What does having dermatillomania entail?

Lots of time on a regular basis spent picking skin, but also spent obsessively touching and looking at skin searching for things to pick/fixate on, and for me fixations on particular body parts that shifts around every once in a while

Do you have other related conditions?

Trichotillomania (used to be primary problem but now mostly manifests alongside the dermatillomania), OCD, anxiety, anorexia (recovery), autism

Do you know what may have caused it?

Probably just mental illness but I believe it was an outgrowth of my initial trichotillomania, coupled with anxiety and obsessive fixation as a “coping mechanism”

When did you first start picking?

8

When were you diagnosed with dermatillomania?

I did not really need one but first formally diagnosed(?) when I was 14

How did you feel knowing that there was a word for what you had? How did your diagnosis help?

The diagnosis did not really help one way or the other. It is good to know it’s a mental disorder rather than simply being weak willed and unable to stop

What symptoms do you experience? What areas do you usually pick?

Symptoms would be feeling my skin, urge I guess? Calves especially the inner left and outer right are the number one place, then the shoulders/upper arms, then chest, last being face.

How often do you pick?

Sometimes every day, sometimes every other day, with the picking lasting between 20 minutes and an hour most times.

What are your triggers?

Going to bed, removing my contacts (can see very well up close all of a sudden), being in the bathroom, any time where my legs are available as that’s my main spot

How would you describe how you feel when you pick at your skin?

Nothing except intrigue and obsessiveness with the task, interspersed with random thinking about whatever’s on my mind

Have you ever been caught picking?

Haha constantly

How does dermatillomania affect your day-to-day life?

Takes up so much time. I know it looks weird. I have a lot of scarring all over my legs and have to wear pantyhose most places, same with my shoulders and I won’t wear sleeveless shirts. Mostly the time and the heavy scarring/scabs. But at the same time it gives me a sense of relief.

Are there any potentially dangerous aspects to having dermatillomania? Have you experienced any?

Definitely infection, which I’ve had at least two that thankfully did not need treatment. Scarring can also form and then get worse with repeated picking. It’s also very distracting. Also there is definitely blood loss during picking so that as well.

Can you recall any big moments in your life that was shaped by having dermatillomania?

Every day of my life hehe but particularly being told/asked by other people about scarring/scabbing: I have been asked why I have a rash, if I had bug bites, if I had chiggers, etc.

Do you tell people you have dermatillomania or is that something that you hope would remain more of a secret?

I would say so if it came up.

Have you developed mechanisms to manage it?

Trying to catch myself or set a timer

Have you had any treatment to help? How effective are they?

Therapy, moderately effective

Have you experienced any sort of stigma for having dermatillomania? Did that take a toll on you? How did/do you deal with it?

Not really, I cover it pretty well, but in those above mentioned situations it impacted me emotionally and in my self image to the point I could not wear certain styles of clothing anymore.

What is your general outlook on your condition?

I don’t see it ending

Have you lost opportunities due to having dermatillomania?

Not sure

Does dermatillomania have an affect on what you wear or things you do? Is there anything that having dermatillomania has prevented you from doing that you really wish you could do?

Yes, wearing pantyhose in all work situations and not wearing sleeveless tops, for a while I also did not wear shorts

How did/does dermatillomania affect your education?

In my senior year I would almost miss my first class every morning because I was anxious and picking for too long.

How does dermatillomania affect your career?

Idk, I’m just tired in the morning if I picked the night before

How does dermatillomania affect other aspects of your life?

It just interacts with the trich/anxiery

What did your parents do right and wrong, in raising a child with dermatillomania?

They should have put me in therapy and let me keep going in high school. For sure…

What are misconceptions about dermatillomania?

That it is all just pimple popper videos and picking a scab everyonce in a while

What do you find is the biggest challenge of living with dermatillomania?

The TIME WASTED has to be through the roof.

What are your fears that stem from having dermatillomania?

I feel no pain while picking so sometimes afterward I will realize i’ve made a hole or something and it gives me serious anxiety.

What are things to NOT say or do to people who have dermatillomania?

“Just stop it” lol

How do you feel about how dermatillomania is portrayed in media? What are some of your favorite pieces of media with authentic representation?

Dunno any

What would you like to say to parents of people who have dermatillomania?

Put them in therapy

How do you wish our society would perceive and treat people with dermatillomania?

Do not comment on skin or bodies please