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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]
OP here. Thank you, thank you for this list!

Of all these, peeling glue seems like the thing that would most appeal to dc (who also likes to pick at paint, her cuticles, anything that has started coming off already). She often has a rainbow loom bracelet on, but that doesn't seem to substitute for her skin.

[b]What is something that an adult could have told you when you were young that would have motivated you to try to redirect yourself? [/b]Infection and scarring are too abstract/in the future for my child to care about.[/quote]

In my case, I know you don't want to hear this, but I'm not sure what if anything would have worked. I'm 22 and I still pick skin and scabs. Now that I'm in a professional job I'm really trying to notice when I'm doing it and remember that no matter how much it feels like the thing to be doing  I cannot do it anymore. I'm not really all that successful at redirecting myself even now.

The first thing I think would be to find out if she even notices she's doing it. You can't stop yourself doing something you don't even realize you're doing until after it's done. I only notice the blood afterwards, usually.

One thing I'm almost sure would have worked, because it's basically what I use now, probably isn't the healthiest since it feeds directly into my social anxiety. Basically, if an adult in my life had wanted to go this route they could have very bluntly told me people were going to think I was weird and gross if they saw me doing that, and I needed to not if I wanted friends.  But I don't necessarily recommend that. It could easily create a bigger mess.

Maybe:
- you're probably going to want to stop that someday, and the more of an ingrained habit it is the harder it will be to kick
- (since mine was because of primarily social anxiety) pointing out that it only makes me feel more awkward when I know my face has a giant red spot, so clearly it's not helping me fix the underlying problem at all might have worked, if it had focused on me choosing logical actions, not on others judging me for my current ones
- convince her she's beautiful, then point out that irritated skin from being picked at detracts from her natural beauty and she's perfectly wonderful the way she is, even with whatever she's trying to pick off

Sorry, I'm probably not the best one to ask for tips on this, since I haven't successfully stopped doing it myself yet. I wish I could be more helpful.[/quote]

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