#nail picking

I once was picking at a scab from a pimple so much a few years back that it turned into something else I don’t remember the name of but because I kept damaging it so often my skin went “fuck off” and created a kind of hard scab thingy that has a medical term I don’t remember anymore and I had to put stuff on it (I think it was a form of an acid that would slowly break it down to go back to normal if I remember correctly) and fight myself not to pick at it so it would heal properly

After I stopped picking at my face I picked at my nails which . I’ve always picked at my nails like in the background of the other stuff. But anyways I kept accidentally hurting myself from picking my nails so much they’d bleed and my nail beds would hurt so I would put nail polish on and tried hard to will myself not to pick because ooo! Ooo look you’re messing up your nail polish oo nooo my pretty nail polish and eventually it worked, and I pretty much always have nail polish on now and I pick at it when it’s chipped at a certain point but I don’t hurt my nails as bad. And then my hands discovered the skin around my nails and went “LOOPHOLE” and now the skin around my left thumb is noticeably constantly red and raw and sometimes it bleeds a little but not commonly and my other thumb as been picked on too so I’ve been trying to use bandaids when I remember to because I keep fucking my thumbs up without thinking about it much

It’s mostly picking with my fingers but sometimes I do bite at the skin around my nails on all my fingers but mostly my thumbs. my thumbs take most of the beating now a days

If I don’t keep my nails short I start picking at them and start ripping at and hurting my nails all over again

[ID: Two flags with eleven horizontal stripes, the fourth and eighth of which are very thin, the middle of which is slightly thin, and the fifth and seventh of which are slightly thick. In order, the stripes of the first flag are dark blue, pink, soft red, peach, pale pink, white, pale pink, peach, soft red, pink, and dark blue. The stripes of the second are dark blue, light blue, muted blue, peach, pale pink, white, pale pink, peach, muted blue, light blue, and dark blue. /End ID.]

Onychotillomania - A body-focused repetitive behavior (BFRB) characterized by compulsive picking of the fingernails, often to the point of physical damage.

Onychophagia - A BFRB characterized by compulsive biting or chewing of the fingernails, often to the point of physical damage.

The dark blue stripes come from the BFRB flag created by @beyond-mogai-pride-flags. Consider these alt flags, since I know flags for these have already been created before!

Her nail picking is such a troubling situation despite her saying she can control it