Excessive skin picking Behavior

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It is a behavior in which people uncontrollably pick pimples, scabs, and other imperfections on their skin. Depending on severity, skin picking results in red marks, scab, scars, and disfigurement.

 

Skin picking is usually preceded by an emotional feeling of tension or anxiety. During episodes of skin picking, feelings of relief, relaxation, or even dissociation, usually occur. After episodes of skin picking, feelings of guilt, shame, and depression are common. Skin picking frequently results in disruptions to one’s life such as lateness or avoidance of social interactions. There are many different triggers of skin picking and the specific triggers vary from person to person. Common triggers include:

• being in a location in which skin picking commonly occur (e.g., the bathroom, bedroom, or car)

• being around utensils used to pick (e.g., tweezers, mirrors)

• noticing an imperfection in the appearance of one’s skin (e.g., noticing pimples or scabs on one’s skin)

• feeling an imperfection in the skin (e.g., a pimple can be felt)

• feeling anxious, depressed, angry, excited, or bored

• desiring to fidget with the skin

• desiring to feel a certain physical feeling from skin picking (e.g., a pop when a pimple is popped)

• finding oneself skin picking after a significant amount of time (minutes to hours) during which the person was not aware of the pulling or picking.

 

In addition, excessive skin picking are not addictions, they function very much like uncontrollable habits: The urge to pick increases as the frequency of picking increases; picking feel pleasurable despite the fact that the behavior later causes deep sadness, shame, guilt, scarring, bald patches, and other negative consequences...

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You may experience all or some of the following feelings as part of your skin picking:

• Sense that skin must be made smooth, perfectly blemish-free, along with a high sensitivity to any perceived imperfections

• Strong urge to pick, scratch, or otherwise act to remove imperfections from your skin (with nails or implements), often to the point of pain and/or bleeding

• Scabs, scars, tissue damage, infections

• Repetitive strain injuries or joint damage from regularly holding picking/scratching positions for long periods

• A lot of time and effort spent on your skin picking activity, routines and its consequences

• Concealing the impact of your skin picking, for example lying about causes of marks; using makeup, clothing and accessories to cover up, and avoidance of situations where skin may be exposed

• Feelings of relief immediately after picking, followed by a sense of being out of control, weak, frustrated, uncomfortable in your own skin/body dysmorphia

• Low self-esteem, anxiety, isolation, deep sadness, which have an ongoing negative affect on your work, relationships and health.

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How hypnosis may help skin picking

When skin picking, individuals often show many of the characteristics of being in trance. Their attention is narrowly focused, they are powerfully engaged with the activity using all senses and time may seem to disappear. And all this is often triggered by a powerful suggestion/cue that has been built and reinforced over time when in this trance-like state. So, in many ways, people who pick their skin already have a lot of experience at going into trance and using it to reinforce behavior and its benefits - they just need a bit of help to turn that power in a positive direction.

 

Hypnosis is very effective for skin picking, as it can help you regain control, increase your awareness and ability to choose more beneficial responses. The hypnotic trance is also good for deep relaxation, so your stress and anxiety levels are reduced, which in turn makes it less likely that you'll want to pick your skin.

In the deeply relaxed state of hypnosis, your subconscious is more receptive to revising thoughts and actions, so you can:

• increase your awareness of how skin picking operates, especially increasing awareness of your hands

• regain control of your focus, so you can tolerate thoughts and urges more readily and consistently

• create and rehearse a new, personalised response that is incompatible with skin picking

• identify trigger situations and people, and rehearse using your new response in these situations

• increase your calm, confidence and relaxation, so the need for skin picking is reduced

• develop a "stop at one" response in case you do start to pick

• build a robust, personalised plan for dealing with any relapses quickly and constructively

• learn how to use self-hypnosis as a direct substitute for the habit/behaviour, as appropriate

• safely and easily identify and work with any past experience/s that may be contributing to your picking

 

Hypnosis may also help you develop the determination, confidence and patience to go through the process of your skin healing and the challenges that are part of the process, such as not picking at scabs or cuticles, keeping going even if you do pick again, and beginning to feel more comfortable with letting light and air onto your skin.

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