dermatillamania

[shells]

i had never heard of this before but just wondering does anyone else suffer from it?

its very embarrassing.

interested to know how others deal with it.

[gettingbetter]

So I had to look that word up but it something similar to one of the many things I have been diagnosed with: I have (had?) a thing called trichotillomania, which means pulling hair out. It got so bad that I had to wear a wig at one point and I even pulled that to pieces. For a while I took to wearing a scarf and people thought I was religious. I went to a therapist that explained to me that this is like an addiction and she got me to stop wearing the scarf, so I could see what I was doing to myself; I couldn’t cover it up anymore. I found this really helpful and eventually I was able to stop. Have you ever been to see a therapist?

[shells]

Yes am seeing one now, that's who pointed this out to me.

He said I have to deal with the anxiety first then this scratching thing will clear up but it seems a long process. One step forward, two steps back or so it feels to me.

I am dealing with a work injury and the system is hard to cope with, I feel like I can't trust anyone....

Thank you for your reply to me 🙂

[gettingbetter]

Trust issues and paranoia, thats me. Has the injury stopped you from working totally?

[libertine]

Sorry - came late to this discussion!  I've only just gotten a name for the compulsive skin picking I've had for...ages...since school I think.  It's very embarrassing, although I've been able to hide it to some degree over the years as the picking has been focused on my shoulders/back area.  I also have Social Anxiety Disorder, at least since early adulthood.  I'm trying to keep a journal of when I pick/scratch to figure out if anything in particular triggers it.  Have you found it worse when you are stressed? or after a stressful event?  Nearly forgot to mention an article I saw yesterday on the dailymail.co.uk site - it's about a girl suffering from Dermatillomania.  You're not alone!