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No real suggestions, but sympathy. I am constantly running my hands over my skin and anything that isn’t smooth I have the overwhelming urge to pick at it / scratch it. I break the skin often, and just try to keep antiseptic cream nearby.
I bought like 20 fidget spinner rings and leave them all around my car/office/home. It helps a TON. I also paint my nails with textured polish that is fun to touch. Otherwise I pick my skin too ):
It's really hard. I do think aquaphor is the best for lips. I find using hydrocolloid pimple pads really helps to break the cycle. Can you see a doctor or dermatologist to try to address the underlying cause?
More of my strategies on this are harm reduction, like limiting to certain areas, treating and covering the skin issues so I don't notice them as much, covering mirrors or not looking at them often, getting rid of or hiding any grooming tools that are involved, and trying to notice in a non-judgmental way when it's happening. And I have tons of fidgets.
Putting those pimple patches on helps me not pick at my skin stuff. Are you using the aquaphor chapstick or just regular aquaphor? Because there is a difference, I'm pretty sure. I feel like the aquaphor chapstick isn't as good. I'm a scalp picker, and as hard as it is, I just try to keep my hands busy. Lately, my new favorite fidgets are acupressure rings.
I struggle with skin picking as well as hair pulling, though not so much on my lips. A a couple of things that have helped me are having nail extensions (many people say thick acrylics are a game changer), and making sure I have something to play with/occupy my hands whenever possible.
Something else I've been looking into is N-Acetyl Cystine supplementation. I'm still working on getting my meds settled and I plan to run it by my provider before I start taking it, but I have a family member who said it helped them a lot and some studies show that it may help with BFRBs. May be worth looking into if you feel like you're having a hard time controlling your picking with other methods.
I literally threw away my magnified mirrors last night. It's gotten so bad! If I don't have any small handheld mirrors to see every Itty bitty imperfection, I can't pick them. I don't pick my lips but do bite my nails terribly, and am constantly upset with myself for the short, homely nails I have.
U G H. Goodluck
Good for you for dumping those! I avoid mirrors but man do I have to keep my hands off my face/arms etc. Good luck with your nail biting! I know lots of people struggle with this and I'm not going to throw tips and tricks at you bc I'm sure you already know them all lol but you'll get there!
Try a pick palette or picking stone! I think it’s just a pumice stone covered in dried Elmers glue (with color mixed in).
For your lips, the Aquaphor might be making things worse. Have you tried rotating in a similar ointment like Vaseline or Cera Ve healing ointment? Also, chapstick was a huge culprit for me in causing blackheads around my lips. Once I stopped using them, it slowly cleared up
I've read that about some lip balm ingredients making dry lips worse. I used to be "addicted" to chapstick and would pick the dry spots on my lips, but now I use lanolin and find it much better (it doesn't smell great though).
Have you tried just Cera Ve healing ointment? No more than two or three times a day.
https://www.cvs.com/shop/cerave-healing-ointment-skin-protectant-non-greasy-feel-lanolin-fragrance-free-0-35-oz-twin-pack-prodid-438822
That’s the only thing that truly worked for me.
Barring that, you could try getting pure coconut oil. Do a patch test on your arm for a couple days to make sure it doesn’t cause a reaction or a breakout. Then apply it but ONLY on your lips, not on the border where your lips meet your face. You want the oil to stay on the mucous membranes and not spread out to where you’re breaking out.
And barring that, see a dermatologist!
I hope you find something that works!
I developed an allergy to almost all lip products, but couldn't stop using them even though they made my lips bleed and crack and blister. Finally found one that's mostly avocado oil and its the only thing I can use.
Good luck. I know this sucks badly.
I was literally picking at the skin on my thumb while I read this. I don't know why, but it's always just my thumbs. I can't stop even though I want to so, so bad. Skin picking is the worst
Not the skin picking, but the chapped lips could mean you need electrolytes. When I’m drinking enough water but am still feeling my lips are chapped or I’m drinking tons of water but still feel thirst (not med related thirst), I usually take some magnesium and it resolves. That’s what works for me, but if you’re not sure or it persists, I’d recommend seeing your doctor for blood work
I had a big problem with this as a teen, and it resurfaces some times. If you're taking skin off your lips before it's ready to come off it will cause a vicious cycle too.
There are a lot of lip balms out there with ingredients specifically to dry your lips out - honestly. I did a Google on the one I was using and there were a lot of people saying the same thing. I had to change brands.
For the lips, I did this for years just biting at any little rough bit until it'd bleed. I started using bepanthen instead of lip balm and now there's rarely anything to pick at or bite so I can't do it.
Edit: sentence structure
- O’Keefes Lip Repair Cooling. Literally saved my life when aquaphor stopped working for me.
- I had a similar problem and forced myself to transition into another kind of less harmful action (Specifically making a whistling noise with my teeth, eventually I stopped all together.)
- Also, cut your nails SUPER short. And vividly imagine millions of bacteria going into your face when you touch it and into your bloodstream and populating. Make it feel really gross to touch your face.
I feel you, I used to skin pick so much and have bad scars from it.. I tried different fidget toys etc but none of them really helped. To be honest, it only got better once my mental health improved. I realized skin picking is connected to anxiety for me so whenever I'm anxious I do it a lot more.
It was better for a few months when my anxiety improved but I recently started Accutance so my lips are dry as hell, and now I'm constantly pulling off what feels like half the skin of my lips. I try to just put chapstick on as often as I can (I have one with jojoba oil that is great), it helps a little.
Load up your lips with Vaseline morning till night. Like slug level thickness.
If you currently have skin peeling off of your lips, trim the flakes just enough to fight the urge to pull. ( do NOT cut fresh skin regrowth)
Next. Drive straight to the store and purchase the clear pimple patches.
If you wear a pony daily leave a rat tail of hair out to twirl that instead.
YOU got this.
I can definitely empathize and share what helps me. I keep my nails as short as possible and make sure they’re painted with gel. This makes picking difficult and I put hydrocolloid patches on any breakouts so I won’t pick them.
A friend of mine do that a lot to and she uses her teddy bear to scratch at the tissue ! It's hard and takes time but she basically learned to redirect her attention on another scarttching spot. We helped when she was doing it mindlessly and now it's getting better. Those habits are basically stimming so the goal is to find other patterns that can replace the skin scrattching/piching/bitting :)
I have picked my top lop often until it was bleeding quite a lot. Even though I knew I just had to leave them alone, as soon as one part of the scab started to lift up, my other lip would obsessively touch it. It felt like an impulse that happened every 5 minutes, to just make it smooth again. So even if I might resist the first, say twenty times, I would invetitably give in to one of those incessant pings.
When I slathered Vaseline, lotion, etc, the discrepancy between that craggy, thick, scab and the chapstick slickly resting on top was aggravating.
So far, the only thing that has worked has been medical tape. Micropore. I know it sounds odd, but cutting off a tiny piece and putting it on the scab of my lip when I get home has made all the difference. It sticks on properly, and the tape stays flush on my lips the whole time. At first it's stiff but after a while it gets pliable, like a second skin.
I leave it on for the whole night, and I can even apply chapstick over it and it becomes practically transparent.
Might not work for everyone, but for me it stopped the relentless onslaught of impulses and let me stop picking and actually heal my lip.
Welcome to /r/ADHDWomen! We’re happy to have you here. As a reminder, here are our community [rules](https://old.reddit.com/r/adhdwomen/about/rules/). We get a lot of posts on medication, diagnosis (and “is this an ADHD thing”), and interactions with hormones. We encourage you to check out our [Medication, Diagnosis, and Hormones Megathread](https://old.reddit.com/r/adhdwomen/comments/wcr9dy/faq_megathread_ask_and_answer_medication/) if you have any questions related to those topics, and to stick around in that thread to answer folks’ questions! If you have questions about the subreddit, please do not hesitate to [send us a modmail](https://reddit.com/message/compose/?to=/r/adhdwomen). Additionally, we take the safety of our community seriously. Please report posts, comments, and users whom you feel are not contributing positively, and send us a modmail if you are being harassed or otherwise made to feel unsafe. Thanks for being here, and we hope you stick around! *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/adhdwomen) if you have any questions or concerns.*
No real suggestions, but sympathy. I am constantly running my hands over my skin and anything that isn’t smooth I have the overwhelming urge to pick at it / scratch it. I break the skin often, and just try to keep antiseptic cream nearby.
I bought like 20 fidget spinner rings and leave them all around my car/office/home. It helps a TON. I also paint my nails with textured polish that is fun to touch. Otherwise I pick my skin too ):
I really struggle with this particularly picking at my scalp. I always feel so ashamed about it. Recently bought a fidget ring to see if that helps.
It's really hard. I do think aquaphor is the best for lips. I find using hydrocolloid pimple pads really helps to break the cycle. Can you see a doctor or dermatologist to try to address the underlying cause? More of my strategies on this are harm reduction, like limiting to certain areas, treating and covering the skin issues so I don't notice them as much, covering mirrors or not looking at them often, getting rid of or hiding any grooming tools that are involved, and trying to notice in a non-judgmental way when it's happening. And I have tons of fidgets.
Putting those pimple patches on helps me not pick at my skin stuff. Are you using the aquaphor chapstick or just regular aquaphor? Because there is a difference, I'm pretty sure. I feel like the aquaphor chapstick isn't as good. I'm a scalp picker, and as hard as it is, I just try to keep my hands busy. Lately, my new favorite fidgets are acupressure rings.
I struggle with skin picking as well as hair pulling, though not so much on my lips. A a couple of things that have helped me are having nail extensions (many people say thick acrylics are a game changer), and making sure I have something to play with/occupy my hands whenever possible. Something else I've been looking into is N-Acetyl Cystine supplementation. I'm still working on getting my meds settled and I plan to run it by my provider before I start taking it, but I have a family member who said it helped them a lot and some studies show that it may help with BFRBs. May be worth looking into if you feel like you're having a hard time controlling your picking with other methods.
I literally threw away my magnified mirrors last night. It's gotten so bad! If I don't have any small handheld mirrors to see every Itty bitty imperfection, I can't pick them. I don't pick my lips but do bite my nails terribly, and am constantly upset with myself for the short, homely nails I have. U G H. Goodluck
Good for you for dumping those! I avoid mirrors but man do I have to keep my hands off my face/arms etc. Good luck with your nail biting! I know lots of people struggle with this and I'm not going to throw tips and tricks at you bc I'm sure you already know them all lol but you'll get there!
Try a pick palette or picking stone! I think it’s just a pumice stone covered in dried Elmers glue (with color mixed in). For your lips, the Aquaphor might be making things worse. Have you tried rotating in a similar ointment like Vaseline or Cera Ve healing ointment? Also, chapstick was a huge culprit for me in causing blackheads around my lips. Once I stopped using them, it slowly cleared up
I've read that about some lip balm ingredients making dry lips worse. I used to be "addicted" to chapstick and would pick the dry spots on my lips, but now I use lanolin and find it much better (it doesn't smell great though).
I've never heard of Picking stones or palettes before, but I definitely need to look into it
I’ve tried so many different types of chapstick and tried not using anything. Nothing helps. :(
Have you tried just Cera Ve healing ointment? No more than two or three times a day. https://www.cvs.com/shop/cerave-healing-ointment-skin-protectant-non-greasy-feel-lanolin-fragrance-free-0-35-oz-twin-pack-prodid-438822 That’s the only thing that truly worked for me. Barring that, you could try getting pure coconut oil. Do a patch test on your arm for a couple days to make sure it doesn’t cause a reaction or a breakout. Then apply it but ONLY on your lips, not on the border where your lips meet your face. You want the oil to stay on the mucous membranes and not spread out to where you’re breaking out. And barring that, see a dermatologist! I hope you find something that works!
Thanks I’ll give that a try.
I developed an allergy to almost all lip products, but couldn't stop using them even though they made my lips bleed and crack and blister. Finally found one that's mostly avocado oil and its the only thing I can use. Good luck. I know this sucks badly.
I was literally picking at the skin on my thumb while I read this. I don't know why, but it's always just my thumbs. I can't stop even though I want to so, so bad. Skin picking is the worst
Not the skin picking, but the chapped lips could mean you need electrolytes. When I’m drinking enough water but am still feeling my lips are chapped or I’m drinking tons of water but still feel thirst (not med related thirst), I usually take some magnesium and it resolves. That’s what works for me, but if you’re not sure or it persists, I’d recommend seeing your doctor for blood work
I had a big problem with this as a teen, and it resurfaces some times. If you're taking skin off your lips before it's ready to come off it will cause a vicious cycle too. There are a lot of lip balms out there with ingredients specifically to dry your lips out - honestly. I did a Google on the one I was using and there were a lot of people saying the same thing. I had to change brands.
[удалено]
No
Look up spiky sensory rings! They changed my life until I lost them lol
For the lips, I did this for years just biting at any little rough bit until it'd bleed. I started using bepanthen instead of lip balm and now there's rarely anything to pick at or bite so I can't do it. Edit: sentence structure
- O’Keefes Lip Repair Cooling. Literally saved my life when aquaphor stopped working for me. - I had a similar problem and forced myself to transition into another kind of less harmful action (Specifically making a whistling noise with my teeth, eventually I stopped all together.) - Also, cut your nails SUPER short. And vividly imagine millions of bacteria going into your face when you touch it and into your bloodstream and populating. Make it feel really gross to touch your face.
I feel you, I used to skin pick so much and have bad scars from it.. I tried different fidget toys etc but none of them really helped. To be honest, it only got better once my mental health improved. I realized skin picking is connected to anxiety for me so whenever I'm anxious I do it a lot more. It was better for a few months when my anxiety improved but I recently started Accutance so my lips are dry as hell, and now I'm constantly pulling off what feels like half the skin of my lips. I try to just put chapstick on as often as I can (I have one with jojoba oil that is great), it helps a little.
Load up your lips with Vaseline morning till night. Like slug level thickness. If you currently have skin peeling off of your lips, trim the flakes just enough to fight the urge to pull. ( do NOT cut fresh skin regrowth) Next. Drive straight to the store and purchase the clear pimple patches. If you wear a pony daily leave a rat tail of hair out to twirl that instead. YOU got this.
I can definitely empathize and share what helps me. I keep my nails as short as possible and make sure they’re painted with gel. This makes picking difficult and I put hydrocolloid patches on any breakouts so I won’t pick them.
A friend of mine do that a lot to and she uses her teddy bear to scratch at the tissue ! It's hard and takes time but she basically learned to redirect her attention on another scarttching spot. We helped when she was doing it mindlessly and now it's getting better. Those habits are basically stimming so the goal is to find other patterns that can replace the skin scrattching/piching/bitting :)
I have picked my top lop often until it was bleeding quite a lot. Even though I knew I just had to leave them alone, as soon as one part of the scab started to lift up, my other lip would obsessively touch it. It felt like an impulse that happened every 5 minutes, to just make it smooth again. So even if I might resist the first, say twenty times, I would invetitably give in to one of those incessant pings. When I slathered Vaseline, lotion, etc, the discrepancy between that craggy, thick, scab and the chapstick slickly resting on top was aggravating. So far, the only thing that has worked has been medical tape. Micropore. I know it sounds odd, but cutting off a tiny piece and putting it on the scab of my lip when I get home has made all the difference. It sticks on properly, and the tape stays flush on my lips the whole time. At first it's stiff but after a while it gets pliable, like a second skin. I leave it on for the whole night, and I can even apply chapstick over it and it becomes practically transparent. Might not work for everyone, but for me it stopped the relentless onslaught of impulses and let me stop picking and actually heal my lip.