Re: So embarassing…but skin picking, anyone?

[Anonymous]

It’s such a relief to read how many other people do the nail-biting, hang-nail-pulling, paronychia, chewing the inside of one’s cheek and lips, and nose-picking things. I do all of them! Except I did quit biting my nails for a time — I had done it all through childhood, but when I was 27, I thought, “Enough is enough, I’m not that nervous, shy, fidgety little girl anymore!” so I managed to quit biting my nails. Now they’ve gotten strong and fairly tough so it is actually hard to bite them. Everything else, though, I still do. Like Moka, I discovered that if I don’t have a lot of milk (the only dairy I can eat without getting diarrhea and cramps is yogurt or some cheeses — basically, the probiotic dairy), my skin gets much clearer. But as many others have mentioned, I can lose entire hours standing in front of the mirror, literally making a mountainous pimple out of a molehill enlarged pore. I have done it more times than I can count.

And, lostinthestars, I hear you about the nose-picking thing. I started when I was a small kid and I just couldn’t stop. Over the years I learned to hide it — unlike you, I am not unaware of it, I am very much aware of it. I’ve gotten better about it — but mainly because the insides of my nostrils are scarred from a combination of constant sinus problems/allergies, nose-picking, and extremely arid indoor work environments.

The other really bad thing I do, when alone (typically, I manage to hide all of these things — I think — from others by only doing them when I’m alone), is I pick the calluses off my feet. I know it’s gross but sometimes I simply cannot stop myself. I callus very easily so there is never any shortage of skin to pick and tear off. Many times I’ve made my feet bleed in multiple spots by getting overzealous with “removing” my calluses. I have multiple small slender scabs on both feet as I type this, from doing that to excess.

I also pick the calluses on my fingers. For whatever reason, I seem to callus easily on my feet *and* hands… so I often have extra skin at the sides of my nails, and it gets rough and dry and then I *have* peel it off.

I used to think I was great at sitting still because I didn’t jiggle my leg or bounce my knees, etc. But then I realized, I wasn’t sitting still — I was just hyperactive with much smaller, less noticeable motor activities and habits like biting my nails, biting and ripping off my hang nails, running my fingers through my hair to detangle it (it’s naturally curly). Basically, I really *can’t* sit still. Sigh.

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