Beauty Tips For Body Care
This is your no bullsh*t guide to help you quit picking at your skin. Before I get into it, please note that this is all to help move towards ending picking at your skin. There are so many guides online about how to stop picking at your skin and I feel like most of them aren't very comprehensive or helpful. Half of them just tell you to not pick at your face or to not touch your face (so helpful thank you). I have dermatillomania and have not been able to completely stop, but I have been able to make a huge amount of progress. My guide is composed of things that have worked for me and they all won't work for everyone. However, I have done tons of research and tried all different things and this is what I've learned. I hope this helps someone out there.COVER UP YOUR MIRRORS. Yes, really. This has been the most important step for me. It's tough if you share your space with others, but if you can find a way to do this, DO IT. I have both of my bathroom mirrors covered up, and I have a mirror that is in a room with crappy lighting. That way, I can't really see the clogged pores or little areas that I'd find to pick at. Absolutely no magnifying mirrors. This is almost non-negotiable. If you chronically pick at your skin, GET RID OF THESE. I don't care if you use them to tweeze your eyebrows--if it gets you looking at your skin that close up you don't need it. Another tip is to put some barrier between you and your mirror that prevents you from getting to close to it. I do my makeup maybe a foot away from the mirror I have. Maybe my makeup won't be as perfect but it's worth it. One of the first things I do when staying in a new place/somewhere that isn't my apartment is covering up the mirrors. If you're staying with family or friends, explain to them why you are covering up the mirrors (if they are asking or wanting to take down whatever you've put up). They're usually understanding or at least will leave you alone about it.Get rid of anything you use to help you pick at your skin. Don't have any blemish tools or needles or whatever they're called. Some skin picking guides will tell you to have these to prevent you from using your fingers, but if it's encouraging you to get close up to your skin, get rid of it. This might be TMI or gross or whatever, but I had to get rid of all of my tweezers because I would use them to pick at my skin. I now use eyebrow razors or whatever they're called to do my brows. It would be great to have tweezers sometimes but I can't prevent myself from using them if they're accessible to me.Figure out conditions that increase the likelihood of picking at your skin. When you find yourself picking at your skin, think about what's going on. For me, it was when I was either stressed (like studying or worrying about applications or exams) or idle (like driving in the car, reading a book, watching tv). Once you recognize when you're doing it, you can start coming up with ways to combat it. Also, if it's happening a lot when you're stressed, you might want to talk to a therapist, psychiatrist, or psychologist about it; it can be an indicator of an underlying mental health issue. I personally have OCD and getting on anti-anxiety medication has been a huge help on my journey.For idle skin picking, occupy your hands/fingers. A lot of skin picking guides mention this, but it's helpful to note that you logistically cant be using a little puzzle or fidget spinner all the time (think about if you're at work or in your car or reading a book--you don't have both hands free, or it may be just plain unreasonable to use these things). My best tip for this is to get a spinner ring (I have three that I just bought on Amazon). I try to wear them whenever I know that I will have time to pick at my skin. Most importantly, put them on in a way that will occupy your index fingers (or whichever you use to pick at your skin).Find a trusted confidant. This can be harder for some than others. Luckily, my partner understands this habit, but it still took me a year and a half to be open with them about this. I still lie about picking at my skin when they catch me looking in the mirror, but having someone that you can share your frustrations with can be so helpful. This person can help you cover up your mirrors and be proud of you when your skin is healing and help you if you really f*ck up. Do not confide in someone that's going to make you feel bad or gross about picking at your skin. There are enough people that will just tell you to stop picking, so thank you but no. Don't worry if this step doesn't work for you; some of us just can't share this with others or haven't found anyone in our life that can be this person for us. That's okay.Keep your nails short. Some people claim that getting acrylics helps them not pick, but I have found that the best strategy when it comes to nails is to cut them down to almost nothing.Don't watch acne videos or pimple popping videos. I know that this is something other guides tell you to do, but from my observations, this just increases the drive to pick at my skin. I see these videos and think about all the stuff I want to get out of my pores. You might think that watching them will satisfy the urge to pick, but watching these videos will just make you think about it more.Use more rewards and less punishment. If you go for a while without picking at your skin, if you prevent yourself when you feel like you're about to start, if you cover up all your mirrors, or if you get rid of your skin picking tools, reward yourself! Do a face mask or have a piece of chocolate or get the cool new serum that you've been wanting. We respond better to reinforcement than to punishment. Be proud of yourself for every step forward on this journey.Cover it up. If you've picked at your skin, put some antibiotic ointment on and then cover it up with an acne patch. I don't know about how these work for getting rid of blemishes or however you're supposed to use them but they are super helpful for preventing picking more. If you can feel the rough part of your skin where you picked at, you're probably going to want to pick more to smooth it out. Having a patch on it can prevent you from feeling those rough edges that you can pull at.Don't be a completist. This one is so so so hard, but remind yourself that picking once is better than picking twice, picking twice is better than three times, etc. Once you've picked at your skin, it's not like you've ruined your face for the whole day or something. Every time you do it, try to walk away. I know it can feel impossible, especially when it looks like there's more that you can pick at, but don't fall into the trap of thinking that once you've started, stopping is irrelevant. Treat skin picking like an addiction to cigarettes. Having one cigarette is bad if you're trying to quit, but going back for a second and third is worse than stepping away after one.Think about it like a real addiction, because in many cases, it is. Once you start thinking about dermatillomania or skin picking as an addiction, these steps don't seem so unreasonable. Getting rid of things that increase the likelihood of picking, throwing out all the things that make you want to pick, etc. are all similar to ways that addicts try and get "clean". Throughout this process, treat yourself like a loved one that has an addiction. Do everything you can to support yourself in quitting, but don't berate yourself if and when you slip up. Getting mad at yourself and being too hard on yourself throughout the quitting process can encourage you to pick at your skin more.Take a deep breath and step away for a bit. If you find yourself at the mirror or picking at your skin, take a deep breath and go grab a glass of water or do a quick stretch. Every moment is a new opportunity.
Girls Blog 2015
Submitted by leafygreen4
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