Any tried-and-tested way to replace a stim?

Hello! I recently realised that I might be autistic off the back of my child's ADSD diagnosis.  I have received a GP referral for an assessment but I haven't actually been formally diagnosed yet.  Because of my son's ADHD and the strong link between ADHD and autism, I have been doing a lot of research on both. 

One of the many things I found out is that skin-picking can be a form of stimming.  I have never before considered my skin-picking as a stim but instead have always thought it was eczema, although interestingly (thinking back) these eczema have always appeared in places that I can easily hide, like the very bottom of my lower back and on the back of my neck just below the hairline (I have long hair), for example.  The compulsive picking can become so bad at times that I would cry while picking because the patch of skin is raw and bleeding but I just could not stop, and no eczema ointment has ever helped, even when at times when I was prescribed with quite strong steroid cream.  During the day I could sometimes stop myself from skin-picking through will power, but it's much harder at night time, especially if I wake up in the middle of the night and I start picking at my skin while I'm still drowsy, then I won't be able to stop myself and the skin-picking not only damage my skin, but it stops me from falling asleep again.

So my question is, has anyone here tried, or know of, a good way of replacing skin-picking stim with something else and worked?  I would really appreciate it if I can find a way to stop picking at my skin!

Thanks!

  • I have 85% successfully replaced finger skin picking of over 30 years with a fidget toy. Because it's always my fingers, the toy goes around my fingers to divert my habit. But there may be possibilities for other parts of the body.

  • Hi and welcome to the community!

    I suggest talking to your GP, as recommended in this NHS article:

    NHS - Skin picking disorder

    They might, for example, recommend talking therapy including habit reversal training. If so, then I recommend asking for a therapist who has a good knowledge of autism, along with experience of working with autistic patients. 

    You could also try wearing gloves (specialist or otherwise), perhaps including at night. This website, for example, offers gloves that are designed specifically for that purpose, whilst still enabling you to use a touchscreen on your phone or tablet:

    Fingers & Thumbs

    In respect of suggestions for other ways to satisfy your urges, I've seen elsewhere that a fellow autistic person found "picky pads" very helpful in cutting down on this type of stimming behaviour. There are some examples here:

    Amazon - Picky Pads

    Finally, you might also like to check out these NAS resources (OCD can be a common comorbid mental health condition with ASD):

    NAS - Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD)

    NAS - Self-injurious behaviour

    NAS - Stimming

    Sorry - that's a lot of reading! :)

  • Hey there

    I don’t know of a replacement but if you search on here with keywords you will come across many threads on this topic. Slightly related I am in exactly the same position as you with your child’s diagnosis and you waiting for assessment. Also I bite all the skin in the inside of my mouth and all around the skin around my nails (sometimes until it bleeds) This for me is a stim, it goes relatively unnoticed when out and about and has worked for me but I too need to find an alternative. 
    You might want to look on some threads about the use of fidget toys as there is quite a lot of information about what others found useful. 

    I do wish you luck with finding another replacement