A fear of being alone triggered my new habit. It was almost the holidays, and another good friend – one of the few left unmarried – became engaged. Immediately the fear I had since childhood of to be alone (Autophobia) washed over me again. Thought spirals took over and denied my ability to be completely happy for my friend who, despite all the odds (ie the hole that is dating apps), found her person.
There, rot away in bed and looked at “Gilmore girls” again, I ripped off some skin on my left arm. The pain felt good in a strange way. Something unfortunate inside me lit up. It was like the intrusive thought “I will always be alone” had melted my skin, and from there I just couldn’t stop.
I regularly started scanning my body with my hands so that everything that is worth picking on, ripping the skin from top to toe. Within a few weeks I was covered with scars, wearing several tape aids and spent hundreds on makeup and skin care to try to fix my skin. Within a few months I caused infections and took antibiotics regularly, causing yeast infections.
My therapist tried to help. I tried to read about body -focused repetitive behaviors (BFRB) and dermatillomania (skin picking disorder) and learn new skills such as encouraging surfing and replacement behaviors, but nothing seemed to help. I was stuck in a bicycle of self -injury.
Experts displayed in this article
Sarah Parker, PHD, is a therapist based in New York.
Michael Maher, PHD, is a therapist based in New York.
“If someone discovers that they spend a time picking or managing who is emotionally worrying or getting in the way of other activities, talking to a behavioral therapist to understand if treatment can be helpful,” says therapist Sarah Parker, PHD.
If the influence of picking causes damage such as wounds, scarring or even infections, the therapist Michael Maher, a doctorate, suggests seeking behavioral therapy from an expert. I was already on medication, but they didn’t help. So after several months of bleeding, I decided to get a second opinion from a psychiatrist. There, across the screen, I was diagnosed OCD and Adhd.
For starters, I was hopeful, stunned, then scared: What does all this mean for my daily life? No one gave straight answers on how to move forward while the doctor changed medication dramatically. When I began to feel suicide and afraid of my own thoughts, I controlled myself into a housing program for OCD, anxiety and depression. In rehabilitation, I began cognitive behavioral therapy and prevention of exposure prevention, both of which are the gold standard treatments for OCD. I also learned that skin picking is common with adhd and executive problem. From there I slowly began to feel relief-when I became less afraid of my thoughts, I cut down my compulsive skin picking almost completely.
In my case, skin picking meant a bigger problem, which can be a common experience. “People choose the skin for various reasons,” says Dr. Parks. “Sometimes it is more of a care habits, where they are not always aware that it is happening, or they can choose if they are bored or to calm down when they feel a little stressed.”
People who experience executive functional difficulties can choose on the skin to feel less bored or help them focus on a task. Or, picking can be a compulsion. “When someone suffers from” not just the right “feelings in obsessive -compulsive disorder (OCD) or body dysmorphic disorder (BDD), they can spend a lot of time reviewing the skin for flaws and feeling a high level of distress if they find one,” says Dr. Parks. For them, the picking is strongly motivated by feelings of anxiety and disgust.
How to seek help for skin picking
If skin picking becomes a problem for you, there are measures to receive proper care. “Wages resources to become more educated about skin picking and other body -focused repetitive behaviors, including Trich Learning Center“Says Dr. Parker. It can be quite good to understand that you are not alone and that many people participate in these behaviors and want to stop them, she adds.
“For people diagnosed with skin picking or excoriaization, it is important to find a therapist who is very experienced in habitual reversing therapy (HRT), which is a very effective treatment for skin picking,” says Dr. Maher. For people with OCD who compulsory the skin, it would be optimal to find a therapist in exposure and response prevention and habit the reverse therapy as the treatment usually requires both methods. “For people with cross -border personality disorder, it is important to find a therapist with expertise in the treatment of BDD with CBT, which includes exposure, response prevention, cognitive therapy and HRT.”
Find the right therapist is crucial. “If you want to work with a therapist, that person should be able to describe a fairly concrete strategy to help people stop picking,” offers Dr. Parks. “We know that effective treatment for this problem is quite structured – which means that there is an agenda for each session, and that usually means learning something and practicing it, both in session and between sessions.” Consequently, the first step is about building awareness of behavior and what happens before and after. “The therapist helps his client build a fairly extensive set of skills and strategies to reduce behavior over time.”
Now, after several years of treatment under my belt, I feel happy for my friends and happy with myself. Even in times of need, I have always got my Fidget toys and therapy tool kit to dip in.
Sara Radin is a writer and publicist based in Philadelphia. Her writing about internet trends, style, youth culture, mental health, health culture and identity has been published by the New York Times, Glamor, Self, Teen Vogue, Refinery29, Allure, PS and many others.
