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picks9876 , 15 Apr 2009

I'm Not Sure If I Had Dermatillomania

I'm honestly not sure. I'm thinking it could just me being a hypochondriach. I'm 16. I've been picking my scabs for as long as I can remember. I can't remember what triggered it, but there must have been something.I've always been known to be quite the perfectionist. I also still pick my nose (and eat it....) and pick/chew my nails. The nails aren't severe. I've stopped actually swallowing the nail I chew. I spit it out. I pick at my toe nails too. Dry skin on my hands and feet I'll peal and pick at too. None of it is ever really extreme though. Of course wearing shorts is slightly embarressing and when I wear a skirt, nylons are a must. I'm afraid of bathing suit season now that I discovered the acne on my back to pick at, but other than those scars, it's not like I'm cover in scabs or I pick the skin itself. I just don't know if it's all stupid habbits, or what's up... I don't fit many of the characteristics, but I still fit a fair amount.
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ra1nb0wb00tay
April 15, 2009
you have a lot of the habits that us with dermatillomania have. i would definitely look into it
ra1nb0wb00tay
April 16, 2009
I think you should definitely bring it up with a counselor. explain your "symptoms" and tell him/her that its very similar to other people who have dermatillomania/compulsive skin picking. i just finally told my therapist the other day and we're going to start working on it. you got nothing to lose and everything to gain. that's how I see it. i hope i helped at least a little. if you ever need to chat, my email is: ra1nb0wb00tay@yahoo.com and my aim/yahoo screenname is: ra1nb0wb00tay just hit me up if you ever need to.
whoopsydaisy
April 15, 2009
though i must admit that my thoughts regarding my own behavior are similar to yours, i also feel the need to urge you to seek help. i'm nineteen, myself. and i most certainly recognize your situation. even if it's just a bad habit, you've got to do your best to stop it now, because it'll only get worse. i don't know when it started; as far as i know, i've been picking scabs, biting nails etc for as long as i can remember. so a few years ago, i picked too, but not as much as i do now; now, my back & chest are covered in scars, as are my upper arms. my face isn't too bad yet, though there are a few scars which i hide behind a veil of hair; i've expanded towards legs and even my stomach; my nailbiting has developed into a bad case of biting my cuticles, until my fingers are bleeding like mad and i can't hold anything properly for the next few days, because it hurts. i still don't know wether i should regard it as a disorder or just a bad habit, so i can't help you there, but i CAN tell you that it was easier (not easy, just easier) to stop picking for a limited period than it is now; so, my advice to you is to find help, sooner rather than later. try not to be afraid of judgement, (being the hypocrite that i am, i am actually giving you advice that i would never follow up on myself; but i am stupid and i highly recommend you to do the exact opposite of what i would) and good luck
Peaches
April 16, 2009
Hello, I'm new here, I just turned 18. I'm so, so shocked that I'm not alone in this, like other people here have said!! I'm getting a little desperate. I've been picking for...a few years now, I think since I was about, 12-14?? Anyways, it started just as picking the dead skin off my scalp, and then it progressed to picking scabs, which turned into CREATING scabs to pick, and I eat them, zits too. I also eat the scabs I make everywhere else on my body. Arms, legs, chest, face, back & shoulders. MOSTLY my scalp and my shoulders. It's disgusting, it hurts, I get blood on my shirts and sometimes people see blood on my scalp or on my hairline. Oh, and I've been picking my nose since, hell, FOREVER, and I eat that too...Admitting this makes me feel so nasty, unclean. At the same time, it's nice to get off my chest. My mother tells me to stop, that I'm ruining my pretty skin, but most of the time I don't even know I'm doing it. She always tells me to stop, and tells me to my face that what I'm doing is disgusting. Only one of my friends has ever said anything, whenever she sees me picking she tries to make me stop. Often, my hand will wander down the back of my shirt and I'll just pick, pick, pick. Same with my scalp. I've started wearing my hair in a ponytail so I don't pick in public, but the second I get myself alone I continue. Like I said, usually I hardly ever notice I'm doing it...I HAVE noticed that when I'm very upset, I pick more. Sometimes to spite my mother when she tells me I'm making myself ugly, I pick more (immature I know, but it makes me feel better. And then worse after I realize what I've done) My back and shoulders are COVERED it brown scars, and raw patches and scabs. I can't see the scars on my scalp, but I know they must be countless, and I know it is covered in scabs. Right this moment, I can't even count the scabs on my scalp, and I'm picking at about 7 different scabs on my back. As I'm writing this my left hand is wandering through my scalp and picking off scabs and I'm eating what's under my nails. I have ugly brown scars between my breasts. I feel so disgusting. I hate it. I feel pathetic, because really, I had a pretty good childhood, a normal up-and-down adolescence, no abuse, addictions...I admit I get very depressed sometimes, but only for a week, or a few days. I know I get stressed. I TRY to rationalize with myself, to stop, I keep my nails short, nothing works...I've never, EVER admitted this to anyone, even my best friend. I feel pathetic, humiliated, unclean, disgusting dirty. I don't know what else to say. You all know what I'm talking about, so I guess I'll just end it here.
whoopsydaisy
April 19, 2009
i remember the feeling when i first typed out that i picked my skin... it felt good, it felt as if i had taken a first step and the next would come easier and i was getting closer to the solution. i actually felt hopeful. we're almost a year later now, i haven't improved a bit, au contraire, i've actually worsened; only two weeks ago i tried to stop again, and this worked fine for about three days(which is, by the way, my record. and i didn't even stop picking alltogether, i just stopped picking a certain area); then my selfdiscipline slackened, and now i'm picking worse than in a long while. i'm not saying this to bring you down, i'm saying this, on one hand, because i feel sad at the mo and i wanted to tell something to someone, and on the other hand, to try and make you take the right steps. i've still never told a living soul about this, only to inanimate forums through the miracle medium of internet/computer, i haven't sought help yet, and of course, i haven't managed to stop yet. what i'm trying to say is; it's a first step, and to get rid of the feeling of humiliation, shame, and selfloathing, you've got to be brave enough to take the next step, and try to find help. it's a very big step to take, but it's necessary. please do not be as stupid, stubborn and cowardly as i am. it won't help you, not in the long run, and not even in the short one.

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