Pick, Pop, and Squeeze: My Dirty Little Secret

This post is a little on the “Ick!” side, but I really believe it needs to be addressed. Pick, Pop, and Squeeze! That is what this post is about.

If you suffer from the compulsive desire to commit the above listed offenses and continually have blemishes, we need to talk. I mean, I will post. You just read.

I suffer from a nasty little habit, what the psychiatric world calls an Obsessive Compulsive Disorder, or OCD. I am a Picker. It must be an inherited evolutionary trait from my Ape ancestry to groom.

A few years ago I ran across a webpage that does a marvelous job explaining the damage we can cause by our picking behaviors.

http://www.stoppickingonme.com/

It really surprised me that I was not alone. I used to justify my actions by saying, Well, if I only had less acne, I wouldn’t pick at it! Now I believe that the picking, popping and squeezing actually is part of the cause of my breakouts and makes my blemishes much worse than if I just left them alone!

Here are some strategies that have helped me.  I’m not cured, but I’m working on it, and my skin is really thanking me.

1. Be Aware. Recognizing that you have a habit and want to stop.
2. Read about it. Educating yourself about OCD’s and figuring out what triggers you to pick.
3. Place a friendly reminder on your mirror, or where you usually pick at your face.
4. Reward yourself. If you go a week without picking, indulge in something healthy for your skin. A new cleanser, a facial, a cosmetic you’ve been dying to try.
5. If you fall, forgive yourself, and try again. I am harder on myself more than anyone else. Try your best and don’t beat yourself up if you slip.

You might not even pick at your skin, it could be your eyebrows, or your fingernails (guilty as charged!). It really is a sensitive issue for me; posting about it is almost as bad as finding out that your zipper was left open…

Any other people wanting to join PA (Pickers Anonymous)? I would love to be your sponsor!