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I'm not sure if I suffer from this condition...
Hi everyone!
Really awesome to find somewhere with other people who pick at their feet! However, I am not sure if want I do is that same thing..
For as long as I can remember I have bitten my nails and chewed the skin around my nails. On a stranger note, for around the past 5 years or so (as a rough estimate) I have been peeling the skin off of the soles of my feet...
At first I just enjoyed peeling the dead skin off my feet after a bath, but in more recent years it has progressed. I use fingernail cutter or scissors to snip away at the hard surfaces on the soles of my feet and once I have a flap of skin up I peel it for as long as it will go before coming off. I also like the chew and do swallow the skin afterwards, which I know is very strange. I only ever peel off the top layer of very hard skin as I feel it hurts to disturb the underlying skin, but it still leaves me with unsightly feet and even harder skin as a result of the damage.
However, none of this is ever due to stress or anxiety (with those comes a whole other kettle of fish: I grind my teeth badly in my sleep when I'm very stressed: which I already have a mouthguard to prevent when episodes occur). I only ever pick at my skin or nails when I am bored. I simply enjoy the feeling of peeling the skin and the texture of chewing away at the hard dry bits I peel off! Although, in times when I am very busy my skin grows back and resumes a normal-ish appearance.. but then next time I get bored I just can't wait to start peeling it all again!
I can't believe how strange this all sounds, and it is scary to put down in writing as I have never told ANYONE else before, not even my boyfriend of 3 years (who thankfully has not noticed it!)
Does any one else have this experience of skin peeling?
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