r/Dermatillomania

I'm 15 years old and I've been constantly picking my scalp for over 2 years. There are periods of time where I stop, but I always come back to it to the point I can't stop. I even do it at school, with my hands dirty or when my nails are too short to properly pick. My mom keeps telling me I should stop, she gets very angry whenever she sees me doing it and tells me my scalp has big red scabs but I don't think they're that bad? Some people definitely have worse ones. Well lately she's been telling me she will slap my hands whenever she sees me doing it, and I really don't care. I'd do it in secret if I have to, it brings me so much satisfaction. But it does hurt when I brush my hair, I'm also a little ashamed of being seen doing it by my classmates (they've probably already noticed) but it's not enough for me to stop.

I've been struggling horribly with skin picking for over 6 years and my parents try way too hard to always get rid of them. It got to the point of physical abuse and arguments everyday and it's really tiring. Do other people mind your dermatillomania marks that much or are my parents too overreacting?

WELL GEE HOMIE I WOULDN’T KNOW BECAUSE I’VE HAD ACNE FOR 20 YEARS ON MY FACE, SCALP, SHOULDERS, CHEST, ARMS, BACK BUT THANKS FOR YOUR INPUT I GUESS??????????

I know he means well but sometimes I wish my partner would just piss off. Talking to me about how I need to “stop looking” for spots to pick. Oh wow man thanks, I’ve never thought of that, I’m cured! Now fix the part where I pick things I can’t see, like the back of my head.

I DON’T NEED YOU TO EXPLAIN MY DISORDER TO ME OR HOW TO FIX IT. I ALREADY KNOW. IF IT WAS THAT SIMPLE WE WOULDN’T BE HAVING THIS CONVERSATION BRO.

Siiiiiiiiiiigh. This is a nightmare.

I've had Excoriation disorder for years and nothing really works for me. I've tried fidgets, pimple patches, gloves, bandages around my fingers, apps, cutting nails short...but nothing seems to work and I think it's because I'm too aware.

I'm aware I can fidget with one hand and pick with the other, or not use the fidget at all. I'm aware I can remove the pimple patches, gloves and bandages and pick. And cutting my nails short never prevented me from picking in any way.

I still don't have access to a psychiatrist and in the meanwhile I was wondering if anyone had suggestions on what I could try?

forgive my grammar please, i’m typing quickly.

I am a girl in high school and so pissed at my skin 24/7. was diagnosed with ADD in elementary and re-diagnosed last year with ADHD and anxiety. i’ve had several reoccurring staph infections related to picking and been on several antibiotics and medications to kill bacteria but i just CANT STOP PICKING. please help!

The picking is because of anxiety and becoming hyper focused once i start, no doubt about it, i just don’t know how to prevent it.

I feel disgusted by this habit. I'm nothing but filth. I do it until I bleed, until I feel intense pain and disgust. The urge is incredibly strong. It hurts so much, like a knife is being stabbed into my head when the urge comes. I pull out my hair, I hit my head to stop myself, but I always give in. I do the same disgusting thing over and over again.

I'm so ashamed of my hair. When someone wants to look at my hair, I'm so embarrassed that I don't want anyone to talk about it. It's a method I developed when I started high school. Since then, I've still suffered from intense social anxiety and stress. At first, it felt good, but it got worse and I couldn't stop it. I hate seeing the disgusting dandruff all over my body. I've been bullied many times because of this habit. It completely destroyed my already terrible self-esteem.

I still can't stop it. When the urge comes, I sometimes do it non-stop for 2-3 hours. I don't know how this happens. My scalp is full of sores and scabs. I can't get rid of the headaches. I constantly, constantly have headaches. I feel such shame and disgust while writing these lines that I have considered deleting them several times.

My toe is currently throbbing and bleeding like crazy and it’s so hard to not keep going, it would be nice to feel less alone. Also messed up my cuticles on my fingers and now my nails feel weird, but ingrown toe shit is the worst. Swear to god I just took like a protractor compass to it. I feel disgusting but i can’t stop it’s a cycle. I just dig until it bleeds too bad to see while dig into the skin and wait just to pick at it again once it’s healed

Maybe it's because I'm lucky enough this isn't out of hand, but I've never felt shame or disgust about picking my skin. I would prefer to not have scabs and scars on my chin/neck/arms/shoulders and I sometimes feel disappointed in myself, I would prefer not to get blood stains on most of my shirts. But idk, the wire that connects this with yucky doesn't seem to be connected.

My acne's fairly cleared this week and I've got my gel manicure on, so hopefully I have a better week.

Anxiety has been at an all time high and I’ve been picking my chin for a few days now, but last night was the worst. I spent about an hour doing so.
It’s resulted in basically the entirety of my chin being covered in scabs that are now puss filled and I’m not sure what to do.
I did try to ensure everything was clean but didn’t put anything on it last night / anti bacterial.
I put neosporin on it this morning as it was really painful and seemed the scabs were still soft.
I usually only pick my scalp but my face is new.
Any advice is appreciated, I’ve tried researching on my own but was only getting acne related treatments and acids to reduce acne (there wasn’t any active pimples on my chin).

I often find myself picking at the dead skin on my feet uncontrollably, to the point where I try to go to sleep but my urge to pick it off is too strong and keeps me up. I have recently removed some sensitive skin under the arch of my foot (I now have both feet bandaged also to help resist the urge) but now that area is dark red, itchy and warm to the touch. I am disgusted with myself and ashamed. I almost hope it’s infected because I feel like I deserve it. I hate this disease

Hello, my first time posting anything here.

I've been struggling with both dermatillomania & trichotillomania since childhood, truly for as long as I remember myself.

Recently, due to university & life stress, my compulsions have been much, much worse. It was always pretty bad for me, but I felt like I could control it better. Recently, in my opinion, it truly hit rock bottom.

After reading some posts here, I saw many people recommend NAC supplements, & bought the now brand 600mg one.

Any advice on how to take it? Morning or before bed? With or without food? Every day or? Once or twice a day?

I also take Vyvanse 30mg for ADHD, is it okay to take them together, or should I take nac whenever I'm not taking vyvanse? I truly dont know what else to do about these issues, I feel like I can't stop, it's depressing me so badly. If this can help even a little, even just to stop easier when I start, it will give me some hope that not everything is lost.

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This is something I've had since I was a child, and I've never met anyone else who experiences it.

I'm obsessed with pulling hairs (or lint/fluff) out of cuts or wounds. If someone in my family has a cut and I notice there's a hair stuck in it, I can't stop thinking about it. I'll either ask if I can pull it out, or if they don't want me to, I'll ask them to pull it out themselves because I just need it gone.

If it's my own cut, it's even worse. I'll constantly check it until it heals because I'm always looking for hairs or fluff that have become trapped. I get a huge sense of satisfaction from pulling them out. It's honestly one of the most satisfying feelings I can describe.

I think about it a lot, and I've even searched online for videos of people pulling hairs out of cuts because I find it so satisfying, but I can't seem to find anything.

I've had this for as long as I can remember, and I've always wondered if anyone else experiences this, or if it has a name. Am I the only one?

I just can’t seem to stop picking at my skin. I pick mostly my face and back but I’ll also pick my chest, legs and feet if I notice any kind of imperfection. I’ve tried so many things and it just hasn’t worked. I’ve tried several medications with no success, I’ve tried fidgets and therapy exercises and hydrocolloid patches and skincare products and it just isn’t working. I’m genuinely at a loss and I’m in tears most nights because of it. Going to school makes me insecure and terrified but I can’t wear makeup because it makes my acne worse. I feel like I’ve explored every option but I just can’t find something that works for me. My triggers are any noticing imperfections in my skin and mirrors and I try to avoid both but I still end up in hour long picking sessions. The worst part is I know I need to stop but I can’t physically drag myself away from the mirror but its like I don’t have the willpower and afterwards I just feel weak and useless for giving in to the urge. I’m so grateful for any help because I’m just so upset and sick of this habit.

having a really really difficult time recently & i’m just so sick and tired of the stinging pain on my scalp and having to wash my hair again to clean my scalp

i almost wish i picked another area of my body that is actually visible instead of my scalp because there’s almost no repercussions to the scalp picking except the distress and the pain.

i’m so tired.

Has anyone had success with this supplement/amino acid? My psychiatrist recommended it!

Posting this in multiple subreddits.

So I have this problem where I bite my nails or more so the skin around my nails. It has been a problem at least since I was 15, as I remember biting my fingertips so much that they were throbbing and I soaked them in ice water to numb them (which is a common thing for me, just happened the other night)

I hate the roughness/unevenness. If I feel it, I subconsciously and sometimes consciously bite at it to get rid of the unevenness which obviously doesn't work and just hurts a lot. I can't fucking stop it. I've tried so much. Keeping my nails short doesn't work bc just cutting my nails triggers it a lot, I file them down as best I can but it just always feel too unnatural.

Previous therapist said it was anxiety when I first mentioned it, told me to cover it with bandaids when I find myself gnawing. Did that for a few months then the bandaids started bothering me. They felt "rough", they'd get loose and bother me, had to use the exact same bandaids, had to put them on exactly right or I'd take them right off and try again. It got bad. Was wearing bandaids on most of my fingers every day and they just got to the point where they weren't helping, they never were. Just covering the issue, and then they didn't even do that anymore.

Current therapist ran thru a list of ideas. OCD tendencies. Past traumas playing in the background and stressing me out. Extremely sensitive fingertips (no shit) Even had me keep a journal of like when it happened, what I was doing/thinking/feeling etc. did that for a few weeks but it had no link it was completely random. Even bought these finger cots that are way better than the bandaids but still only covering the issue. Last we talked about it, she kinda chalked it up to being a bad habit. I think there's more to it bc if it was a bad habit, surely after years of trying everything to stop it, I would've made some kind of progress right ?

It's weird bc sometimes after talking to a therapist, it goes away/becomes less severe for a few weeks. It always comes back tho and eventually gets severe. Just full-on sobbed in my bfs arms at 3am bc im so tired of dealing with it and I've tried everything I can to stop it.

Have been doing a lot of research and following rabbit trail after rabbit trail. OCD, impulse control disorder (ICD), autism, dermatophagia. Idk wtf this is. I have family members with OCD and ASD so I wouldn't be surprised if I had those bc I have other symptoms too but I just dk man. Apparently my mom had this same problem with her fingers, she gnaws them till they're bleeding and throbbing too.

Idk what this is and I'm so desperate to just have answers as to why this is happening, why I can't stop it, and how to fix this problem. Bc I'm losing my shit. I'm so so tired of dealing with this.

Just wondering if anyone else has experienced this or has any advice on how to manage it? :(

Just ranting.

So I decided to be brave and go to the salon, and it went exactly how I imagined. I told the lady right away that my skin was very bad, but the moment I removed my face mask she gasped and went "oh, what happened to you? is it an allergy?"

It is not even that bad, just reddish/dark marks on my cheek. I thought they are supposed to be more professional about this, since they supposedly see people with skin issues every day...I feel very discouraged to go back and I have 2 more sessions of mild laser treatment already paid for, can not refund.

Courage to us all

I have about a hundred small scabs/sores on my body at all time (arms, legs, shoulders, back, chest, face, scalp, basically everywhere) and I'm worried about getting an infection. I'm 34f and have been picking since I was a child, and never had an infection (or at least, anything serious. The worst I've had is a scab was a bit yellowy instead of the usual dark brown of dried blood). I'm surprised I've managed to last 30ish years without any infections because I've read so many stories on here and from other places of people getting giant pus filled sores that need to be lanced and have antibiotics etc. I have no idea how it could get that bad, but I'd like to avoid it if possible.

I also have dermatillophagia, so I sort of "eat" (really I just obsessively chew) the skin and scabs I've picked, so my fingers are always in my mouth, which I'm guessing isn't the most sanitary place, and obviously I end up with lots more germs on my fingers than normal.

Sometimes I dedicate time to picking, it's a calming past time (though I hate it) but other times, I do it without realising it. I'd like advice on what products would be good to use to clean the picked areas, and also advice on what I can do when I'm not in a position that I can just apply some sort of disinfectant, like if I'm in public or driving or something. Away from my medicine cabinet, basically.

I also have really bad ADHD, which makes me forget to do basic chores, like brushing my teeth, brushing my hair, eating, etc so it may be really difficult for me to remember to clean my wounds even when I am home and purposefully picking. Does anyone have any tips on how to navigate ADHD laziness/forgetfulness when it comes to looking after your body, especially in terms of remembering to disinfect stuff.

I don't get acne j js tear into my pores digging for something. And this happens any time I'm near a mirror I js loose track of time. My skin looks horrible and cut up I feel disgusted all the time but I can't stop its so satisfying forcing stuff out of my pores.