r/calmhands

Pic 1 - worst infected cuticle I ever got

Pic 2- day 1 no bite

Pic 3+4 -day 12

accidentally put these photos in the wrong order so the second one is the most recent and the last one is the earliest. had to take the nail off because it was very thin and damaged like paper and there was a crack down the middle. wasnt painful and didnt bleed underneath but im still hoping the matrix isnt damaged. it’s only been two weeks so I’m not expecting a whole lot of growth, but the bed looks nice and healed. I just trimmed the shards so everything could grow back even and so it wouldn’t snag on stuff. this is my second time losing a nail so this isn’t new to me, but the first time was much worse and it grew back fine so I’m trying to be hopeful. I’m just hoping the whole entire nail hasn’t caught up yet with the rest of it. hope i worded this right. lol

TW: some graphic details but low intensity.

I’ve struggled within picking my cuticles ever since I was 12 or 13. And everytime I’ve tried stopping it’s never lasted more than a few minutes. I skin pick when I’m anxious/stressed more than usual, out of boredom, when I’m focused and working - basically almost anytime I’m not actively using my hands. Cutting my nails helps for sometime but I use my teeth to peel off the cuticles too. Sometimes it gets to the point the cuts start bleeding and it all just stings and burns. I don’t feel shame around others seeing my fingers etc., maybe I’ve normalized it. But I do want to just stop picking the skin. It’s same with peeling the skin of my lips and under my toes, but is less frequent.

I have ADHD and that might affect it as well, but I’d love to hear stories of how y’all reduced this habit or what helped you/if you could direct me to the post if you’ve already written about this! Glad this community exists 🫂

I’ve tried to stop before but it didn’t seem as easy as it does this time. Idk. I’m so tired of the constant bleeding and yearly ER visits for paronychia. I’m embarrassed. I want cool nail polish. I’m giving it another 14 days before I can paint them so as not to draw attention to how gross they are.

Not sure what this is.

about a week or so ago i caught the bottom of my nail with some tweezers and pulled it up. From there i just kept picking slowly until it got to today. I picked out some dangling skin from the corner and not long later that area started bubbling up, and now it’s here. is this some kind of infection??? should i go see a doctor, or am i ok??? (< obviously not but… yknow)

i really need to get my shit together. idk if its dermatillomania or if im just making excuses but 🚶‍♂️‍➡️

I dont have many pictures of my nails when I was a chronic biter because I was embarassed. Press on nails helped me kick the habit. This was about 5 months of no nail biting. I also used cuticle oil often, and kept my cuticles pushed back.

I have been a picker for my whole life, I’m 26 now. I recently had the longest no pick streak of my life, it was almost a year. They were so long and strong and it felt so good to not be embarrassed of my hands.

I “relapsed” a few weeks ago and it has been so bad. I have literally spent all of today in a trance of picking. Like literally 6+ hours. I am literally so angry at myself that I have ruined all of my progress.

I can’t even wear t shirts because my hands are exposed and there are no sleeves to hide them in. I don’t know what to do. I’m so jealous of everyone who feels zero urge to do this. Like this is so so so terrible and painful I’m so upset. They are so sore. I don’t even like eating around people because my hands are exposed!!!!! I know a lot of people here feel the same way but it’s so hard in real life when no one else struggles with it and I can feel them looking at them

I feel like I’ve dug myself in this hole because now that they’re so bad there are so many spots to pick at. I don’t even know where to start

This is the worst that I can remember back of how bad this is. I'm not letting any wounds heal before I'm picking and digging again. I just found this group and it's already cathartic to me. It's like I've found my people but, I feel so bad for us. We rip apart our bodies until we bleed

I genuinely don’t know how to break this habit. I’ve only been picking my ring finger and it’s been like this for a couple of years. I would get my nails done and let my nails grow out but then I regress. For some background, I used to pick my thumb as a young child for reasons I’m not sure of but with discipline I was able to grow out of it. I’m pretty sure 5-6 years ago I picked up this habit. I would like to blame it on a high stress environment but there is just a certain pain that is addicting (sorry if thats weird). I just need any advice really. I was good up until recently I don’t have any pics of it being really bad.

I didn’t realize I had a problem until just one day, it all clicked that I probably shouldn’t be bleeding & hurting myself; not to mention that it doesn’t even look good when the skin is all swollen & red. I’ve been using cuticle oil, lotion, & Aquaphor healing ointment. Also, I don’t wash my hands as often at home unless it’s soiled or I’m out (germaphobe, nurse OCD 🙃).

Day 4.