To stop picking your face, you need to address the underlying urges and develop strategies to manage them. This involves a combination of awareness, distraction, and gradual habit change.
Understanding the Problem
Skin picking, also known as dermatillomania, is a condition where a person repeatedly picks at their skin, often leading to damage. The behavior can be triggered by stress, anxiety, or even boredom.
Strategies to Reduce Face Picking
Here are specific, actionable steps you can take, drawing from the provided reference:
- Keep Your Hands Busy: Find alternative activities that occupy your hands, making it physically difficult to pick.
- Example: Squeeze a soft stress ball, play with a fidget toy, or try knitting.
- Reference: "keep your hands busy – try squeezing a soft ball or putting on gloves."
- Identify Triggers: Become aware of when and where you are most likely to pick your face.
- Example: Are you picking more while watching TV, in the bathroom mirror, or when stressed at work?
- Action: Once you know your triggers, try to avoid those situations or change your environment.
- Reference: "identify when and where you most commonly pick your skin and try to avoid these triggers."
- Gradually Increase Resistance Time: Instead of trying to stop completely at once, try to resist the urge for incrementally longer periods each time you feel the need to pick.
- Example: Start by resisting for 5 minutes, then 10 minutes, and so on.
- Reference: "try to resist for longer and longer each time you feel the urge to pick."
Additional Tips for Success
- Wear Gloves: If keeping your hands busy is not enough, consider wearing gloves. This makes picking more difficult and less satisfying.
- Keep Fingernails Short: Shorter nails make it harder to pick and can reduce potential damage to your skin.
- Address Underlying Stress or Anxiety: If stress or anxiety triggers your picking, consider practicing stress-reduction techniques or seeking professional help.
- Seek Support: Talk to a friend, family member, or therapist about your skin picking. Support can make a significant difference.
- Make it Less Accessible: If you tend to pick in front of a mirror, move the mirror or cover it with a cloth when not needed.
- Reward Your Progress: Celebrate your successes, even small ones, to reinforce positive behavior.
Summary
| Strategy | Description | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Keep Hands Busy | Use tactile objects to occupy your hands | Squeezing a stress ball, using a fidget toy |
| Identify & Avoid Triggers | Recognize when/where you pick most, and avoid those situations | If it's the bathroom mirror, cover it with a cloth when not in use |
| Gradual Resistance | Delay picking for incrementally longer times each urge | Start with 5 mins, then 10, etc. |
| Wear Gloves | Make picking more difficult | Wearing gloves around the house |
| Short Fingernails | Reduce picking success and damage | Keep your nails trimmed |
| Address Stress | Manage contributing factors | Practicing meditation or yoga |
| Seek Support | Talk to someone who understands | Friend or a therapist |
By implementing these strategies, understanding your triggers, and being patient with yourself, you can effectively reduce and eventually stop picking your face.
