"I'm #PickingMe over Skin Picking because I want to change. I'm tired of not being in control of my own body, because it is truly one of the worst feelings ever. I'm Picking Me over scabs and hours of sleep lost due to picking, and wasted time picking out loose scabs and skin after an episode of bad picking. Over the sight of blood on my fingers after I go too far. I'm picking me because if others can do it, I can too. I started my skin picking journey in 2020. I began by scratching my head near the roots of my hair. I became obsessed with watching the dandruff fall out. it then escalated into picking, and within a month I had created the first scab on my head. in the past two years I have lost so much hair, and I know that if I keep going it wont be able to grow back. I wont be able to hide the scabs. It is so so impossibly hard for me to gain control. once I start I cant stop. in fact I've been taking breaks writing to scratch the places on my head that hurt the most. I've tried so many different things. I have tried wearing hats, putting cream on the worst areas, timing myself to see how long I can go without picking, etc. My parents don't understand and I always get yelled at to "stop picking" when it isn't that easy. I pick other places on my body, especially mosquito bites, but the biggest challenge for me is my head. I want to be able to wear buns without exposing the bald spot on the back of my head, I want to stop hearing "there's something in your hair". I just want it to be done." -Lily, 16, New York

"I'm #PickingMe over Skin Picking because I have a beautiful life ahead of me, and I deserve to feel beautiful no matter my scarring and my redness. In fact, we are beautiful because of our scarring and redness :) it shows our journey and our perseverance, and that is the most wonderful thing about each of us. Hi y'all! I wanted to share my story with picking. I've had a battle with it my whole life. When I was 10, I would pick at my scalp and hairline, and I've been picking my face since as well, leading to patches and bumps and dark marks all over my face. The scarring has caused me insecurity and embarrassment, and I used to wear makeup every day, but I'm done now. I'm proud of my skin and I'm proud of me for working every day to fight my urges and seek coping mechanisms. You don't need makeup—you need self love and / or appearance neutrality. We can do it!" -@cosmo_182, Cosmo Randazzo, 21, US

"I'm #PickingMe over Skin Picking because I’d like to learn to be a human being that makes decisions because of things that are completely unrelated to the amount of myself I peel away. Hey hi hello…it took me many years of shame to finally be diagnosed with OCD. 24 years into symptoms of varying severity, I finally found out what was happening in my brain. My dad says I’ve been picking my skin longer than he has memory. In every friendship, relationship, or any sort of incident in which me being perceived is involved, I am thinking about hiding my feet. The scar tissue is deep and disfiguring and hard to ignore. It controls the way I navigate being alive: I wake to an already awakened self, covered in confetti made from my own bloody skin, trying to figure out how long it’s been since I remembered something. It’s a never ending wound on the outside to match the inside but I'm not even doing it on purpose. It’s crippling and controlling and I’m doing my best to learn how to make it without shame. Baby steps" -@horncusk, Shivohn Fleming, 29, Maine

"I'm #PickingMe over Skin Picking because I am worth it. Finally! Other people who share my pain. Sixty years [that's right, 60] with arms and legs still with scratches and covered in scars. Hearing the word 'pick' makes me shrivel up in pain and embarrassment. Even my wedding dress had long sleeves just in case I had to hide my arms. Anxiety and depression have plagued me for years and despite medication I continue to scratch away. Thank you Lauren and everyone else for your honesty and openness. I now don't feel so alone and will continue to follow you and fellow sufferers, because that is what we are I guess, sufferers of a known condition." -Anonymous, Australia

"I'm #PickingMe over Skin Picking because simply because I began whilst in an abusive relationship and do not want to continue to suffer scars, low self esteem and essentially, be reminded of this ex partner. 8 months ago, I left an abusive and toxic 3 year relationship which essentially triggered my skin picking. To avoid getting yelled at, I would go to the bathroom, pretending to be using the toilet, and I would pick my legs/chest and face relentlessly, for hours a day. I’m left with scars all over my face and legs and it hasn’t taken at least a year to begin my journey of managing my skin picking. I was overwhelmed with emotions to learn about this organization as I have always felt alone in this struggle." -Anonymous, 29, Australia

"I'm #PickingMe over Skin Picking because simply because of happiness. It all started with trichotillomania when I was 7. I beat it and then puberty hit and the triggers pushed me to start targeting my body instead of my hair. It started with my fingers and progressed to now if I see any slight bump ANYWHERE on my body I need to pick at it until it bleeds. I don’t understand why I keep picking scars knowing it will cause more damage, but the urge is beyond overwhelming. My legs and back are completely scarred. I have not worn shorts in over 5 years and I dread it every single time I do because I think people are staring and judging. Every-time I look at my body I feel ashamed and embarrassed that I have permanently changed the way my skin looks." -Anonymous, 24

"I'm #PickingMe over Skin Picking because I would love to find a way to accept myself as I am, because right now I pretty much hate myself. I started picking at my scalp when I was a child. No idea why I did it, I was very shy, nervous, developed a stomach ulcer at age 11 from my anxiety. For many years it was only my scalp, but then about four years ago the skin picking started. For me it was like if I had a mosquito bite, I would scratch until it bled, scabbed over, then continuously pick at the scab, it would heal, then I'd pick again. Over and over again. This started on my back, then went to my arms, legs, stomach and buttocks. My arms are the worst, I have flat white scars all over my arms and flat red ones on my stomach and legs. I look at the pics on here and I think, "I wish mine looked like that!" Because mine look horrible, I have tried everything from using makeup to cover it up, to oils and scrubs, even shaving my arms over and over again. Nothing works, the scars will not go away. I just bought some long sleeved jackets I can wear this summer to cover my arms up, but not sure how I will cover my legs up. Sun makes it all worse anyway. I feel hideous. I can't imagine being able to just go out and show my scars. :(" -Anonymous, 52

"I'm #PickingMe over Skin Picking because I would like to take my life back, I don’t want to cancel plans because the night before I have demolished my face or feel so anxious in public because my face is so sore! It’s time to get my life back! I couldn’t actually tell you when my skin picking started but I remember I was really young! It started as something I would do to self soothe along with twiddling my fingers in my hair as I reached my teen years acne started to show and I started to pick even more during difficult times I found it to be an output. As I suffer from eczema and adult acne it had become even more heightened than it had ever been I would look In the mirror 10000 times a day picking and pulling until my skin was broken and bleeding. Sometimes I don’t even notice I’m doing it and people remind me! Eventually I got a diagnosis for my mental health (I won’t bore you with the full details of those) and ocd including skin picking disorder! It’s been difficult because until finding picking me.org I’ve always felt so alone! But now it’s our time to take back our strength we got this!" -@pimples_princess, Chantelle Hillyard, 30, Essex, England

"I'm #PickingMe over Skin Picking because I deserve to be kind to my skin and not have to worry constantly about infections and sore scabs and wounds. And because I know I can do this! Ever since I was young I've picked my skin, but it got worse at the end of highschool when I was around 17. I developed a bad case of picking the skin on my scalp until there were craters in my scalp, some even inhibiting hair growth, luckily with therapy it's begun to heal but I still have my relapses, and it's hard but i really try to stick to the positives that I'm better than I was!" -@lateforthe80s, Ellie, 20, Plymouth

"I'm #PickingMe over Skin Picking because I am a mental health professional and I am ready to help others like me.I am a clinical psychology graduate student, and yet I suffer through skin picking. I thought I was weird, I thought something was wrong with me. Until I read the DSM and found out that skin picking is a disorder, HOW HAVE I NEVER HEARD OF THIS?! I have been facing this battle since I was a child, and I am a mental health professional and yet I never heard of this. We need to get the word out and I am so thankful for this foundation. I am currently in therapy dealing with my skin picking. But I have decided that when I become a licensed professional, my office will be a safe space for all other skin pickers." -Niki, 23, Portland

"I’ve always picked at my face ever since I started getting acne around 7th grade but it came in phases. I thought it was nothing because all teenagers pick at their skin...right? Well since the pandemic started I have now picked about everywhere in my body not just my face. Now I’ve had to accept that this is a problem. So glad you guys are spreading awareness and looking at this page made me feel a lot better knowing other people go through the same thing. I’m going to start putting effort into not picking my skin. Hopefully it will work even tho I know there’s no cure. I’m thinking of wearing socks on my hands until I’m able to get acrylic nails for the first time ever because I thought it was a good idea in order to stop picking. Keep up the good work and tell me if there’s any way I can help." -Anonymous, Puerto Rico

"I'm #PickingMe over Skin Picking because I’m sick of being insecure of all the scabs and scars. I’m sick of getting blood all under my finger nails and all over my shirts and coats. And i deserve to be happy in my own body, not pick it apart. As a child i would always sit on the bathroom counter and pick at every little blemish and bump. Every time i got bit by a mosquito i would pick at the bump until the scab was green- even when it was infected i’d pick at it. my arms and legs are covered in circular scars, and i have a hard time wearing t shirts in public because of it. Today i pick at my face, my fingers, my back, and anywhere a scab forms." -@septumballonthefloor, Ceairah Worden, 15, Michigan

"I'm #PickingMe over Skin Picking because I want my hands to look beautiful and not have to hide them. Most of all I want to be able to break these chains of anxiety and depression and heal from my past. I want to be able to look down and see that I am healed inside and on the outside. I suffered from abuse throughout a majority of my childhood and now suffer from severe anxiety and depression. I chew on my fingers and thumbs whenever I am anxious. I find myself doing this during a suspenseful movie or show, during a phone conversation with my mother, who was one of my abusers. I find myself practicing this behavior when times are tense or scary. These past 2 years have been rough dealing with the pandemic and everything that has went along with it. I have to be careful what I watch on television and what I view on social media because it can trigger me. Arguments with a family member or friend may also trigger it. I currently take medication for both anxiety and depression and have attended weekly counseling sessions for 3 years now. I am a recovering bulimic and wonder if this is where it has gone to, is the skin around my nails. I was always a mail biter growing up and when I became a young adult I would have my nails done on purpose to keep from biting my nails. I hate it and want to stop so badly. I am so embarrassed of my hands and being 54 years old it is so hard to keep hiding my hands or making people think I’ve had an accident and need to wear bandaids. I know that people look at my hands in disgust because I look at my hands in disgust." -Shelly Jack, 53, Oklahoma