beat dermatillomania

Has anyone here been to the doctors about this? I really hate my GP and I don’t think he’d take me that seriously but I’d really like some professional help to stop.

Wow! There are some good looking people here.

I used to drink and do drugs and now I am at the end of the line with this picking!! I guess I have always picked at things. I have just realized that I have a job (long distance trucker) which alloows me too much time for this picking crap! I have actually pulled over to the side of the road on occassions and had myself a good picking session. It has gone too far. I use pins and toenail clippers and have used boxcutters (exacto knives).

I just quit smoking 2 months ago and the picking has gone through the roof!!

I take paxil for OCD but am finding alot of people are taking Fluvoxamine? Not sure if I spelt that right.

I am here to say that “I need help, I am a picker”
Please someone….any suggestions? I am single and do not want to remain single because this problem gets out of control and I cant go out to meet the girl of my dreams.

Out here in Winnipeg Manitoba

I started biting my nails and the skin around them when I was about three years old. My folks tried everything to get me to stop, including painting my nails with a bad-tasting chemical that was marketed distictly for the purpose of deterring nail-biting.

It didn’t work. If you’re reading this, it’s likely that you know what it’s like to pick or bite at your skin until it’s raw and bloody and ragged. You probably know what it’s like to do this – to be AWARE that you’re doing it – and to continue doing it anyway despite the pain and embarrassment it causes.

I don’t know why I do it. All I know is that sometimes it’s so bad that it prevents me from doing things I want or need to do. Sometimes I damage my fingers so badly that it hurts too bad to do the dishes, or to draw or paint. Sometimes it even hurts to use a keyboard to type.

I’m 28 years old now, and I’ve never been able to refrain from this habit for more than a few weeks at a time. I remember hearing that it takes 28 days to change a habit. I’ve gone over 28 days without damaging my fingers twice (the second time was closer to two months) but both times I relapsed, and those times were more discouraging than anything.

My girlfriend is concerned about it. She knows how frustrated it makes me and how down on myself I get because of it. I know she wants to help me quit, and she’s been trying to find methods I can use—ranging from positive reinforcement to negative reinforcement to everything in-between. Today she found the word “dermatillomania” and texted it to me. I never knew there was a name for this behavior, let alone so many other people suffering from it.

Knowing this has both encouraging and discouraging aspects to it. Good luck to everyone of you who is a dermatillomaniac or who knows and loves one. I hope we can find methods to help prevent behaviors like this and to correct them.

I am 27 and have had this problem/habit/issue, whatever you want to call it since I was a toddler. I was a nail biter as well when I was younger, but have stopped that for the most part. If I break or chip a nail though I will bite the rest down to smooth.

Most of the time I don’t realize I am biting until I draw blood. Once this happens I am very aware of what I am doing and work at refraining which drives me crazy. Especially once the skin starts healing and gets dry and rough. Whether it is minor OCD or a bad habit, I don’t know. I’ve tried numerous times over the last 20+ years to stop and have found temporary success but I always go back.

1. If you are a female, acrylic nails work wonders. For me it was impossible to break skin with them on and as they healed I could no longer bite them and within weeks they looked normal and I no longer had the urge to pick or bite. However, they are pricey to maintain and impossible to wear in certain professions or hobbies. I tried the cheap do-it-yourself ones, but they break and pop off very easily. Once you get a jagged edge it all goes down hill.

2. I recently went through a very rough time in my life and my fingers bore the brunt of my stress and anxiety. I bit them further down then I ever have and the more I tried to stop the more I bit. The past 4 days I have taken to wearing band-aids around the 4 that are in the worse shape and it has helped. I still pick at the fingers subconsciously but as I haven’t had the satisfaction of tearing skin, the picking has lessened.

I won’t lie, it takes getting used to the band aids, but I have found the Curad “Extreme Hold” to be great. They stay on alot stronger and are shaped to work well on fingers and knuckles. I put them on before I leave for work in the morning, take them off at lunch, put new ones on after and then take them off at night before I go to sleep. I’m burning through band aids but it is helping and I feel a lot better. Plus I had such gaping wounds that I was worried about infection.

When people at work have asked me about the band aids I have been completely honest about what I am trying to do. It’s not like the biting went unnoticedso it isn’t exactly a surprise and everyone has been very encouraging and supportive, even sharing with me their own bad habits they wish could kick.

Anyways, I hope this helps. I have been treated for anxiety and depression as well and this behavior has been addressed, but my therapist found it to be connected, but also independent of my illness. She It’s been a great relief to know I am not the only one who is dealing with this.

Iv picked my fingers since I was little and bit the skin on my lips too. My hands look a mess, I hate doing this. My dad always told me i did it because i wanted to and didnt have the will power to stop, but its got to be more than that. It drives my boyfriend mad to see me ripping bits of skin off and making myself bleed, but I dont know what to do. It good to hear it actually has a name and other people do the same

I have been picking my feet for about two years now. I do it so badly that sometimes they bleed and I have to hobble down the street. I don’t know why I do it – it’s almost like I want to make my feet completely smooth and feel I have to pick off all the skin…then it grows back and the whole process starts again. The gross thing is that I chew the skin (but don’t swallow, I always spit it out). I feel like a total freak. My four year old daughter asked me what I’d done to my foot today and I told her a lie – that I’d had a blister and had picked it a little. My husband has also noticed.

Does anyone else do this? I really want to break this compulsion.

Thanks x

I lived with this my whole life. A cronic condition that I never thought I’d beat. I’ve got the scars as proof.
I went to Mexico a few weeks ago and took Ibogaine, it’s a drastic approach, but Ibogaine took away my desire for coffee and sugar. My theory is that this is stress related, and cutting out things that cause stress, such as stimulants, has really helped (I’ve lost 6 pounds too!).
I went to the creak and got chewed up by mosquitos, and I’m not even picking at those.
It’s only been a few weeks, but heres the deal. I’ve got no desire to engage in picking. It isn’t even a willpower thing, it feels like I’m totally cured.
My friends and family have commented that I look great, that I’m glowing. And that my ‘vibe’ is totally differnt, relaxed.
I’m not sure if it’s the ibogaine, or the lifestyle change that came with it. But it worked.
Good luck! And there is NOTHING to be ashamed of, even if you are still picking. This is not a defect of character, or a weakness. It’s just a disorder that lots of really powerful, intelligent, wonderful people have.
Love yourselves as you are. That will go a long way!

This has been going on for a long time – I am 50 years old and just can’t seem to stop it.
My adult kids as well as my husband keep on me constantly; which seems to make things worse.
My scalp is so sore – its’s a mess.
I am afraid …
and feel so alone…
and so ashamed…

Hello everyone, I must first admit that I do not have this problem, or any form of of it. I am simply writing in regards to my girlfriend, who does suffer from this disorder. I have been dating her for three years and the subject of her picking has come up here and there, but she always manages to avoid it unless I directly bring it up. Its not like she is in denial or does not realize she has a problem, but she seems to think that there is just not much she can do to fix it since we are both in college and it is not the right time to fix this since stress is everywhere. I am begging any of you who have beaten this or gotten it under control to give me some suggestions on what to say to her, and how to help her get it under control. She is the love of my life and I simply want her to get better and not worse, as I have been noticing it has lately. So I am asking anyone who has found something to beat this, or who might know what to say to someone who has this problem to give me some advice. Thank you all for reading this and giving me help.

I have been a picker all my life, but recently it has gotten out of control. Whenever I shave my legs, I get numerous ingrown hairs. Of course, I have to get them free and from there it is all downhill. Does anyone else have this particular issue? If so, what do you do to stop the picking while getting rid of the ingrown hairs?

Thank you