This list is still growing. If anyone wants to be on this page, don't hesitate to send something in: the address to write to is saveface@mailcity.com. There is no criteria for what you can submit. You can write anything from a full-length bio to simply your name.
| Ruby.
Call me Ruby...it's my birthstone. I'm 28 and have been picking my skin
for 20 years. I also have trichotillomania (compulsive hair pulling). I
am a student of life and although I have battled with depression for most
of my years I am learning to embrace life with both arms and look for beauty
in everything I see. I have three men in my life: My boyfriend of two years who is my knight in a shimmering snakeskin suit. He's incredibly supportive of my battle with skin picking and I'm not sure what I'd do without him... The other two men are my cats Sailor and Oliver. My babies. I take Zoloft for depression but I think that it may have aggravated my picking by instilling a tad of anxiety. I continue taking it, though. I listen to (almost) all types of music: from Ambient to Zydeco. The highlight of last year was taking a road trip from Los Angeles (where I live) to New Orleans. What a great city! My New Year's resolution is to learn how to play the cello. My boyfriend plays violin and I'd like to do duets with him. I gobble up books and movies whole. I recently read "She's Come Undone" by Wally Lamb despite the fact that it had an "oprah's book club" stamp on it. I re-read anything by Dorothy Allison, adore the poetry of Pablo Neruda and love David Mamet. Recently saw "Magnolia" and found it to be a little lenghthy but enjoyed it nonetheless. See, I'm not just a picker! Jennifer. My name is Jennifer and I'm 25 (almost 26). I've been picking for most of my life and have had problems with nail biting and hair plucking before too. I think a lot of my picking is due to OCD, body dysmorphic disorder, depression, social phobia, and Crohn's disease (a chronic auto-immune disorder which has caused me a lot of stress and pain) . I have been on Zoloft before, but it made all of my problems 100 times worse. Therapy did help me somewhat, but I had to stop going. I recently went through a terrible battle to get Medicaid and now that I have it, I will be seeing a doctor soon and getting referrals to see specialists for my OCD, Crohn's, etc. I hope to on the road to recovery soon. I am currently unemployed, but I write, read, listen to music, and lead a rather fulfilling life for someone so sick. I plan on going to college in the fall- but I will be going from home, which is a huge relief. I would like to be an author and maybe a librarian, if I can ever work outside of home again. My favorite authors are Clive Barker (who I got to meet in 1998), Mercedes Lackey, Anne McCaffrey, Sheri S. Tepper, Arthur C. Clarke, Anne Rice, Kate Chopin, etc. My favorite bands and musicians are Depeche Mode, Recoil, Tori Amos, Loreena McKennitt, Kate Bush, Live, etc. I love to watch movies and the X-Files, Buffy, and Daria. I also collect, restore, and customize Barbie dolls. I have had a boyfriend for almost four and half years now. He has been wonderfully supportive through all of my problems and he's so understanding. I never thought anyone could possibly love and understand me so much. My cats have also helped me cope. They have even jumped on me to prevent me from picking before. I have recently come out to a few family members and friends, and they understood a lot more than I thought they would. But some of them pick as well. I've also sought online support groups to help me cope, but many of them were more devoted to self-injurious behaviors like cutting and burning, although I did meet fellow skin pickers as well. I'm so glad this website and the support list on Onelist exist! Jennifer |
||||