Me too - Skin Problems Message Board

S_T · 05-14-2003, 04:35 PM

sorry, posted in wrong section..

I pick at the skin around my fingers all the time. I used to on my toes but that stopped after I, somehow, managed to put my concentration into my fingers. I started off with my lips in Gr. 4 and in Gr. 6, moved to my fingers. It's mostly my thumb that is the worst. I almost feel like it's a perfectionistic thing, i just can't leave an uneven skin there, I have to pick it to make the skin more uniform (even though this obviously makes things worse). How do we stop this? It's an embarrasing problem. I have to hide my thumbs/fingers from others.

[This message has been edited by S_T (edited 05-14-2003).]

carol2 · 05-16-2003, 09:06 PM

I don't know how old you are but artificial nails did it for me. Biting or picking at your nails is a habit, and one that's impossible to break. I too have that habit, have had it since I was small, and nothing I've tried worked. So one day I broke down and bought some artificail nails and spent 3 hours putting them on (I've since got it down to two) and once I saw how pretty they were, I don't touch my nails. If they're long and pretty and look feminine, you won't have the desire to bite them. I've tried to go without them, and honestly, the very first day I'll find myself picking at my thumb, or scratching at a cuticle, and I won't even realize I'm doing it. So I put the nails on and then I have no desire to touch them, I just want to show them off because now they're 'pretty'. It's the only thing that has worked for me.