/closed comedones so my forehead looks gross. I’ve applied BHA and the white heads won’t go away. But I know that if I squeeze them, I’ll cause another acne scar.

My skin looks so bad and it’s mostly self-inflicted.

Hey everyone! Some of us have a growing Discord group chat of 65+ people, and it's such a nice community. We mark our days together, share progress and relapse pics, give tips and skincare recommendations, encourage each other, and more. It's a safe space with no judgement, and everyone is there for each other. We'd love to have you, so please feel free to join!

https://discord.gg/7bW7JSmzf

I'm trying to post this every 10 days or so to give people many opportunities to join, so this may be a repeat post for you!