Ask Baba Yaga: How Can I Stop My Gross Habits?

Dear Baba Yaga,

I have several bad habits, including picking at scabs, pulling dark hairs from my mostly blonde head, and worrying at chapped lips so much they heal slowly. None of these require a doctor, they’re just gross. How do I stop?

BABA YAGA:

In yr picking you are making little wounds & then healing them, & making them again, so that every injury & recovery is a disgust and a heroism, where you are villain and you are shaman, & this fairy tale is one you love to watch, for the soul-stirrings it looms are as pungent as any drama. ) Which are the large wounds casting these shadows? Where, if anywhere, is the true injury you are trying to pick & heal? Even if there is no true wound, move yr knowings to the stage you walk on & away from the puppet show you’ve been playing.

Previously: What Happened To My Nightmares?

Taisia Kitaiskaia is a poet and writer living in Austin. She’s taking questions on behalf of Baba Yaga at askbabayaga [at] gmail.com.