Not every day is sparkly and perfect.
In fact most days are not.
But- there are always small wins somewhere, hidden away.
One of the (many) reasons I skin pick is because I focus on the negatives- like ‘my skin is bumpy, my skin has clogged pores, it mustn’t be like this’
Or at a deeper level ‘I failed this and this and I don’t deserve a life that’s any better’
My skin is not perfect, I still have lots of clogged pores, pimples and scars.
But, I’m proud of trying to make progress and being aware of my situation.
Enough of this ambiguous talk though, here are some practical things that’s been helping me :
- Put bandages(band aids) over the most troublesome parts- this is not a cheap option, and perhaps not the best for the skin if the bandage is always on- BUT sometimes there are those areas that we just cannot stop touching intensively and we need physical intervention. Personally this has helped me stop scratching the area around my ears these past few weeks.
- Stop the intrusive thoughts – this is the advice from my counselor- when you realize you’re skin picking, try to say the alphabet from z to a. Then say 3 cities that start with each of the alphabet (or fruits and vegetables, or random objects, you name it, it can be any category you want!)- the point is to distract the mind until the intrusive thought to pick the skin weakens. Personally, my favourite alternative is to sing my favourite/ or a difficult song (if it’s appropriate place)- my mind becomes so consumed with singing that it no longer has the capacity to focus on skin picking.