"I'm #PickingMe over Skin Picking because I want to be a better example for the children in my life. Finding healthy ways to deal with stress and confidence. I only started skin picking over the last year. I spent years watching my mother suffer. Thinking that won't be me. But here I am. I don't know what popped it off but I've been fighting every since. I'm often embarrassed and in pain. I bruise my legs. My face is something I wish I could truly hide. I'm thankful for the resources and support from all the social media coverage and community support for picking . I hope to overcome this." - @thepalacepigart, Tierra Mitchell, 36, Virginia

"I'm #PickingMe over Skin Picking because I am valuable. I want people to stop asking about my hands. I was in despair before I found this website. People tell me to stop picking as if it is a choice. I cannot stop myself. After I found Picking Me, I finally felt good that I wasn't alone. Before, I hated myself. I told myself I was ugly. Now, thanks to all the other stories, I can keep a smile on my face." -Minjae, South Korea

"I'm #PickingMe over Skin Picking because I think it's time to fully let go of my past. My little self had a lot of stress and this forever changed who I became today, but I'm hoping I can regain a bit of my joyful self before my dad left, before this disorder took shape. I look forward to feeling more optimistic about my disorder and not beating myself up every time I relapse, and finding support in this community <3 Hi everyone. I've been picking since 5th grade (about 10-11 years ago) but never knew what it was until around 2020. It started after my dad left, and I was being bullied at the time as well, so I think I started this as a coping mechanism even though I didn't really understand that at the time. There were times when I had to go the nurse's office because I started bleeding in class, and my 5th grade teacher ended up having to talk to my mom about it (5th grade was the worst year for me in picking). But no one ever thought to see if this was more than a habit. All my life, I've been scolded for picking because everyone (including me) thought it was a stupid habit that I wouldn't stop. But as I grew up, I realized that I couldn't stop.
Around 2020, I started wondering if I self-harmed. In fact, I started identifying as someone who self-harmed because it seemed like the only thing that made sense. But then after doing research on skin-picking, I learned that self-harm was if you specifically were doing the action to harm yourself, whereas the skin-picking meant that you did it despite any pain. So after making that important distinction, I did more research on excoriation disorder (including taking several online tests, reading up on it and other people's experiences, and looking at images) and realized that I related to a lot of it.
Although part of me wanted to deny I had it, because I saw some images that were so much worse than what I suffer with and I kept thinking "I'm not to that extent, so I don't have it", part of me also wanted to make damn sure I identified, because I felt like in a way, maybe I wanted to identify with this disorder so bad since I haven't had a name for it all these years, I was trying to fit in with these people and calling myself one of them. This made me feel ashamed because I didn't want to sound like I was trying too hard to have something that I don't just to put a name on whatever it is I'm suffering from. Once I got over this and was really certain I had it though, I talked to 4 people about it (and now one more), and finally about a couple months ago, I talked to my doctor about getting diagnosed with excoriation disorder. I didn't get an official diagnosis yet, but she did have me talk to a behavioral therapist and he and I talked over everything I've been feeling connected to this disorder and went over different therapy options that my insurance will cover. I've looked into a few, but I've been kinda nervous to check about some that I found in fear that my insurance won't cover them. I found one in particular that I really liked but I'm scared to see his cost and if my insurance would cover it, so I've been holding off on looking for therapists. But I m hoping that going to support groups (like this one!) more often will help me, even though I know it's not the same as therapy. I'm confident that this group and the strategies I've read on here so far will help me in my journey. I've also shared a pic just as a way of me owning up to my suffering (my primary spots have always been my fingers and lips, but lips especially), so I hope someone out there will read my story and feel inspired to take action in their own journey. Thank you for reading <3 " - Ally, 20, AZ

"I'm #PickingMe over Skin Picking because I care about my appearance and overall health. It all started with smoking Meth. Although I wasn't smoking it alot, I believe it still affected my skin tremendously. These small sores started appearing on my arms, legs & chest area. I had no idea what was happening but I wanted it OFF of me so I would pick, pick & pick some more... And all I was doing was making it much worse. I ended up going to the ER about 7 or 8 times over a 3 month span. Every time I went the Drs/nurses/etc etc wouldn't come within 3 ft of me. I would be crying & just so upset over this but they all thought I was just another meth head hallucinating. The Drs would always prescribe me antibiotics & a tube of Permethrin cream for scabies even tho i didn't have scabies. So the creme never helped. I ended up quitting the Meth but the sores wouldn't go away. I couldn't help but pick at them because the scabs would be black as black can be. And I swear there was Larvae under the scabs. When I told a Dr that, he looked at me like I was a nutcase and said "Not in America, unless you've been in another country, otherwise you do not have Larvae under your scabs." Although he never even looked at my sores, so idk how he was so sure of this. Anyway a few months went by and I noticed we had a mold problem. Nasty stuff started appearing on different surfaces in my home. It was absolutely INSANE! Stuff I've never seen or even heard of. My husband and I had no idea what the heck was going on. But my skin was improving. I started wearing gloves, long sleeves, pants & socks all the time to protect my skin from any microorganisms. I realized that by wearing gloves on my hands it kept me from picking. So now my skin is all cleared up. My hands, mainly around my fingernails, is still recovering but it's sooo much better than it was. But anytime I take even a small puff of Meth, the crap comes back, every time! So I no longer even associate with anyone who messes with that poison. I'll post some pics on here of the nasty stuff that would just show up on surfaces in our home. I think it's all from MOLD!" - Anonymous

"I'm #PickingMe over Skin Picking because I’m better than this. I’m an intelligent person and can behaviorally change my behavior while learning self sooth techniques. I can do this. It started when covid started. I was so stressed out about everything. The world was a new place and a disease was killing people and the confounds of my job for 30 years was changing. . I did not know how to self sooth, instead I picked my scalp. The relief it gave me must have worked because I managed my anxiety during the day. But come nighttime, I found solace in picking. Four years later I’m still picking only there’s no more Covid and no more work stress. I just started a group that focuses on changing my behavior. I have hope. " - Anonymous

"I'm #PickingMe over Skin Picking because I didn’t receive the support I needed and I don’t want others to feel guilty and ashamed like I felt. I still struggle with skin picking but I am much more open about it now and I’m working hard to improve. When I was 12 I started skin picking as a way to cope with my overwhelming feelings. It quickly became an addiction. Family and friends started to notice and assume that it was scrapes. When I was 14 I finally reached out for help and admitted that it was self inflicted. I was diagnosed with ODC and skin picking disorder. I’m now 17 and I’ve been on two medications to try to cope with my symptoms. I’ve had many infections on my legs and hands." - @avabeggs_, 17, Ontario

"I'm #PickingMe over Skin Picking because I’m hoping to be part of a community that provides support, compassion, and tools to deal with this dreadful disorder!! I thank you all in advance!! I remember when it all began!! April 17th 1980!! I was in the army at the time I received the call, mom died come home!! My mom died!! From what? I had just spoken to her a week or so ago. She died of lung cancer, a disease my dad had decided to keep from me!!!!! It started then!! Slight scratching on my wrists with my watch. This led to rubbing, scratching and picking off every part of my body. I’ve done so much physical damage at times I’ve ended up with cellulitis and on a IV to prevent sepsis. Fast forward 42 years and it runs every facet of my life. From the time I wake up to bedtime I’m thinking about how much damaged it caused, how to cover it up, how much pain I’ll be in when I shower, how painful my day will be, and how bloody my sheets will get!! What’s relentless about this disorder is that I’m also thinking about when I get to do it again!! It’s the worst it’s ever been!!! My feet look like ground beef, my torso arms and legs are all picked to shreds!! I’m seeing yet another therapist!! She has suggested I use a 12 step program to address it!! I have hydrocordone I take occasionally for a bad back that I take nightly for some relief from the Derma. I’m obviously looking for a different approach!! Help!!" - Mark Kershberg, 62, Foothill Ranch, CA

"I'm #PickingMe over Skin Picking because I do want to care enough to end this addiction for good and make myself feel good without this unnecessary stimulation and get through to my head that what we’re doing is not cleansing/fixing our scalp at all and is all damage. I’ve started picking since my late teens or early 20s. It started out as my upper arms and back but now it’s almost always my scalp. It’s so easy since my hair hides the damage. I’m surprised the dermatologists I’ve seen say my scalp is still healthy despite the years of damage I put it thru. It’s automatic and also for stress and mostly happens when I use my phone. It can happen when driving and even anything else too. Just when I think I’ve stopped for good I can’t help myself, my brain is wired to keep doing this because it feels so good. It feels like cleansing my scalp from dead skin and very minor itches when I’m the one killing the skin. And it’s tough treating the damage with hair in the way. It’s wrecked my hyper mobile hands and wrists and needed occupational and physical therapy for them because it hurts to do push ups. Sometimes I think about the anime Cells at Work knowing I’ve been making my cute little platelets suffer for so many years. It’s practically every day I pick, and I never have the willpower to keep up distracting and covering up my fingers and logging it and writing how I feel. I suck at mindfulness so much because of how much I don’t care about myself and my future." - @thesaroinehero, Saroh, 26

"I'm #PickingMe over Skin Picking because I am worth it. I want to gain control of my life; I owe that to myself. I’ve been skin picking ever since I can remember. It began as a coping mechanism as a child and quickly became an uncontrollable obsession as I grew older.
I’ve always hated the fact that I did this, like a deep dark secret I tried to keep.
I’ve picked well into adulthood and the shame and the embarrassment grew too.
I wish I could let the thought pass, but the thought sticks and I pick.
My picking became worse postpartum, post crisis and post chaos. My brain didn’t know how to handle the storm and so my hands did the digging to ease the pain.
I dig and dig at the acne on my face, until the pimples become craters.
The blood mixes in with the tears and I promise myself that’ll be the last time.
I’ve tried bandaid solutions, I’ve tried therapy, I’ve tried support, I’ve tried kindness, I’ve tried shame. I don’t think anything has been quite as affective as calming my mind. It’s something I need to work on. Every day. To let the thought come. And let the thought pass. Because I need to remember that I pick me. I pick me over #skinpicking.

I share my story with you because I want you to know that you’re not alone. You’re stronger than your #ocd and #anxiety. You’re stronger than your #skinpicking.
Thank you @pickingmefdn for this wonderful initiative. Thanks for letting me advocate for dermatillomania, and for myself. Thank you for you for reading my story without judgment <3" - @mama_to_oli, Lisa, 31, Sudbury

"I'm #PickingMe over Skin Picking because I want to be able to wear t-shirts again. I don't want to be scarred for life. I was diagnosed with SAD (social anxiety disorder) and GAD (general anxiety disorder) when I was 11. I am almost 14 and I have been taking medication for almost a year, but my picking is getting worse, not better. When I was little, I would lie in bed all night picking at my feet. I would get calluses, and then I would peel those off too. I pick at cuts and bug bites until they bleed. I purposfully cut my arm just so I could scratch it, and I am unable to let it heal. I've stopped wearing t-shirts, even in warm weather, just so nobody can see my skin. And then I get worried that I'll get blood on my shirt. I've started scratching the back of my neck as a nervous habit. Whenever I get anxious, I'll dig my middle and index fingers into my neck exactly three times. I do that constantly, all day. I try to stop, but I can't. If I do it one or two times, it won't work. But that third scratch and my anxiety is relieved, if only for a moment. I love school, but now I can no longer sit in the front of the classroom, afraid people will see my neck. My parents get mad whenever they see me picking. They yell at me to "stop scratching" and say "that's not normal". They made me put bandaids on my cuts, which worked for a little bit, but I couldn't help peeling it off to check my cuts. And once I saw it, I had to pick it again. People ask me, "what happened to your arms" and "why do you have so many bandaids", but because of my social anxiety and embarassment over my picking, I'm unable to respond. I thought it was just something else that was wrong with me until my therapist told me about "excoriation disorder", and I realized it was an actual thing. Whenever I have something on my mind, I NEED to know everything there is about it. Like, I'll be worried that my cuts are infected and that I might have sepsis, and so I'll spend HOURS looking it up, and now I can recite a million facts about sepsis off the top of my head. So, I spent a few hours in bed researching excoriation, and I found this website. I've never told anyone about my mental health problems. This is not something I ever thought I'd do, but reading after reading these stories for hours, I hope it helps me and other people suffering. I'm only 13 and I don't want to spend the rest of my life hurting myself. I just want to stop. I've probably killed myself with sepsis, but there's nothing I can do about it. Thank you to those who speak up about mental health; and for giving me the courage to do the same." - Anna, 13, Virginia

"I'm #PickingMe over Skin Picking because I’ve seen long term that I can cause sicknesses and illnesses in my body. I’ve been skin picking for forever. I don’t even know when I started, but when I started it was a coping mechanism for when stress became too much! I’m still skin picking, I pick my fingers and lips until they bleed. I’m hoping that by sharing my story I can move on from this habit that I’ve created, not because others would like me to but for myself!" -Anonymous, 21

"I'm #PickingMe over Skin Picking because I need to get my life back in control.I have been picking since I was little. These past few years it has gotten out of control. I have discovered that I can pick spots on my head continually without anyone seeing the results. I still pick other areas as well. Any bump or scratch I will pick it and then continue picking until it eventually heals. This has left me with scars all over my body. The picking has gotten so bad I do it in my sleep. I need help. I feel out of control and need to stop." -Anonymous, Canada

"I'm #PickingMe over Skin Picking because I want my skin to heal, for me to stop hurting myself emotionally and physically with this disorder. I’ve always picked at scabs or wounds since i was little, and have always shown signs of compulsivity and OCD. It transferred to my face/scalp and continuously got worse over the course of 3 years. I feel so ashamed and embarrassed when i have a huge gash, i feel dirty and unworthy. seeing other people’s damage has helped me see that i am not alone, peace and love to you all. " -Anonymous, Texas