Tips to stop picking – A brave young man shares his experience

Body-focussed repetitive behaviors (BFRBs) are prevalent in both men and women, and yet the majority of information and awareness we get about BFRBs such as compulsive skin picking and hair pulling, is from women. While there are male skin pickers out there blogging and sharing their experiences, they are in the minority. This in turn perpetuates the hesitance of men to come forward and speak openly about their struggles with this disorder. In a previous post we shared the goal of one brave gentleman who will be publishing his memoirs, of which his battle with dermatillomania is a huge feature. In this post I would like to share with you the YouTube channel of another brave young man. In this particular video he not only talks about his compulsive skin picking, but also shares some tips on how he is trying to overcome this behavior.

Telling the world he has dermatillomania

D’andre King first shared that he has dermatillomania about a month ago. This was a huge step for him to take, but his post revealed a sense of determination and resolve to finally do something about it. He very courageously described the negative effect compulsive skin picking has had on his life for the past 5 years.

It's been Sooooo hard. I'm already crying ! Thinking that nothing can possibly help you and that, that's just you. I find every little imperfection and try to get rid of it and it becomes a horrible mess. I tell myself time after time that I am going to stop. But I never do.

These words will resonate with any skin picker and sums up what dermatillomania is. For people looking in from the outside it can be very difficult to comprehend and skin pickers often get asked, “why don’t you just stop?!” But as D’andre expresses here, it is not that simple. The urge and compulsion to pick at the skin is so intense that the more the person resists it the stronger the need becomes. This can be extremely frustrating and emotionally draining to the individual and damaging to the self esteem.

I hide in the house and I don't go any where. I'm afraid to go too school, work, the Store. EVERYWHERE ! People ask all types questions about my face. I feel as vulnerable as possible.

Taking action

However in follow-up videos, there is a change in D’andre as he had taken steps to address the disorder. While the struggle is far from over, taking control over something that has controlled your life for so long can be very empowering. He talks about visiting a dermatologist and outlines a skin routine he started following on a daily basis, which has yielded some positive results. We wish D’andre all the best on his journey ahead and hope that his courage will inspire other men to share their stories as the more awareness there is the more men will see the help they need and deserve to work toward living a pick-free life.