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avdanco , 15 Sep 2011

What helped me to cure ICD/OCD and skinpicking

This is an open post in which I would like to share and discuss the tools, exercises and strategies that have contributed to complete cure of any type ICD/OCD (or as I prefer to call it “obsessive compulsory impulse control disorder”) related behaviors. Please feel free to post any solutions and techniques that work (or doesn’t) or worked(or didn’t) for you in the past and have helped you to significantly reduce the time spent on the habit, or completely cure it. Please do not post any information related to how you feel about the disorder, or any other information related to your emotional and physical, ordeals and experiences associated with it. Sorry this that type of information can be, and is heavily discussed in the other multiple posts. This post is strictly dedicated to finding the cure for the obsessive compulsory impulse control disorder. Please copy and reply only to two questions below; be as concise as possible. 1.Question: When did you realize that you have a problem? Answer: 2.Question: What doesn’t/didn’t help you? (Doesn’t work for you) Answer: 3.Question : What helps/helped you to cure it? (Works for you) Answer: Thanks a lot for you contribution. Anthony P.S. I am on the way to cure ;-) 1)Question: When did you realize that you have a problem? Answer: I’ve been skin picking for 16 years and seriously realized that I have the problem 1.5 years ago. 2)Question: What doesn’t/didn’t help you? (Doesn’t work for you) Answer: Any type of toys; 7-30-60 days challenges; covering mirrors; cutting nails; turning off lights; SSRI drugs or supplements; psychotherapy; praying; 3)Question: What helps/helped you to cure it? (Works for you) Answer: learning how to be present/conscious in the moment- breath meditation (mindfulness); changing routines or lifestyle or being traveling/on the road; introducing daily exercises like yoga and swimming; doing something that I wanted to do a long time ago but haven’t done; reading about the ways of cure; selfactualization; strong believe that I can be cured. NOTES: Numerous social psychological studies have confirmed Aristotle's observation that "We become just by the practice of just actions, self-controlled by exercising self-control, and courageous by performing acts of courage." If we are dissatisfied with some aspect of our lives, one of the best approaches is to act more like the person we want to be, rather than sitting around analyzing ourselves. Vocabulary: URGE An act of urging; impelling action, influence, or force; impulse. To push or force along; impel with force or vigor, to push, drive, or force into motion. An involuntary, natural, or instinctive impulse. Constant and insistent force associated with certain thoughts, fillings, emotions. Latin urgēre to press, force, drive, urge. IMPULSE The influence of a particular feeling, mental state. Sudden, involuntary inclination prompting to action. A psychic drive or instinctual urge. An impelling force or motion; thrust; impetus, a sudden desire, whim, or inclination. The change in the momentum of a body as a result of a force acting upon it for a short period of time. Latin impulsus pressure, impulse, equivalent to im- im-1 + pul- (variant stem of pellere to push) + -sus, variant of -tus suffix of v. action OBSESSION The domination of one's thoughts or feelings by a persistent idea, image, desire, etc. A persistent disturbing preoccupation with an often unreasonable idea or feeling or thought or sense or emotion causing self-destructing, harmful actions. Compulsive preoccupation with an idea or an unwanted feeling or emotion, often accompanied by symptoms of anxiety. A persistent disturbing preoccupation with an often unreasonable idea or feeling A persistent idea or impulse that continually forces its way into consciousness, often associated with anxiety and mental illness COMPULSION An irresistible impulse to act, regardless of the rationality of the motivation. An act or acts performed in response to such an impulse. Power used to overcome resistance, drive, obligation For Freud the German term Zwang is one of a series of analogous terms like drive, urge, or thrust. The conviction of a disastrous outcome if it is not obeyed, and the promise of actual relief if it is allowed to proceed unrestricted.
3 Answers
kgolden1234567890
October 04, 2011
I have had a LOT of luck with the amino acid N-acetyl cysteine, which is sometimes sold as N-acetyl L-cysteine, for my 11-year-old daughter who severely picks her skin (arms and legs). I'm hoping that everyone on this group will check it out. We started out at 1200mg each day, 600mg in the morning and 600mg in the evening. Then we worked up to 2400mg, 1200 mg in the morning and 1200 mg in the evening, within about 3 or 4 weeks. The study that was done in 2009 showed the best results were after 9 weeks of continuous treatment with this amino acid, also just known as NAC. We saw great results after 6 weeks. Please consider trying it. I am not a doctor, so please weigh out the risks for yourself. It has truly been a godsend. My daughter used to pick to the point of staph infections. She has scars all over her body. It works by regulating the URGE to pick. You can download the summary text of the 2009 study on this website - http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19581567. The study was for hair-pulling, but skin-picking and nail-biting result from similar sets of urges.
offtopic
October 09, 2011

In reply to by kgolden1234567890

I'm glad you brought up the NAC. I checked out the link and see it was Dr Jon Grant's study. I am currently involved in the official skin picking study. I am really hoping I have the placebo because I'm at week 9 of the 12 week study and have had zero improvement. Dr. Grant, Dr. Kim and Brian O. are all really good people and are all very passionate about helping people with these problems. Before I met them I had lost all hope that my picking could ever get better. I've been dealing with this for almost 30 years and I'm only 33. After the study is over I am going to see Dr. Grant as a patient. Even with my anxiety and depression under better control the picking keeps getting worse. He assured me he can help.
Lifelongpicker
October 06, 2011
I have been a biter/picker ever since I can remember. The picking included peeling the skin from the pads of my fingers, chewing the sides of my fingers sometimes as far down as below the first knuckle, tearing cuticles, biting nails etc. It was involuntary. I used to hide my hands under the table at work and pick during meetings only to find them bleeding. The nail biting stopped a few years ago but the picking has been getting increasingly worse. I am 41 years old. I didn't realise that finger picking was an actual diagnosed problem until about 4 or 5 months ago. I always found that wering false nails helped and I didn't pick, but this was a temporary solution. I didn't know I had a problem, but I knew that I didn't pick/bite when I had false nails. For me, the realisation that this is an actual disorder seems to have been the cure. I have a good friend who is a doctor and the though of her knowing about this disorder and giving it a name fills me with shame! Reading this and other forums has helped my rationalise/analyse what I'm doing. I now have cuticles at the same time as my natural nails (not falsies) for the first time in my adult life. I no longer have to wear bright red/burgundy nail polish to try and distract from the redness and bleeding. During the healing process (it took about 2 weeks for all the scabs to heal) I found using a fine grit file on the dead/rough skin and oil really useful. I started with foot files because that's what I used before (the skin was that rough) but then I found the diamancel #5 file (it's the only one I could find that was actually designed for use on hands but there may be others). Nail/cuticle oil softened everything up after filing. I've been using an organic cuticle oil because my fingers used to go in my mouth a lot! Once you stop, the healing process is really quick. My nails are quite ridged because of the mechanical damage and I'm hoping they'll eventually grow through flat.

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