Anyone picking near genital area?

lol my name is rachel as well and not only have i picked at my body and face hair, but i have had some times where i pull out my pubic hair in the lips of my vagina. I've gotten big bumps, and ingrown hairs, and i'm wondering if there is a way to atleast stop from picking. Sometimes i'd look in my underwear after going to the bathroom and there would be pubic hair there even if i ahdn't picked that day or even that week. Does it cause it to fall out or what?

Hello, my name is Angie and I am in my 40's, I have picked compulsively at my genitals and inner thghs for the last year or so, it started when I got thrush which I have had constantly for the last 2 years but I find the scratching/itching cycle gets much worse in this warmer weather. I have been chronically depressed for the last 10 yrs or so and am taking venlafaxine antidepressants, but find the urge to scratch is much,much worse when I am having a bad day or am stressed out. The pain is "good" in a way but then I feel like my whole genital area & thighs are on fire and I cannot sleep, I am also restricted as to what clothes I can wear because of the constant friction and pain. I'm thoroughly disgusted with myself bedause I can't stop picking, and I have absolutely no friends who I would be comfortable enough with to talk about this problem. Sorry to ramble on and on and if I seem self-pitying but this problem makes me feel downright suicidal sometimes. Hope to hear from you anyway and please take care everyone xxx

hi. am getin real scared. my genital is itching and the pink round my hole has turnd white and is peeling off.what to do.

Hey y'all, I'm reay excited because I've been dealing with my dermatillomania for about 3 years, I can't really remember what started to but yeah. "down there" is my favorite part although there isn't an area on my body I haven't picked. I like the sight of something coming out and I feel like I've one a prize when I pick out a hair that hasn't even surfaces. It's pretty horrible down there because I do you needles and tweezer and will dig till I bleed just to get the hair. My boyfriend knows and it kinda hinders us, but I just make sure it's always dark. I can lock my self in my room or bathroom for hours on end just to do it and it really interferes with my life because I have stuff to do but my ocd distracts me. Hopefully i can stop soon so I can have a child one day . . . Because I'd hate for anyone to see me down there . . .

I can totally relate to you. Ever since I picked up a tweezer at about age 11 or 12, It became apart of me. I always had a fascination with hair I guess. When i was young, I used a scissor and cut off my eyebrow, from what I recall my mom telling me. As soon as my pubic hair grew it, i would pluck pluck pluck and now I have scars and bumps. I just really can't stop. I'm 19 now. It's been going on for 7 years. I can't tell anyone or go to the doctor because I'm embarrassed. I'm not ugly and I do want to have sex. I just don't want anyone seeing down there because its not pretty. =/ I'm not sure how I'm going to stop.

I have been picking since I was a little kid. I am now 26. I discovered that this was a problem about a year ago. What I have found out is that a lot of psychiatrists and psychologists do not know much about dermatillomania. Sad but true. I have been put on OCD meds and I felt like a complete zombie. Psychologists have suggested peeling stamps which is quite stupid to me. So now I don't see anybody and I continue to pick.. My latest area is my butt and arms.. I have sooo many scars that I don't even wear shorts, ever!. I hate having dermatillomania but I guess it could be worse. I can obsessively pick just about anything from my scalp, skin, nose, dried up residue from tape on a table, stickers off of lighters, wrappers on bottles. Just about anything. This is my story, thanks for reading.

Omg, I thought i was the only one that did that! I'm so embarrassed to talk about it to anyone. It started off innocently enough, plucking out the few ingrown hairs I had from shaving. Then it became more than that. I got a sense of satisfaction from pulling out hairs that were just about to grow through the skin. Now I find myself wanting to do it at work and making excuses at home as to why I need to be left alone right now! It hurts when I'm done and I wonder why I can't just stop it then. But then soon enough...I'll start thinking about it. And the hairs that are thick at the root or w.e...like a previous commenter said its like striking gold. I don't know what to do or how to stop or anything. Mainly I'm just happy I'm not alone in this :( (as much as I wouldn't wish anyone else to do this....)

I have sought help for many things, but not this. I am too ashamed. Though it's been very helpful to hear all your stories. I never gave a second thought to my pubic hair, except to trim or shave to maintain it. That's why I can't believe I'm so obsessed and for so long . Except I used to pick my under arm hair, which I could care less about now, then my eyebrows, which are thick now and look good. It appears I am prone to it, and just moved on to another area. But this is the worst! Though not the entire reason, I haven't had sex in a year. I loath myself when I do it and I feel like a freak, (now without my clothes I look like one too). So here's what I did. I put my "tools" away in a cabinet but out of sight (in another room if I have to) and far out of reach when I'm sitting on the toilet (my trigger activity). Throwing them out is not an option because I need them to groom my brows and nails. I put silly putty and a small can of playdoh by the toilet just to keep my fingers busy if need be. I bathed and shaved the area, then applied first aid cream and 2 large bandages entirely covering the area. Right away, it helped that I couldn't actually see the area anymore, especially during my trigger activity. Not seeing it also allows you the chance to stop and think before you touch it, feel the anxiety building, and talk yourself down from it. Also, you can't see the damage so you automatically feel better about yourself. Note it's best to leave some on until it heals and the hair has a chance to grow back. I never change the bandages during my trigger time (when I get home from work). Only during rushed times (when I get ready for work). Then I don't have time to hurt myself. And I am hurting myself. Why? Is this a lack of confidence physically manifesting itself to ensure what I may secretly believe, that I'm unworthy? Idk. But I can't do this anymore. I hope this helps someone. Wish me luck.

oh my gosh...everything everyone has said in this topic is me! i have never heard of this condition until i stumble upon this page. i never knew it's a condition or that it's a disease or that it's not normal! i'm kinda sad now to know that i have this disease...dermatillomania. i thought i was the only one who does all these. i feel so alone and afraid and embarrass to talk about this to anyone. i started picking when i was around 12 years old and now i'm 29 years old. that's 17 years of picking! it first started when i hit puberty and started having acne on my face, then my pubic hair and the rest of my body. i wasn't able to enjoy my teenage years because i was always ashamed of my body. other girls had beautiful and flawless skin. their faces were so clean and beautiful. mine was bloody and red and scarred. i remember back in middle school and high school i would have scars and scars on my face from picking. i would pick and pick until i get the stuff out, no matter how much bleeding. during that time, my chest also had acne too. i picked on my chest so much that it bled and there were scars. i had to wear turtle neck shirts or shirts that would cover my chest to my neck from middle school onto college. my arms are always red and had scars as well. my cousins them pointed out to me once that my arms have scars. that made me so embarrassed that i never wore sleeveless shirts after that day onto today. i never wore sleeveless shirts or any shirts shorter than my elbow. even today, i cannot wear sleeveless shirts outside no matter the weather. in addition, i started picking on my genital areas as well. i'm so embarrass to say this, but i'm really ashamed of it looks. it's all scarred and discolored and ugly. i'm so afraid that no guy would like me or want to have sex with me. perhaps that's why i don't date because i'm so afraid to expose myself to anyone. when i was dating my first boyfriend, we had sex in the dark so he didn't see how my genital area looked or how my chest looked so that was okay...but now i'm very afraid to get intimate with a guy. so afraid that i'm starting to think perhaps i should remain single for the rest of my life. i'm able to control picking my face for the last year. i'm picking less, but i'm picking more on my underarm and my genital area. sometimes i would pick and pick and it would bleed and bleed and i would not stop until i get that hair out or until something comes out. if not, i continue to dig with my nails. if that don't work, i would use a tweezer. if that fails, i would use a needle. and i would not feel any pain, or perhaps i was too distracted to feel the pain, until i'm completely done with my mission. if i have any free time, especially when i'm in the bathroom, i would look around my body, mostly my arms, underarm, genital area, and chest to see if there is any new bumps for me to pick. when i see new bumps on my arms i get happy and quickly pick on it. when the white stuff comes out i feel happy, satisfied, accomplished inside. i seem to enjoy that. for the longest time, i thought i was the only one suffering this. i feel so much better knowing that you all share this as well, even thought i wish we never have this condition. it's good to know i'm not alone in this. now that i know it's a disease, i will try my best to not pick as much. i'm so ashamed of myself and i feel like i've destroyed this body that God had given me and yet i continue to destroy it uncontrollably. i feel like i'm caged in my own body, inside my own skin, and i don't want to be. :'(