"I'm #PickingMe over Skin Picking because I want my life back. Picked since I was 3 and parents were divorcing.
I am a chronic picker of all areas of skin that do not feel smooth or normal."- Sharon, 55, Arkansas

"I'm #PickingMe over Skin Picking because it’s affecting my mental health and physical appearance! I want to be a better person… I want to achieve my goals without anything holding me back! I long for the new and improved Kelly Malone!… Hi my name is Kelly Malone. I am contacting this organization to have a better understanding of my condition, dermatillomania, I have suffered with this condition since the first grade when it first started and it progressed in the 4th grade and I’ve suffered with it ever since. There was like a year and a half year period where I didn’t pick when I was 17 to 18 and a half years old. Then picked it back up and been doing it till now and I am 30 years old…. I do it because I like the way it feels… I get so stressed if I can’t get the feeling like I need to pick at my skin at a certain spot for the urge to go away. Then sometimes it doesn’t go away I’ll do it for hours cuz I never reach that point to where I feel satisfied enough to quit picking… it’ll itch and burn and sting and I have to keep picking at it until the feeling dies down or sometimes goes away..This has been a real physical and mental problem in my life. I have scarring from where I have picked around my lips for years now that WONT go away! I would like to get help for this and hopefully If at all possible treat the damage that has been done… it’s affecting my appearance, very noticeable, and causing my face to look way uglier than it actually is.. it’s affecting my self esteem. My relationships, my interactions with others and my mental health… if someone could please help me with this I would be forever grateful!! Thank you so much!"- Kelly Malone, 30, Mississippi

"I'm #PickingMe over Skin Picking because I do this when I am anxious , fearful and scared. IF I feel things are out of controlled I also pick. I do it so hard so it bleeds and hurts. It's really painful to lay do to the sore spots. I am a compulsive skin picker for years and years. However I have hit my worse and have 4 x 50p sizes bald spots and feel so ashamed."- Anonymous, London

"I'm #PickingMe over Skin Picking because my happiness has been controlled by this disorder for too long. I want to say to anyone reading this who is struggling, that relapses are okay. I have been on this journey for years and still occasionally relapse. You'll notice over time the relapses become less and less frequent. Forgive yourself for it. This is not your fault. It's all part of your journey and you'll leave this process being even more confident and understanding than you were to begin with. Your skin will heal if you keep trying to give it a chance! My skin picking started when I was about 12, but didn't become a problem until just before I turned 16. I would always do it to avoid stressful situation (of which there was many at home). The reason nobody noticed was because I would always do it on my back or my arms. When I first did it on my face the relief I felt afterward was immeasurable. The more frequently I did it the more the marks started to stay, the bacteria began to spread from the open wounds I'd leave on my face. My face was constantly swollen, with bright red marks everywhere. I tried to explain it to my family when they eventually began to say things about my 'acne'. Nobody believed me and I was always told that "teenagers get skin problems because of hormones" or "try using less makeup". It just frustrated me even more with myself. I begged for help and my mother eventually took me to a dermatologist. She talked over me the whole appointment, saying that she had also had acne at my age. My dermatologist prescribed me topical creams for acne, which obviously didn't help. My symptoms persisted. I felt as though everyone at school was giving me looks of pity, as I'd previously had the clearest skin. I constantly felt the urge to justify my skin. It wasn't until I began searching online that I found a community of people struggling. A year later when I'd mostly gotten a grip on the picking by doing my skincare in the dark, staying away from bright lights and mirrors, and putting plasters over my face, I visited the same dermatologist alone. I told her everything and she reassured me that my condition was common. She gave me creams that were gentle and pure to help battle the scarring. I'm healing slowly."- Anonymous

"I'm #PickingMe over Skin Picking because I want to be there for my family and dog. I have been picking my skin since I was a teen. I’ve struggled with acne, and picking gave me a sense of control and relief in the moment. Ultimately, though, it made my skin much worse. I still struggle with picking as an adult, though not as badly. I didn’t realize other folks struggled with this too until I came across Picking Me while searching about a recent wound in a Reddit group. It’s good to know I’m not alone and that it’s a condition that is not my fault. I’m going to work on a plan with my therapist and dermatologist to get my acne under control and work on healthier coping mechanisms for stress refilled."- Anonymous, Philadelphia

"I'm #PickingMe over Skin Picking because I want to be pain free. I want my scalp and hands to look clean and fresh and to feel that way too!! I have been picking my skin(scalp, nails, basically anywhere there is an imperfection) since I was a little girl, for as long as I can remember. I will pick my scalp until the pain is sometimes almost unbearable. And around my nails as well. I think I started doing this when I was young as a way to have control over something, it soothed me then and still does now. I get into this trance where everything else kind of just dissipates and I'm focused solely on removing said scab or peice of skin. I definitely pick in higher times of stress or sometimes idly while watching TV. It is something I hide from others to the best of my ability. I have avoided getting hair cuts or massages over the years. I have been diagnosed with generalized anxiety disorder with OCD tendencies, when I brought up the skin picking to not only the psychiatrist but a counselor it went over their head. They didn't investigate or ask anything more about it. I want to stop I just can't seem to figure out how. I'm hoping by reading and sharing it will be the step in the right direction."- Jen, 36, Ontario, CA

"I'm #PickingMe over Skin Picking because I want to wear my new short-sleeved dress!!! Hello. I discovered this website after searching about Dermatillomania (for the nth time) after a picking session during the shower. I don't remember when I started picking skins. Ironically, I have Keratosis pilaris, and it aggravates my skin picking. Mental healthcare is not very developed where I live. It was only last year that I discovered the term “Dermatillomania" and was certain that this was my condition.

I remember when I was in middle school, my friends asked me why my arm skin had so many wounds and I had to make up that it was because of some “sKiN CoNdiTioN”, but those scars were caused by all by myself. At that time, I knew something was wrong with me, but I couldn't explain it. I thought I simply liked squeezing pimples on my arms.

I usually pick skin when I'm concentrating, bored, stressed, anxious, or when I take a shower, etc. I suspect that this condition may be related to other things like ADHD, but it's difficult to find a reputable and trustworthy place to get diagnosed here, especially since I’m already an adult.

The skin areas that I often pick, arranged in order of frequency, are arms, back, chest, nape, knees, nape,… I used to pick at my face a lot during puberty, but in recent years my back and chest areas have become the new victims (haha).

Living with Dermatillomania is difficult, as I always pick skins unconsciously, and when I realize it, it's already too late. There are even times I realize, but I continue to do it. I also tried many ways to stop myself, such as cutting my nails short, and wearing long clothes,... but it will always relapse after a while (sigh). Besides, I don't know if anyone else is like me, but sometimes I even eat the skin I picked.

In the past, I always hid the fact that I picked skin, but since I learned that there are other people suffering like me, now I always try to explain to whoever asks about my wounds cuz I want to raise awareness about skin picking.

It was kind of a spontaneous decision for me to share my story here, so now I can't think of what else to write haha. Anyway, I wish everyone here all the best. Meeting you guys makes me feel I'm not alone."- Thanh Thuy, 20, Vietnam

"I'm #PickingMe over Skin Picking because I hate to be in pain and I want to feel better with my apearence! Hi, I'm Sarah and I'm brazilian. I have ADHD and anxiety disorder and now, I know that I have dermatilomenia too. I never know that picking me was a real mental health problem, I think it was just a bad habit. I always known that I couldn't control it, since I was a child. When I discovered that this "bad habit" have a name, my world makes all the sense! I wasn't crazy! So today, I try to talk about dermatillomania, because, specially in Brazil, we don't have many people talking about it. I suffered in silence, without support, thinking that I had a "stupid behavior" and feeling a lot of pain (like a fire burning my skin). My pillow always had some blood in it. Bad feelings about my appearance too, inflammations, and other things...
Today I try to not hurt my skin and I treat my others disorders, and this makes my dermatillomania less effective. And also, sorry for my English, I'm not so fluent..."- @sarah_moondance, Sarah, 28, Brazil

"I'm #PickingMe over Skin Picking because I want to feel beautiful. Hi. I’ve been skin picking for as long as I can remember. As a child I was scolded for picking. My dad would put hot sauce on my fingers in hopes to prevent me from picking. My mom would tape socks to my hands before bed.
As a kid, I became ashamed of the way I looked and in the behavior I couldn’t stop no matter how hard I tried. I dreamed of the day I could have a beautiful bed with crisp white sheets without the worry of blood stains in the morning.
My mom shuffled me from dermatologist appointments and biopsies.. with no clear answer. I never understood why I couldn’t look like others.. why didn’t they have scars? Was I weird? Clearly I was different. Friends at sleepovers didn’t fidget and scratch.. they weren’t even bother by mosquitos. I stopped wearing shorts. I couldn’t bare to be seen.. I even wore a jacket during the summer.
Now as an adult, I still deal with all of these Insecurities.. luckily my husband loves me for me. He loves when I wear shorts or a skirt. He begs for me to wear a dress out.. though I will put it on, I tend to change my mind as we walk out the door, running back inside to the comfort of jeans and a cardigan. Lest people stare or point at my scars..
two of my children have picked up the habit and I hate myself for passing it to them. I catch myself repeating the same comments I heard growing up.. “stop picking, stop scratching, you don’t want people to see it!” I bite my cheek and hate myself for repeating such negativity to my babies.
My mom still to this day acts surprised to see a new scar.. “oh my god!! What happened?!” Like she has to be told? You’ve watched me grow up with this condition.. you shouldn’t have to be told. I’d rather her ignore it. But she can’t. So I can’t help but feel every blemish..

I’ve picked to the point, I have to have iron infusions. I’m on my fifth in a year..
I can’t seem to stop.. all I want is to stop. Feel confident in my own skin. Love myself.. see myself the way my husband does. Maybe one day..."- Renee, 25, Georgia

"I'm #PickingMe over Skin Picking because it has taken over so much of my life. I used to pick a certain spot on my head for much of my life until one day I just stopped, then years later I began picking my face due to anxiety and later diagnosed with excoriation disorder. Thinking back wishing I knew why I was always picking this certain spot on my head. Turns out it wasn’t just a “dirty habit” and I can’t just stop."-Anonymous, 23, Canada

"I'm #PickingMe over Skin Picking because I have goals, dreams, and ambitions that will not be stopped by this disorder. I’ve been picking my skin as long as I could remember. The main target, my face and legs… or anything that looked like I had to get something out. A few years ago on Snapchat, I read an article about dermatillomania AKA chronic skin picking. Such an odd name, it sounded like I’m the crazy one but I resonated with it. That was me. I would pick when there was something I didn’t want on my body, when I was overwhelmed, stressed and even bored but absentmindedly. Along with ADHD, the hyperfocus can be a dangerous thing.

I live in Texas, work in a gym, and do pageants. My skin is always on display. Summer is my favorite season. I love to be in a bikini… when I’m alone. When I’m with friends, I see how clear and good their skin looks. No dark scars, no open wounds. And if I could only stop picking, and allow my body to heal, my skin would look clear like theirs. I’ve always had confidence, a little less when I knew people were staring at my skin. In 2023, I was in a pageant and of course, there was a swimsuit category. I knew my scars were going to be on display for everyone to judge. I’m the only one on stage and everyone can see every bit of me, every scar, every blemish and every imperfections, FRONT AND BACK. Well, I actually ended up winning best swimsuit!!! I was shocked! Me! I won best swimsuit, me and my skin picking won! It gave me a new confidence, made me want to pick less. Short lived, if you want the flowers, you gotta have the rain. This disorder is just that.

As much as I want to stop, I haven’t been able to. Not completely, yet. Through the years, I’ve gotten my acne under control which means less breakouts, which means less time looking in the mirror seeing what I can get out or flatten. I’ve gotten into skin care and facials, which has helped me clear the scarring I’ve done to myself. I’ve become aware when I need to keep my hands busy so I’m not picking when I’m bored. When I’m stressed or overwhelmed, where I’m up all night thinking and picking, I’ll get my nails done. Acrylics! Because they’re not my actual nails, there’s not a way for me to grab and pick at my skin. It gives my skin a break for a couple of weeks.

I hope my story helps someone else. I know finding this platform has helped me knowing I’m the alone! We got this!"-Stasia, @5ta5ia, 26, Texas

"I'm #PickingMe over Skin Picking because I hope this can help anyone else, it's also helped me by expressing my feelings. I lost my dad to mental health and addiction 5 years ago but also the lead up to his passing the 4 years before that were brutal. I had to section him a few times, seen my step brother pass the same way few years before and had to help my dad to sleep as he was home in an open coffin and my dad just couldn't cope. He had a very abusive childhood and everything started to trigger his emotions back and brought a lot of demons out in him. I was sexually abused at 10 years old by an old aged neighbor who I tried to keep company and helped with his garden as he was widowed. I hit drugs at a young age due to a confused young head. I have ADHD that my step dad (head psychiatrist) diagnosed me with himself but I never got the help I needed, not even after going to court etc as a 10 year old scared confused girl then this on top. I used to have bad dreams for years and I fainted every time I was scared, nervous etc. I still do but now it's years between them. I've battled a lot in my head and tried to play the over confident person while deep down I've been fighting a lot of dark demons myself from a young age. I've lost good friends and an ex boyfriend to suicide. Then had a baby at 19, she turned my life around then had my son at 22. I've been with my partner 15 years but he's been quite abusive and disloyal to me over the years. I work full time and work is my escape. It made my confidence and self esteem start to grow as I run a pub but then I did a 14 hour shift, went to hospital with belly pain and gave birth 4 hours after (absolutely no idea I was pregnant). I had periods, no weight gain, no milk, no nothing. I had to deal with the fact I was confident and finally knew my own worth and was ready to walk away from my relationship then had another baby with him, no work escape just reality trying to stay strong all over again. I lost all grandparents apart from my 1 nan, my dad, my ex, my friends, my stepbrother, and felt so alone my dad was my soul mate (family bond best friend way) my best friends have been disloyal with my boyfriend. I was that little vulnerable girl all over again. I am absolutely smitten with him and believe my dad sent him to me to help me find myself again but after all the trauma I started picking my skin, genuinely goggling parasites in skin etc constantly believing I had bugs inside me, felt like things were crawling on me. I was itching my head so bad I was checking for headlice every night. I had hair loss bad eventually then my skin got worse and I was adamant I had blood cancer or parasites. The more I picked the worse it became and I knew how bad I looked but it became addictive. I was crazy insecure but still done it. My boyfriend said I looked disgusting like Deadpool but the worse it got and the worse I looked and felt the more I done it. I've stopped it much more now I still do it though and more so on bad days I'm left with scarring and I've ruined my looks. I actually never realized it was self harming and a mental health disorder at the time and now I do I actually do deal with it better. The sooner you realize it is self harming it's not cancer, parasites etc the more you learn to deal with it. Go for nice walks, visit your favourite places, sit down at the beach late evening listen to the waves, breath in salt air and watch the sky, if its a full moon its the most soul cleansing, mindful, relaxing experience just lying down taking it all in. I also from my past trauma write a diary, I now have 2 emails and email myself like a journal. I find it hard to open up to absolutely anyone so writing it all down I feel is like speaking out and I like to read them back sometimes and be proud of what I've gone through and got through and it makes me feel empowered and stronger."-Anonymous