Beyond Skin Picking & Hair Pulling

Raffaela
  • 5.0 (24)
  • Self-Improvement
  • Weekly

Beyond Skin Picking & Hair Pulling is a refuge for the veterans of chronic skin picking, hair pulling, and nail biting, where we address this issue through the lens of addiction and holistic healing. Here, you learn how to heal through the root cause: emotional regulation, feeling deeply, understanding your past, trauma, the science of addiction, and the power of compassion. When all the surface-level solutions have been exhausted, this is where your heart draws you - To the truth, deep healing, and freedom. It's time to come home to you. My name is Raffaela Maire. I've healed from 15 years of chronic skin picking by treating it as an addiction and learning how to feel my feelings deeply. Now I am a coach helping others, like you, to heal as I did. This podcast is where I endeavour to share everything I know with you so that you can find your path forward to creating long-term, sustainable change. Not only so you can reduce the length, severity, and frequency of picking, pulling, and biting sessions, but also to become more of the person you are at your core - confident, secure, sure, and wonderfully, beautifully unique. 

  1. 2d ago

    138: Morning Nervous System Reset: Guided Meditation for Skin Picking, Hair Pulling & Anxiety

    Do you wake up with a racing mind, anxiety, or an overwhelming sense of urgency before your day even begins? In this episode, we do a gentle morning nervous system regulation practice to help you feel calmer, safer, and more connected to yourself. Discover how mindful breathing, grounding techniques, and radical acceptance can help you manage anxiety, self-doubt, and urges related to skin picking, hair pulling, and nail biting. You'll learn to make space for difficult emotions without fighting them, recognize positive possibilities, and build greater emotional awareness. Through gratitude and self-compassion, this guided morning meditation encourages you to release unnecessary expectations and begin your day with more confidence and inner peace. Episode highlights: (0:00) Why morning nervous system regulation matters for healing (0:34) Building emotional awareness to manage picking, pulling, and biting urges (3:04) Introducing the Strength healing program (4:51) Beginning the guided morning nervous system practice (5:40) Grounding and deep breathing to create inner safety (7:34) Understanding morning anxiety, urgency, and self-doubt (9:42) Practicing radical acceptance instead of resisting emotions (13:29) Letting go of perfection and building emotional awareness (15:50) Recognizing positive emotions and new possibilities (18:59) Using gratitude to create a more peaceful mindset (20:39) Releasing expectations and emotional pressure (22:11) Closing with self-compassion and appreciation 💌Share your story - Book your FREE BFPA* Support Call with me ✅VIP Access to BFPA Masterclasses + Workshops 🌟Download your FREE Guide to Stop Skin Picking Using Somatics 🎯Join the 7-Day Skin Picking Recovery Challenge 🤓JOIN LIVE - FREE BFPA Monthly Masterclass ✨Join - BEYOND Support Group on WhatsApp 🙋‍♀️Send me a message here My name is Raffaela Marie. I'm a holistic BFRB coach who has healed from 15 years of chronic skin picking myself and dedicated my life to helping driven women do the same. Through my podcast, free resources, and programs, I teach strategies to overcome urges, build emotional safety, and expand into authenticity. My approach goes beyond quick fixes, focusing on root causes and long-term recovery.

  2. Nov 3

    137: Is Self-Compassion the Missing Key to Healing Skin Picking, Hair Pulling & Nail Biting?

    What if the key to healing skin picking, hair pulling, and nail biting is being kinder to yourself, not harder? In this episode, we explore why self-compassion is essential for lasting change and how harsh self-criticism can hold you back. Discover the difference between compassion and giving up, why your struggles don't define your worth, and three simple ways to practice self-compassion. Learning how treating yourself with kindness can help reduce shame, build healthier habits, and support your healing journey. Articles Referenced in this episode: Risk and Resilience Current Psychiatry Vol. 15, No. 12 19 Being compassionate to oneself is associated with emotional resilience and psychological well-being Kristin Neff, PhD The Power of Self-Compassionate Motivation Episode highlights: (00:00) Why self-compassion matters for skin picking, hair pulling, and nail biting (03:35) Learning to rest without feeling guilty (04:29) The biggest misconception about self-compassion and motivation (06:02) Understanding self-judgment, complacency, and compassion (07:57) The piano analogy: Why kindness supports lasting change (12:00) Your habits do not define your worth (14:16) Three simple ways to practice self-compassion (15:21) Common humanity: Finding support and knowing you're not alone (17:48) Mindfulness: Separating your struggles from your identity (20:46) How self-compassion supports long-term healing and emotional freedom 💌Share your story - Book your FREE BFPA* Support Call with me ✅VIP Access to BFPA Masterclasses + Workshops 🌟Download your FREE Guide to Stop Skin Picking Using Somatics 🎯Join the 7-Day Skin Picking Recovery Challenge 🤓JOIN LIVE - FREE BFPA Monthly Masterclass ✨Join - BEYOND Support Group on WhatsApp 🙋‍♀️Send me a message here My name is Raffaela Marie. I'm a holistic BFRB coach who has healed from 15 years of chronic skin picking myself and dedicated my life to helping driven women do the same. Through my podcast, free resources, and programs, I teach strategies to overcome urges, build emotional safety, and expand into authenticity. My approach goes beyond quick fixes, focusing on root causes and long-term recovery.

  3. Oct 27

    136: Why Shame Won't Let You Heal (And How to Release It)

    Shame can be one of the biggest things keeping us stuck in the cycle of chronic skin picking, hair pulling and nail biting. We might know logically that there's nothing wrong with us, yet still carry this deep feeling that we're somehow not good enough, that we're broken or that there's something about us that needs fixing. But shame doesn't go away by trying to fix ourselves. It begins to release when we understand where it came from. In this episode, you'll discover: ✨ How shame develops from painful experiences we haven't been able to make sense of, often going all the way back to childhood ✨ Why shame can keep us stuck in the same emotional patterns and make healing from picking, pulling and biting so difficult ✨ How to start uncovering and questioning your own shame stories so you can build a deeper understanding and compassion for yourself I also share a very personal experience from when I was bullied as a child, and how a realisation I had just recently helped me release shame I'd been carrying for over 15 years. The more we understand why we struggle the way we do, the less we judge ourselves for it. And when that shame begins to lift, we can finally start to access and process the feelings that have been sitting underneath it. That's where so much healing can happen. --- Questions to understand shame and release it: 🟣What is the story I'm telling myself about this? 🟣What am I afraid this means about who I am? 🟣When did I first begin believing this? 🟣What does this remind me of? 🟣What was my younger self trying to survive or cope with? 🟣How would I understand another child who experienced the same thing? 🟣What can I see now as an adult that I couldn't see then? 🟣What information or perspective might I still be missing? --- 💌Share your story - Book your FREE BFPA* Support Call with me ✅VIP Access to BFPA Masterclasses + Workshops 🌟Download your FREE Guide to Stop Skin Picking Using Somatics 🎯Join the 7-Day Skin Picking Recovery Challenge 🤓JOIN LIVE - FREE BFPA Monthly Masterclass ✨Join - BEYOND Support Group on WhatsApp 🙋‍♀️Send me a message here My name is Raffaela Marie. I'm a holistic BFRB coach who has healed from 15 years of chronic skin picking myself and dedicated my life to helping driven women do the same. Through my podcast, free resources, and programs, I teach strategies to overcome urges, build emotional safety, and expand into authenticity. My approach goes beyond quick fixes, focusing on root causes and long-term recovery.

  4. Oct 20

    135: What Ultimately Heals Chronic Skin Picking & Hair Pulling

    What if the key to healing from chronic skin picking, hair pulling or nail biting isn't learning how to control the behaviour, but learning how to feel your feelings? Picking, pulling and biting are ways of changing how we feel. They can help us escape anxiety, discomfort, boredom or other emotions we don't quite know how to handle. But when we learn how to actually sit with and process those feelings, we begin to reduce our need to escape them in the first place. In this episode, you'll discover: ✨ Why picking, pulling and biting become ways of escaping difficult emotions — and how understanding this can help you release some of the shame and self-judgement ✨ Three practical ways to start building your ability to feel and process difficult emotions, rather than automatically trying to escape them ✨ How learning to feel deeply can change so much more than your relationship with picking, pulling or biting — including your confidence, self-worth and ability to navigate life's challenges Healing isn't about never feeling anxious, overwhelmed, uncomfortable or afraid again. It's about learning to trust yourself to handle those feelings, knowing what to do when they show up, and no longer needing to escape them in the same way. And as you build that capacity, you're not just changing your relationship with picking, pulling or biting. You're changing your relationship with yourself. 💌Share your story - Book your FREE BFPA* Support Call with me ✅VIP Access to BFPA Masterclasses + Workshops 🌟Download your FREE Guide to Stop Skin Picking Using Somatics 🎯Join the 7-Day Skin Picking Recovery Challenge 🤓JOIN LIVE - FREE BFPA Monthly Masterclass ✨Join - BEYOND Support Group on WhatsApp 🙋‍♀️Send me a message here My name is Raffaela Marie. I'm a holistic BFRB coach who has healed from 15 years of chronic skin picking myself and dedicated my life to helping driven women do the same. Through my podcast, free resources, and programs, I teach strategies to overcome urges, build emotional safety, and expand into authenticity. My approach goes beyond quick fixes, focusing on root causes and long-term recovery.

  5. Oct 13

    134: The Trick to Building Consistent GOOD HABITS (That Will Actually Help You)

    You know there are habits that would be good for you. Exercising, meditating, journaling, doing the deeper work on yourself... And yet, no matter how many times you try, you just can't seem to stay consistent. Maybe you find the motivation when things get really bad, but as soon as life starts feeling better, those good habits slowly fall away again. There's a reason this keeps happening, and it might not be what you think. In this episode, you'll discover: ✨ Why waiting until things get bad to start building good habits can keep you stuck in a frustrating cycle ✨ Three common mistakes that make consistency so difficult — and practical ways to start doing things differently ✨ Why the way you feel about yourself can have such a powerful impact on your ability to follow through with the things you know are good for you Building good habits isn't about forcing yourself to do more or becoming perfectly disciplined. It's about learning how to make positive changes that feel achievable, meaningful and sustainable. And perhaps most importantly, understanding that consistency doesn't mean perfection. It means learning to keep coming back, even when you've fallen out of the habit. Every time you do, you're showing yourself that you're worth the effort. 💌Share your story - Book your FREE BFPA* Support Call with me ✅VIP Access to BFPA Masterclasses + Workshops 🌟Download your FREE Guide to Stop Skin Picking Using Somatics 🎯Join the 7-Day Skin Picking Recovery Challenge 🤓JOIN LIVE - FREE BFPA Monthly Masterclass ✨Join - BEYOND Support Group on WhatsApp 🙋‍♀️Send me a message here My name is Raffaela Marie. I'm a holistic BFRB coach who has healed from 15 years of chronic skin picking myself and dedicated my life to helping driven women do the same. Through my podcast, free resources, and programs, I teach strategies to overcome urges, build emotional safety, and expand into authenticity. My approach goes beyond quick fixes, focusing on root causes and long-term recovery.

  6. Oct 6

    133: This Is What Makes It Into an Addiction – Chronic Skin Picking & Hair Pulling

    Why can chronic skin picking, hair pulling or nail biting become so incredibly addictive? You know the behaviour is hurting you. You desperately want to stop. And yet, your brain keeps pulling you back towards it again and again. There’s actually a reason for this — and when you understand what your brain has learned through these behaviours, so much starts to make sense. In this episode, you'll discover: ✨ How positive reinforcement, negative reinforcement and unpredictable rewards can combine to make picking, pulling and biting incredibly difficult to resist ✨ Why your brain learned to rely on these behaviours in the first place — and why it doesn't mean there's something wrong with you ✨ One of the biggest underlying factors fuelling the addictive cycle and where you can start focusing your healing instead Your brain learned that picking, pulling or biting could help you escape discomfort AND give you relief, soothing or satisfaction. But what your brain has learned, it can also learn to respond to differently. And by building your capacity to navigate your emotional world, you can slowly reduce how much you need these behaviours to do it for you. Resources: Emotion regulation deficits in skin picking (excoriation) disorder: A systematic review The clinical phenomenology of skin-picking disorder – Are there any obsessive-compulsive components? 💌Share your story - Book your FREE BFPA* Support Call with me ✅VIP Access to BFPA Masterclasses + Workshops 🌟Download your FREE Guide to Stop Skin Picking Using Somatics 🎯Join the 7-Day Skin Picking Recovery Challenge 🤓JOIN LIVE - FREE BFPA Monthly Masterclass ✨Join - BEYOND Support Group on WhatsApp 🙋‍♀️Send me a message here My name is Raffaela Marie. I'm a holistic BFRB coach who has healed from 15 years of chronic skin picking myself and dedicated my life to helping driven women do the same. Through my podcast, free resources, and programs, I teach strategies to overcome urges, build emotional safety, and expand into authenticity. My approach goes beyond quick fixes, focusing on root causes and long-term recovery.

  7. Sep 29

    132: Guided Evening Practice To Reduce Picking & Pulling Sessions

    If evenings are when your picking, pulling or biting tends to get worse, this episode is something you can actually come back to and use when you need it. After a whole day of doing, thinking and being “on”, it can be incredibly difficult to suddenly slow down. Your body might be tired, but your nervous system is still carrying everything from the day and picking, pulling or biting can become the way you decompress. This episode is designed to give you another way. In this episode: ✨ I'll guide you through a grounding practice to help you slow down, decompress and give your nervous system space to regulate ✨ You'll practise coming back into your body and the present moment rather than automatically defaulting to picking, pulling or biting ✨ You'll learn how to meet yourself with more softness and compassion at the end of the day — even if you do find yourself picking, pulling or biting This isn't a quick fix, and it's not about having a perfect evening where you don't pick at all. It's a practice you can keep coming back to. And over time, you're building the skills to regulate, slow down and support yourself in the moments you would normally turn to picking, pulling or biting. 💌Share your story - Book your FREE BFPA* Support Call with me ✅VIP Access to BFPA Masterclasses + Workshops 🌟Download your FREE Guide to Stop Skin Picking Using Somatics 🎯Join the 7-Day Skin Picking Recovery Challenge 🤓JOIN LIVE - FREE BFPA Monthly Masterclass ✨Join - BEYOND Support Group on WhatsApp 🙋‍♀️Send me a message here My name is Raffaela Marie. I'm a holistic BFRB coach who has healed from 15 years of chronic skin picking myself and dedicated my life to helping driven women do the same. Through my podcast, free resources, and programs, I teach strategies to overcome urges, build emotional safety, and expand into authenticity. My approach goes beyond quick fixes, focusing on root causes and long-term recovery.

  8. Sep 22

    131: Could Meditation Be The Solution To Chronic Skin Picking & Hair Pulling? (Science Based)

    What if one of the most powerful tools for healing from chronic skin picking, hair pulling or nail biting has nothing to do with trying to stop the urge? Meditation isn't about getting rid of urges. It can help us learn how to notice them, make space for them and not automatically act on them. And there’s some really interesting research showing us why this can be such a powerful practice. In this episode, you'll discover: ✨ What the science tells us about meditation, addiction and our ability to better handle stress and urges ✨ Why meditation can be such a powerful tool for healing from picking, pulling and biting without trying to replace the behaviour ✨ How to actually build a consistent meditation practice (even if you have ADHD or have struggled with consistency in the past) Meditation isn't the solution to chronic skin picking or hair pulling. But it can be a really powerful part of the puzzle. And you don't need to meditate for 30 minutes every day to experience the benefits. The most important part of the practice might simply be learning to keep coming back. Resources: Mindfulness treatment for substance misuse: A systematic review and meta-analysis Relative Efficacy of Mindfulness-Based Relapse Prevention, Standard Relapse Prevention, and Treatment as Usual for Substance Use Disorders The neuroscience of mindfulness meditation How Meditation for Addiction Can Help With Recovery 💌Share your story - Book your FREE BFPA* Support Call with me ✅VIP Access to BFPA Masterclasses + Workshops 🌟Download your FREE Guide to Stop Skin Picking Using Somatics 🎯Join the 7-Day Skin Picking Recovery Challenge 🤓JOIN LIVE - FREE BFPA Monthly Masterclass ✨Join - BEYOND Support Group on WhatsApp 🙋‍♀️Send me a message here My name is Raffaela Marie. I'm a holistic BFRB coach who has healed from 15 years of chronic skin picking myself and dedicated my life to helping driven women do the same. Through my podcast, free resources, and programs, I teach strategies to overcome urges, build emotional safety, and expand into authenticity. My approach goes beyond quick fixes, focusing on root causes and long-term recovery.

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5
out of 5
24 Ratings

About

Beyond Skin Picking & Hair Pulling is a refuge for the veterans of chronic skin picking, hair pulling, and nail biting, where we address this issue through the lens of addiction and holistic healing. Here, you learn how to heal through the root cause: emotional regulation, feeling deeply, understanding your past, trauma, the science of addiction, and the power of compassion. When all the surface-level solutions have been exhausted, this is where your heart draws you - To the truth, deep healing, and freedom. It's time to come home to you. My name is Raffaela Maire. I've healed from 15 years of chronic skin picking by treating it as an addiction and learning how to feel my feelings deeply. Now I am a coach helping others, like you, to heal as I did. This podcast is where I endeavour to share everything I know with you so that you can find your path forward to creating long-term, sustainable change. Not only so you can reduce the length, severity, and frequency of picking, pulling, and biting sessions, but also to become more of the person you are at your core - confident, secure, sure, and wonderfully, beautifully unique. 

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