Dermatillomania
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Dermatillomania (also known as compulsive skin picking or CSP) is an obsessive compulsive disorder characterized by the repeated urge to pick at one's own skin, often to the extent that damage is caused.
Sufferers of dermatillomania find skin picking to be stress relieving or gratifying rather than painful.
Damage from CSP is common on the face, back, scalp, and extremities, and is usually caused by a mixture of picking, scratching, biting, and tweezing. Focus may be placed on ingrown hairs, scabs, insect bites, pimples, or cuticles. Sufferers of the condition may enter a trance-like state, only to be confronted with the results afterward.
Research into the cause of the condition has been limited, but it has been linked to obsessive-compulsive disorder. Some sufferers feel that "picking off" pimples or skin abnormalities may help them look more "normal", which is a symptom of body dysmorphic disorder.
Many sufferers feel the need to create pickable surfaces in order to satisfy their compulsion. This may lead to self-harm in the form of mutilation or cutting in order to produce scabs. Some sufferers report picking at inanimate objects or others' skin.
Few psychiatrists have studied the disease but some individuals have found relief through cognitive-behavioral therapy.
Recent research suggests that dermatillomania may be a part of behavioural genetics, as a general behavioral disorder that results in the inability to control impulses. Many sufferers may be the children of alcoholics or parents with other behavioral problems. [citation needed]
Dermatillomania sufferers often have other impulse control disorders, such as eating disorders, alcoholism, obsessive-compulsive disorder, codependence, perfectionism or social anxiety disorder.
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[edit] Habits of dermatillomania sufferers
- One practice related to dermatillomania is dermophagia, in which skin or scabs are swallowed.
- Skin pickers are characteristically obsessive in their skin routines, bathing, and make-up application.
- Self-harm.
- Some skin pickers may also suffer from trichotillomania.
[edit] Synonyms
- compulsive skin picking
- acne excoriee (from French)
- chronic skin picking
- excoriated acne
- neurotic excoriation
- psychogenic excoriation
- skin picking
- self injurious skin picking
- obsessive skin picking
[edit] Hyponyms
- acne excoriee des jeunes filles (from French)
- compulsive face picking
- scalp picking
[edit] See also
[edit] External links
- Information
- FREE Online Book written by a former skin picker
- OCD Center of Los Angeles: Compulsive Skin Picking
- Dr. Grossbart: How to Stop Compulsive Skin Picking and Scratching
- Support forums and groups
