hey i’m not sure the title is accurate but i couldn’t think of anything better
basically i’ve been struggling with skin picking for my entire life
it started small
picking some overhangs and scans around my nails at 6
nothing too serious
as years went by it evolved into pretty severe skin picking, where i wasn’t able to go a day without making a lesion
and recently (like in the past year) the habit developed into full blown dermatilomania
i keep on picking to the point where my lesions can’t heal properly
the worst of it is i started picking skin on my heels to the point where i can’t walk properly anymore and when i do it causes me a lot of pain
it catches up to me in the evening when i’m bored
i’ve been advised to “occupy my hands with something” but what nobody seems to get is that it’s something i do absentmindedly i’m not sure what to do anymore
does anyone have similar experience or am i beyond help at this point ?
have a nice day
This is a medical condition, not just a bad habit. It is very treatable but will probably benefit from psychiatric treatment, not just counseling or friendly advice. As with OCD, this can include cognitive behavioral therapy as well as medication.
hi, thanks for reply that’s what i was afraid of
to be honest i started medical treatment with antidepressants around 3 years ago, 2.5 of which i spent speedrunning the entire pharmacy lmao in June this year i changed doctors and finally got on track (with venlafaxine and mirtazapine)
on top of that i started therapy in September i’ll try to bring up the skin picking again
i talked about this issue with my therapist earlier but despite my efforts i always end up relapsing so yeah thank you for thorough reply have a nice day
Also if you haven’t heard the medical term for this yet, it’s called dermatillomania, if it helps you to put a name to it.
Skin picking can show up from other conditions such as OCD mentioned above, anxiety, and also ADHD. Try again to raise the issue with your therapist. If they are dismissive, find a new therapist. Sometimes it takes trying on a few therapists to find one who clicks with you and can be helpful.
@[email protected], don’t skip on this – this is the answer! I had a very bad experience last year that ended up causing me to develop OCD and it was mind-boggling how I couldn’t stop myself from giving into it, I’ve never experienced anything like it.
Finally brought it to my doctor, got prescribed medication that ultimately fixed the problem. Also was told to look into cognitive behavioral therapy, which I did, and found it extremely helpful as well (though I’m doing so well that I don’t want to risk coming off the meds just because the cognitive behavioral therapy practices were helpful). My doctor also gave me a referral to both a psychiatrist (in case I had side effects from the medication that lasted beyond the adjustment period and needed to explore other options, which I didn’t) and a psychologist (to be guided through cognitive behavioral therapy professionally, which I didn’t end up doing because my insurance no longer had a contract with them and by the time the American healthcare system re-referred me to another office I had no more symptoms). Basically my primary care physician gave me everything I needed to get my life back.
100% it was worth bringing to my doctor and I recommend doing the same. Don’t wait on it. Consider getting some cheap fidget toys to fill your hands in the days leading up to your scheduled appointment but schedule it for as soon as possible.