Lived Experience Forum

[Eddie]

Hi everyone.

I'm new to this forum, and I must say, it's quite nice! I'd like to start of with admitting to a mistake. I accidentaly emailed the sane helpline about this not realising that that's for serious matters. I decided to then post a discussion in the 'looking after our wellbeing' thread in the Lived Experience Forum. 

Okay, so this may not be the msot serious issue, but it's starting to kind of worry me. Recently I have been constantly pulling my nose. I almost constantly have a red nose now because of it. I pull it so hard sometimes I am worried it might come off. I'm not sure why I think this, because I definitely wouldn't have the physical strenth to do that. I also think I've pulled my cartialge off for some reason. All my friends have felt my nose, and they say it's "super soft" and "very strange". I think I might eed some help to quit this addiction. Help would be appreciated.

Thanks,

Eddie

[GothMum]

Hi Eddie. Welcome aboard 😎 Have you consulted a health care professional about this? I pick at the skin under my heels when I'm anxious, and know many people who chew their lips, pull hair, etc to 'self soothe ' when over stimulated or anxious. Could that be a reason for the behaviour? Regardless, if it is either causing you distress or pain a first step would be to consult a GP/ counsellor/therapist. And don't worry whether your concern is 'serious enough'. It is certainly causing difficulty for you - that is serious enough!

[Artaud]

Hi, Just checking in to see you are traveling ok. Sometimes we do thinngs a a nervoious reaction to stress or other negative things in our lives. i thought I would just remind you if you are uncertain about what happening with yourself you can always see your GP.

Regards Artaud

[Eddie]

Hi guys

Thanks for the replys. I'll try get an appointment with my GP in he days to come.

When I pull my nose, it's usually when I am reading a book, or watching something, like a movie or video with my other free hand I pull my nose. I pull my nose basically whenever I can, and sometimes I pull a bit harder when I am anxious (e.g. the outcome of a footy game or anxious for a result in an exam of some sort). 

I'm mainly seeking a way to stop something like this. Got any ideas? 

Thanks again for the replies,

~Eddie

[supernova]

Hi @Eddie,

Welcome to the Forums and thanks for your post!

Nose pulling is not something I’ve heard a lot about, but if it’s distressing to you and you’re worried about it, then there’s certainly cause to reach out for support! So it’s great to see you posting here to get some ideas. I do hope there are some helpful suggestions that you can take away!

As @GothMum and @Artaud mentioned, pulling/picking kinds of behaviour can sometimes be associated with anxiety or stress. I’m not sure if anything has changed in your life recently that might be driving the behaviour? You mentioned that you pull harder when you’re feeling anxious, so I wonder if the two are related? Maybe it could be helpful to think about what’s triggering your pulling, what makes it’s worse or better, and what you’re thinking about or feeling when it’s happening. Perhaps keeping a diary of your pulling can help you identify patterns in the behaviour and work out what might be driving it?

I’m not sure if you’ve heard much about trichotillomania, but it sounds somewhat similar to what you’re experiencing, except it’s to do with hair pulling rather than nose pulling. Perhaps some of the techniques people use to reduce hair pulling (e.g., habit reversal training) might be helpful to reduce nose pulling? 

Again, it’s always good to get a medical opinion, especially if you are concerned that you might be doing some damage to your nose. So you might want to chat to your GP about it and even ask them about seeing a psychologist for some support. A psychologist might be able to help you understand why you're pulling your nose and perhaps develop a behavioural program to reduce the frequency and intensity of the behaviour.

Hope that helps!

All the best,
supernova.

[Appleblossom]

 I have a mild case of the trich word that the mod posted.  I read about it a year ago, but it helps to actually know others who deal with it.  Mine is pulling hair or skin and probably developed from biting nails.  I see it as energy turned inwards and one of the lesser behaviour problems, but try to contain it and not to let it get too insistent, have never spoken about it to a professional.  You inspire me to mention it next time.  It has been for around 15 years when I stopped the more definite SHing that I used to do.