I have Dermotillomania. AMA.
Hi, everyone. I've been struggling with dermotillomania for most of my life. Last year, I had it officially diagnosed and have since started to realize how common it is. I would love to get awareness of this disorder out in the public eye so others can come forward and stop being ashamed. Ask me anything!
Oh, I found a new disease I have. Great, one more in the list. I look for imperfections on the surface of my skin and I try to erase them. I often eat my skin as well... I guess I will have to find out more about this. I didn't even know that such a disease existed before five minutes ago. I thought I was the only freak doing something like that.
I've been picking since i was little i cant remember a time when i didnt pick at some part of my body. how do ya'll manage it? I can never manage my picking, i can stop for a few days but then ill binge pick. i am ashamed of my scars and hide them all the time. the ones i cant hide i lie to people about them when they ask.
@gregariousHuman9097 I manage mine by wearing acrylic nails or keeping my natural nails cut really short
I pick at my skin, but everything I've read about this disorder states that people pick at imperfections on their skin to get rid of them. I don't do that - I pick at my skin where there's nothing there and I just want it to hurt and to feel pain and to draw blood. Making wounds on my skin is more or less my goal when I pick. I also have trichotillomania and I self harm (cutting), and to me, what I do to my skin seems more similar to the cutting than the trichotillomania. So what I'm wondering is - is this skin picking dermatillomania, or is it something else?
I have dermatillomania too and wanted to ask you all a question: I've heard people with this disturb don't want to be in public because of their "not beautiful" aspect: is this highly common? I don't care at all about my aspect (which, in a sense, is not a good thing) so i was wondering if i was alone in this... Should everyone with dermatillomania be afraid to show her/his skin?
@redFriend8283 same here, red. I really don't mind how scabby and scarred my arms get after an episode. The people in my life don't like it, but I don't let it bother me.
I have had Dermatillomania for a long time. Only recently did I begin looking into the condition to realize other people suffered from it as well. I can spend up to 2 hours looking in the mirror and picking "blemishes" that I see on my face. I mainly focus on my pores and areas near my nose/mouth. There are small scars on my face from this and I cannot usually stop until my face is bloody. Does anyone else experience this compulsion as almost therapeutic or stress relieving?
@energeticSpring4866 yes, me! I just do it on my arms and I have done that for almost ten years. It gets a lot worse when I get stressed, I will sit down and search my arms for a long time while I think about everything I have to do (instead of actually doing it). I also do it when my mind is occupied with a certain thought, while I contemplate I pick my skin. I'm very embarrassed, I try to cover it up as much as possible so I don't get any questions.
Ive had this for years.. a tip for ladies trying to stop: acrylic nails. The blunted nail tip makes it almost impossible to pick.
also keeping nails really short can help