- Date posted
- 6y
- Date posted
- 6y
I haven’t been officially diagnosed, but I do have this. I have compulsively picked at the skin on my lips for a long time. It’s also called dermatillomania. I do struggle with this. Maybe try to keep your hands busy with something else? You could also try setting a timer for five minutes and making a conscious effort to not let yourself pick for that time. As time goes on, maybe you could lengthen the time you allot yourself to not pick.
- Date posted
- 6y
Had a psychiatrist note that I "appear to have trichotillomania", she said it wasn't an issue because my hair is thick enough to hide it. Thanks Ma'am. But yeah, not exactly the same but close enough and I do pick at my scalp a lot with it too. I don't know whether this is recommended but one thing I do to reduce the damage is pull at the hair but not pull it out. I guess you could do similar with your skin? Like, rub the spot but try not to pick it? Of course it doesn't always work but sometimes it does, and damage reduction is never a bad thing. :)
- Date posted
- 6y
You’re welcome. I don’t believe you’re ever as alone as you believe you are. I hope those things work for you.
- Date posted
- 6y
Omw cipherseven that actually sounds like a good idea I will definitely try it!!
- Date posted
- 6y
b13, you could see a psychologist about it and just tell your mom you have to talk to one because you feel like there is bothering you a lot lately. Have you ever tried to stop and if you did did you have this obsession or struggle to do it again and you can't just "stop" it's normally a sign but if you want to know more here is a great video about is https://youtu.be/jFxoT3coHas I really hope you get help because it usually starts when you hit puberty and then it gets worse, I send you love
- Date posted
- 6y
Thank you! I'm going to make clay and keep my hands busy. I was afraid I won't find someone with almost the same ocd but now I know, I'm not alone. Thank you.
- Date posted
- 6y
So I haven’t been diagnosed and I’m not convinced it’s compulsive but I am CONSTANTLY biting, picking, ripping the skin around my nails. I do bite my nails too but I find myself always biting at the skin. I don’t know if it’s compulsive I just always realise I’m doing it once I’ve already started. I’ll pull my cuticles too. They bleed and burn and hurt a lot and there’s been times I’ve had to use plasters. I read it’s called dermatophagia but again I’m not sure if I actually have it. My mum thinks it’s just a bad habit.
- Date posted
- 6y
Also b13 if you see a psycholigist, just show her your nails and tell her how you feel when you do it. Stress relief? Boredom? Both?
Related posts
- Date posted
- 25w
I’ve always had OCD, and for most of my life it was little things that seemed manageable at the time or something that would phase out of my head within a couple days/weeks/months. But, the older I got the more severe it became, I’d find myself collapsing deeper and deeper within my own head trying to out think the thoughts that bothered me. About a year ago I had a thought that rattled me to my core. My brothers and I were watching a movie in our mother’s room when my youngest brother turned to me to say something. His close proximity to me triggered a fleeting sexually explicit image in my head and that thought caused me to spiral. Asking questions like, “are you attracted to your minor brother? Are you attracted to minors? Are you gay? Etc.” a couple days went by and my mental stability continued to crumble until I broke down to my mother, she was understanding and we found a a psychiatrist. I got on medication and for a while everything was slowly but surely trending in a positive direction. The thoughts would still pop into my head but they were becoming more manageable. As we all know OCD and mental illness comes in waves. Currently my OCD has been pretty severe. I feel those intrusive thoughts latching on in my head and it’s been very hard to kick them. It’s gotten to the point where I find myself being uncomfortable being in close proximity with my little brother because I feel as though I am capable of harming him in any way. And the more uncomfortable I become being around him the more I find myself lashing out in anger towards the people I care about the most. Those moments of anger cause me to spiral even farther as my head fills with ideas like “what if you are capable of hurting someone or even murdering them?” There’s times where these thoughts rattle me so much that I feel like it would be better to be in prison where I couldn’t harm someone or that even being dead would be a better solution than possibly running the risk of hurting someone in my life I care about. This is about the jist of it, a majority of the OCD I have is centered around the idea that I am capable of harming my little brother physically, mentally, sexually. It’s been exhausting and it feels like there is no end in sight.
- User type
- OCD Conqueror
- Date posted
- 21w
Does anyone have suggestions on how to stop picking at their scalp?
- Date posted
- 8w
Does anyone have any good tips on how to reduce the urge to pick your skin? I wasn’t aware that this was something often associated with OCD until my therapist told me about it. I regularly engage in skin picking especially on my face and it has made my acne even worse and lead to scarring. I don’t want to continue doing it but sometimes I just do it without even realizing I’m doing it.
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