face exoriation - picking, ocd and pulling hair - Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD) Message Board

catfrogs · 08-14-2004, 10:10 PM

ugh... i am visiting from the eating disorder board. i also have OCD and i hate it. part of it i was born with - my mother has it as well, though undiagnosed - and part of it is agrivation from all of the meds i am on.

i am on prozac, effexor, strattera (for ADD) and now i am trying revia (naldextrone) to see if it will help my eating disorder. i walk around feeling very flawed because i feel like so much is wrong with me sometimes!!! but as for the OCD i have a picking problem too. i have picked my face and any where else there was a bump for as long as i can remember. i am nearly 30 and i still do it. i will spend sometimes more than an hour in the bathroom.

i hate it because i can't just leave a blackhead or a whitehead alone and let it go away by itself. i feel dirty and gross, as if it is crawling on me and i have to get it off. then, when my face is red and inflammed from all of the picking i don't want to leave the house and have anyone see me because i am so ashamed.

i clean a lot too but i have gotten better over time. i don't have to close the door three times or anything like that but the picking and the i-dont-leave-discussions-alone-when-its-time-to-walk-away thing drives me nuts. if my husband has a bad zit i corner him until he lets me at him!

i have underlying anxiety issues too, which i am on meds for - but some of the meds actually CAUSE anxiety so it's a sword of two evils.

the only way i have found that helps is to audibly redirect myself to something else. i say, "K, get up and go into the room and don't look at yourself anymore." then i find somewhere else to chanel the frinetic energy. it's so embarrassing and i feel so ugly after i do it because my face gets red and spotty.

does anyone who has this problem also pull at their hair? if so, do you know what drives you to pull at it? weird, but my mother has since i can remember but she pulls it like a nervous tick, right from the center of her head. i pull it if there are bumps in that area, thinking for some reason that removing the hair will "clean" the area and allow the oil and infection to leave the skin. how crazy do i sound?!! ugh.. please tell me i am not alone...

ontario_mommy_2 · 08-15-2004, 03:59 PM

I can totally relate to the whole face thing.... I pick my face constantly.. I have good skin, the occasional zit or such, but I am constantly searching for them and picking the slightest resemblance of one, usually until I have a scab on my face. This is one thing that I have had a reall hard time overcoming, so I dont really have any advice to offer, but Good Luck!

bokkie · 08-16-2004, 03:06 PM

hi, I totally and completely relate! In fact, my skin-picking has gotten pretty bad lately, which is why I'm here. Maybe someone can give me some advice?

I've been picking on and off since as long as I can remember, honestly. I've never been able to leave a scab on myself or any member of my family. But when I started actually getting blemishes and shaving my legs(causing ingrowns) it got so much worse. It gets especially bad when I'm stressed out or unhappy, and at the moment I suspect that I'm miserable, based on the time spent poring over my skin, poking at invisible blemishes until I can get something out. It sucks. Anyhow, I guess I just want to hear from someone who has had success controlling this without medication, as I'm not ready to take that route. My little brother still lets me pick at him when I need to, but that's not something I want to rely on. I find it more than a little embarrassing. Plus, in a week I need to go back to university, where I won't be in a house where everyone knows and I can get away with sitting in the bathroom for an hour staring in the mirror. Wow, this sounds crazier than I suspected.

Any suggestions/commiserations?

picker04 · 08-19-2004, 07:37 PM

wow, i never thought anyone would ever do this, other than me. I am 18 years old and i have been picking at my face, back, arms, legs, every bump that i have ever seen on my body. My last relationship my boyfriend got so mad because i would pick anything on his face...My current boyfriend, gets mad at me because i constantly wont leave him alone until he lets me do it. Bribing him with backrubs, anything just to make him let me pick at those blackheads white heads, ingrown hairs anything. I dont do it as often anymore because i have somewhat grown out of acne, but I would sit infront of the mirror for hours at a time. As soon as i felt a new one coming on, i would pick at it, even if it wouldnt pop...I felt like i had huge mountains on my face and had to make them go away. I always feel like if I pop them all, then they'll go away but they never do, I constantly get more. Sometimes I wish they would go away, but then I wouldn't be able to pick anymore. I have an obsession. A problem. And whats terrible is, i think its fun. Its terrible. I know when im older my skin will be terrible, but i just cant stand it. Can anyone help me out? Is anyone feeling the same way I am? Help please.

BetsyAnn · 08-22-2004, 02:38 PM

Catfrogs, I can relate to almost everything you discussed. I did find out quite accidently that wellbutrin takes care of my needto pull and it greatly reduces my urge to pick.