HAVE ANY OF YOU RECOVERED?

Hello BDD_CSP! I first learned about Dermatillomania two years ago when I went to an appointment at a Medical Spa for a consultation to receive laser treatment for my self-induced scarring. The owner of the spa informed me that they could not treat me with open wounds all over my face. She asked me if I knew what Dermatillomania was. When I told her that I had never heard the term before, she told me that it's caused by a chemical imbalance in the brain and that I clearly suffered from it. She told me that I would need to research it and seek treatment for it and get it under control before they would even consider treating me with laser. Devastated (not to mention mortified and completely embarrassed and ashamed), I went home and decided to research skin picking (Dermatillomania) online. That was when I came across this wonderful forum. I was shocked to see how many people out there suffered from CSP, just like me! My skin picking was at its worse and I used tweezers and scissors to pick at my face. Admitting to myself that I had a problem was the first step, confessing to my husband that I suffered from CSP was the second step. I handed over my 3 pairs of tweezers and grooming scissors and he happily disposed of all of them. Through trial and error I found products that were ideal for healing wounded skin and keeping my skin clear of breakouts. Through a lot of dedication, will power, and consistency, after picking my skin for a total of 9 years and working on learning to live a pick-free lifestyle for two years, I can FINALLY say that I've defeated Dermatillomania and I've overcome the urge to pick. It was an uphill battle to get where I am today, but now that I'm at the top, I've never been happier. The best advice I can give is to always forgive yourself when you slip up and give in to the urge to pick. Everyone makes mistakes and tomorrow is a new day. This was why I also did a lot of research on products that would help speed up healing, because I know I'm not perfect and there would be days when the urge to pick would be too strong for me to resist. Please check out my forum topic "wounds are HEALING and scars are FADING" for tips on how to heal your skin. The road to recovery is difficult but not impossible - I'm living proof of it. Dermatillomania CAN be defeated! :) XO - newperspective

Hi, I have dealt with BDD, CSP, PTSD and Depression so I know what you're going through. I consider my BDD and CSP to be "in recovery." I don't know if I will ever consider myself truly cured because they really are similar to addictions. I struggled with BDD and CSP for years. My BDD was mainly focused on my skin. I was probably like a lot of people with this in that I never really had bad skin but every little bump or imperfection I thought was there I couldn't leave it alone and just made it much worse. I tried cutting my nails, distracting myself when I would get urges but it was so overpowering none of that really helped. There are three things that I would recommend: 1) If you have acne and that is what's causing you to pick, go to a dermatologist and get treated for it. Explain your condition and ask them to be as aggressive with treatment as is safe because a few bumps a month is nothing to them, but it may mean all the difference in the world to you. I'm female so I started using Ortho-tricyclen birth control pills and that helped a lot. 2) Get rid of your mirrors. Especially magnifying mirrors! Use the one in the bathroom to wash your face etc, but try dimming the lights and not getting too close to it. Once you are ready for the day, don't use mirrors any more until it's time to wash your face at night. 3) Have laser surgery to fix any scarring you have caused. This was the most impactful thing that I did to stop picking. My scars weren't bad but I couldn't stand looking at them and knowing I had done it to myself. I finally discovered fraxel laser treatments and honestly, they saved my life. They are rather expensive and a bit painful and after going through eight of them I wouldn't dare pick my face again. This is just my experience but the laser surgery and it's amazing results (I now think nothing of leaving the house without makeup) is the only thing my brain seemed to truly respond to (I've had therapy and medication) and say "ok enough. You're good enough as you are, you don't need to try to fix yourself anymore." Maybe it's because the lasers did what I was always trying to do, only much more effectively. So honestly, my recovery is not the result of my amazing willpower- this thing would get me every time and I would feel so guilty but realize it is not your fault! It really is an illness like addiction and needs to be treated like one. I read in "The Broken Mirror" that some of the few people who recover from BDD are skin pickers who have had laser surgery, so in that sense I am just lucky. Lucky that my BDD wasn't focused somewhere else, lucky that there was treatment available to fix the damage I had caused. Hope this helped a little. I wish you all the best in your fight!!