what is really going on when someone picks at a sore or cut, sometimes for years?

Question

All my life I've had a place on my body that I relentlessly pick at, in a way it feels "good"
After, I try to hide and quickly heal it. Right now I have three places I pick at, one is an old spot that healed.. Help me understand if you can..

Answer 1

I, actually, totally understand! I think it's a form of OCD. It's like you get a rush of endorphins when you pick. I have at least 2 other friends who are the same, so don't feel alone! The fact is, that you could keep picking at these places and then those spots will never heal and you will develop something like an epidermal depression in those areas, which could lead to infection. Try to stop if you can! ut i can' t either!

Answer 2

I see that you have a lot of good answers here and that some where given negative ratings but in fact are very good answers. I think you might find some really good and helpful. I hope that you read each one and think about what it is saying. I was thinking it might be a physiological issue and an attention getter. If you have a sore you can complain and draw the attention of someone you wish would notice you, but the truth is no one will ever really know the truth about the picking accept you. You say it feels good in an odd sort of way..pain is pain and it is not good....think as to why you would want to hurt your self? You don't need to be hurt you are a loving human being .....I am rambling on but like I said you hold the key as to why, all you need to do now is answer your question and help your self ..maybe try rubber band to snap on your wrist for the feel good pain thing going on?I hope we all have given you some in-site and now the mother in me says ..stop picking it is going to leave a scar and do you want a mark there forever?!!
~Good Luck~

Answer 3

I get the same thing I'm sure it is physiological.U just need to get medical attention such as test for bacteria, fungus or some kind of re-occurring disease. To clear the scab is perfectly normal something in severe cases nurses will do to help it breath and assist the healing process ....I've asked Dr.'s they just say folliculitis or take a look of indifference . I guess the Dr.'s need to be motivated to go into treatment mode .

Answer 4

First find out why are you doing it?
You had mentioned that you feels good doing it.
Why does it makes you feels good?
How do you feel after you had get the over the 'feel good' feeling ah the physical part.
The worst thing you will get is scar that will never heal which will be with you with the rest of your life.

Take care.

Answer 5

Usually when people pick at sores or places on their bodies continuously, it is a way of relieving anxiety. Are you normally an anxious person? You might want to discuss this with your doctor, because there are a lot of medications that can relieve the anxiety effectively and keep you from continuously picking at places on your body.

Answer 6

Psychologists might call it a form of self-mutilation, in the same way that some people are compelled to cut themselves, burn themselves, or do other self-destructive things. Nailbiting - in adults - is a mild form as well. It is, as far as I understand it, a way of expressing some sort of resentment at one's body or self - even self-hatred that has never been resolved.

I do understand the feeling. I wrote this poem a few years ago. Perhaps you can appreciate its rather disturbing images and subject matter more fully than many others might. Please don't hide it any longer, dear, but bring the issue up soon with your doctor, a parent, or someone you can trust; they may be able to help you more fully so that you can resolve whatever issues are troubling you. I hope the poem helps you know that others share those feelings and difficulties. Hugs, from the bard...

--------------------------------------------

SCABS

I have a tight-drawn fascination with the imperfect,
an uneasy compulsion to smooth and remove.

Splinters on tables must be sanded away,
hangnails clipped ruthlessly down,
a withered flower on a stem picked free,
a loose thread worried at;
the protrusions of erring skin on my body hold an irresistible frustration.

Whiteheads are not to be abided –
those tiny pits of waxy filth, maggots pushing against my pores –
nor insect bites,
breaking the boundary
between inside and out
and leaving unknown venoms with their tiny penetrations.

Scabs in particular
are an emotional itch, an impossible incrustation
to be removed.
The raised irregular surface,
the lifting edges, even
the dark, swollen colour
that declares it alien, not-usual, un-good,
all a violation of the smooth surfaces of my body.


(italics) I dig my nails under it, picking, lifting, scratching away the crust. Like some grotesque miniature pastry it comes free, layered and flaky. There is satisfaction in the pit of clean pink flesh for a few seconds before the ooze begins to seep back in, trying to fill the crater I have exposed, beginning to dry already, baking in the heat of my skin. (italics)


perfectionism frustrating itself, making scarred mountains out of initial molehills?
/ or /
a self-destructive impulse that scantly grows rather than diminishes the ample body?
/or /
mere nervous habit and childish lack of control paid for in permanent signage?


the round white kisses of chicken pox between my breasts,
the welts on my legs and rump, once infected hairs,
the mosquito mottling on the backs of my hands…
as a Kama Sutran lover leaves a trail of his passions along his lover’s body,
crescent nail marks,
patterned bites
and red splotches of sucked flesh like henna traceries,

so a not-dissimilar emotion shows its paths on mine.



Copyright Bardmistress 2003

Answer 7

sometimes it's a form of self injury...but can be related to other disorders like OCD and eating disorders... I guess it depends on why you are doing it and what it makes you feel , not just while you are doing it, but after as well. Compulsions are just what they are, you may need to look inside of yourself to discover what need you are meeting when you are involved in that behaviour.

Answer 8

I think it's a sign of neurotic tendencies. Or boredom. Or anxiety. Or a subconcious desire to injure yourself. I pick at cuts all the time--sometimes until they bleed. I konw exactly where you're coming from, and even I don't know why I do it.

Answer 9

I DO know that anytime someone irritates a certain place on their skin that it can easily become cancerous or malignant. It is a proven fact. Better be really careful doing that.

Answer 10

It sounds like a nervous habit . Replace it with something else before it developes cancer .