Does anyone else suffer from dermotillomania?

[Fatunicorn]

I’ve suffered with dermitillomania since I was a teenager, despite never getting officially diagnosed by a doctor I’ve researched on the internet about it and am certain I have it.

It started when I was small when I would continually pick a scab so it wouldn’t heal and I found it so satisfying. Gradually when I started to get spots it became worse, essentially if I feel a bump or imperfection on my face or limbs I will squeeze it until something comes out.

It is significantly better now than when I was about 14, I couldn’t wear short sleeves or shorts. Now I have up and downs, it tends to be better when I’m feeling good but get bad when I’m anxious or angry etc. Mental health problems run in my family but I changed my contraception recently and that seems to be helping with my mental state, luckily I have an amazing partner who understands me and supports me.

So I was just wondering if anybody else has an experience with this and if anyone had any advice on prevention or with how to stop mid episode?

Cheers in advance,

Someone who has only in the last few years started opening up 😊

[lovesradio]

Well done darling. Skin problems are awful and can wreck our self esteem, but finding someone who loves you for who you are is worth its weight in gold.

[trtfg]

Yea I used to do that a lot and I also will chew the skin right off my fingers, you can get rid of it really easily, it's simple. The next time you find yourself doing it, show yourself some will power and recognize what the trigger was that led you to it. Like any bad habit, after 5-10 times of repeating this you'll have a big decrease you might not even notice right away.