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happydorkgirl
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08 Oct 2011, 1:05 pm

Does anyone else pick at their skin? I have holes and scars all over my arms from constantly picking at them.



LittleBlackCat
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08 Oct 2011, 4:28 pm

I constantly pick at the skin on my face and especially my scalp. Never thought of it as a particularly Aspie thing to do (even when it got mentioned by people on this site with reference to stimming) but was looking at the Wikipidia entry for AS yesterday and it's explicitly referenced. Wikipidia seems to think it's an OCD type behaviour and possibly linked to anxiety, although I don't particularly feel anxious when I do it, it's more just a habit.



hanyo
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08 Oct 2011, 5:00 pm

Sometimes but only if there is something there to pick, like a pimple, bump, or other blemish.



happydorkgirl
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08 Oct 2011, 5:45 pm

LittleBlackCat wrote:
I cNever thought of it as a particularly Aspie thing to do (even when it got mentioned by people on this site with reference to stimming) but was looking at the Wikipidia entry for AS yesterday and it's explicitly referenced. Wikipidia seems to think it's an OCD type behaviour and possibly linked to anxiety, although I don't particularly feel anxious when I do it, it's more just a habit.


I had no idea that it was referenced there! I guess I should read the article, huh?


I have little bumps all over my skin and I pick at those. I don't really think about anything when I do it - I'll just find myself doing it.



IdahoRose
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08 Oct 2011, 11:11 pm

I have had a problem picking at acne and scabs since I was a teenager. It's mostly on my face, shoulders and upper arms, but I have little scars in other places too. I'm not sure why I do it, other than the fact that it feels good and I like seeing and feeling blood and pus coming out of my skin. (Though oddly enough, I am actually quite grossed out by seeing other people pop zits or pick at scabs.) I've gotten an infection once from it, but I still do it anyway.

By the way, there is a word for compulsive skin-picking: dermatillomania. It's considered to be a less-common cousin of trichtillomania (compulsive hair-pulling).



Xenabaiche
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09 Oct 2011, 2:14 am

Ugh, I pick at everything. If I have a scab or pimple, or a clogged pore, I NEEED to pick!! ! I even go as far as picking at my husband. I also strangely love having people pluck my eyebrows....



nick007
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09 Oct 2011, 9:54 am

I used to do that as a kid quite a lot but I had very bad skin-enema(atopic dermatitis; & one of my nicknames was Poison Ivy Boy) & picking at my skin was also a very compulsive habit whenever I was stressed, angry, frustrated or otherwise upset. I would scratch till I bled when I became upset. My excuse was that I itched more but looking back I think it was a psychological thing that may of been related & escalated by the skin eczema


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Guineapigged
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09 Oct 2011, 1:45 pm

Yes, a lot. I mainly pick at the soles of my feet, my hands, and chew the insides of my cheeks.



sagan
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10 Oct 2011, 10:58 pm

I pick and scratch everything. It is horrible. Only when I am anxious, but it seems I am always anxious / nervous lately, sooo.... Im a bit of a mess...

Arggg...


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wonderboy
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11 Oct 2011, 6:51 pm

I use to skin pick my hands but now I do it to the soles of my feet. I do it if I have a pimple as well. I wish I could stop.



RandomNickname
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12 Oct 2011, 4:32 pm

Ew guys

.. Then again, i bite my nails and the skin around my nails.. Until they bleed. No idea why :|


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just-me
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12 Oct 2011, 9:39 pm

I pick my lip all the time. and i used to pick my butt which ended up needing surgery. needless to say i dont pick my butt anymore.



just-me
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12 Oct 2011, 9:40 pm

and in my evaluation for my AS the DR classed my lip picking as a stim.



Mahlon
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21 Oct 2011, 6:43 pm

This has come and gone for me since I was very young, and tends to be a coping as well as a stimming behavior. I started out when i was younger with my fingers and cuticles, and then someday magically stopped (not sure how that happened) and its come and gone in a few different ways throughout the years, with the past 3 years or so becoming a problem for me.

My ears and face are definitely my main issue areas, and I will pick any and all scabs, and pimples & blackheads just have to be popped.

Its definitely something I try not to do, and I find myself doing it when concentrating / focusing / spacing out as a stim, and at other times its a subconscious act when stressed and bothered. I get a great amount of pleasure from it usually, making things "right" but its really starting to get out of control and I'm struggling to stop.

Not one of my favorite autistic traits, but there it is.



LunaUlysses
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28 Oct 2011, 5:26 am

I pick and chew on the skin around my fingernails, and if I let my nails grow out, I will chew and bite them to the point where it hurts really bad.
When I was a child, I scratched and picked at my ears, and pulled out my eyebrows and eyelashes. Every so often, when I'm watching tv and I'm bored, I'll get a pair of tweezers and tweeze my body hair. Every once in a while I catch myself going for my eyebrows and eyelashes, but I stop myself. Also, when I get frustrated and upset, I get a handful of my hair and pull on it.



ZaannV
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28 Oct 2011, 2:45 pm

yes yes yes!! holy crap. Ive not known anyone else who does this. i pick pick bite cut my hand fingers face. I DONT know im doing it. I really dont see it. My hands and fingers are in a gross mess because of the compulsive biting and piking, ive caused scarring to myself and i do it all the time, non stop but i cant help it and dont know im doing it. its really disgusting and painful. i dont know why i do it but i cant seem to control myself, it really is compulsive. i pull at my hair and eyebrows and its hard to stop it .i dont know if this kind of behaviour is part of aspergers?


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