I think I've already spoken about this once before. It's supposedly a habit in that "What's your worst habit" thread or some shit.
I pick the skin around the side of my thumbs constantly. To the point of bleeding. Once it bleeds, I stop, let it heal up and once it's "pickable" I resume picking it and the process loops.
The skin around my thumb is now discolored from skin constantly dying and trying to grow back the way it is. It's somewhat gray.. like skin cells have died several times. I don't know.
The question as to why I pick it? I don't understand at all. I don't know. No clue why I do it. I just do it, subconsciously without even trying. I can't stop. I've tried.
Well, I just did some googling and this is what I found out.
Picking compulsions are psychological in nature. Just think about it – you’re doing it to yourself, no one forces you. Some inner force takes over your body, and it is often stronger than your will power.
Compulsive picking is only a symptom of a deeper illness taking place inside you. You cannot stop picking by treating the symptoms – you need to treat the cause.
Common causes of compulsive skin picking are:
-Stress, anxiety and other psychological factors.
-Neurological imbalance caused by overloading stress to the nervous system.
-Chemical imbalance.
-Traumatic events, particularly in childhood.
-Heredity (oftentimes it runs in the family).
...these are only to name a few. All the causes are interconnected and you can expect to identify a few of them in your case.
