I have a skin picking problem. It's being going on for a few years on and off, but since I started having serious mental health issues in September 2019 it's been pretty bad. I've had several infections, and I'm extremely self-conscious about how it looks. I don't want to keep doing it, but it feels impossible to stop, like there's something making me. Whenever I feel the bump of a scab or an imperfection in my skin, I have to pick at it or I feel uneasy.

My mom hasn't been very patient with me, and she wants me to get fake nails. I tried them once and I hated them. It helped with the picking, but I hated how they got in the way and I couldn't control how long they were (I have to have my nails short or it bothers me). I also know that it wouldn't be a long term fix unless I wore them forever, because every time I get an area (like my face) looking better, in a few weeks I've made new spots and it gets bad all over again. I'm tired of living like this. How can I stop??