[bobo01]

anyone here bipolar and have problems with skin picking..or dermatillomania?...i have ruined the skin on my upper legs, arms, and shoulders.....even on all the meds i'm on, i can't slow it down..

Oh my gosh ive had this problem for years and year and years. I have severe bodily acne though so that what was always the excuse i gave for doing it. I disassociate really badly when picking - i can go on for hours. My chest, back, arms, tummy and thighs are really badly scarred. I just finding it so calming though. I don't know if it can be classified as self harm but i do that also - its like theres no end to it really. I know EXACTLY how you feel though. Your not alone

[tattoogirl33]

Myself and my 13 yr old son have this too... I find it 'calming' in a way and find I do it the worst when I'm stressed and/or uncomfortable in a situation (or just with life in general) LOL.. heck this whole evening has been terrible with it. but the bleeding part, although it sounds "gross", is what I look for. I need the pain from it to feel alive and the blood to show it... My T says it is a form or SI and I have found meds to be of no help. You're are not alone!

[Ashleigh28]

I have derm/trichotillomania. I find certain meds amplify my desire to pick/pull. I do its SO blindly. I only realize later how much damage I've done.

What kind of meds are you on? I find APs make it the worst!!!

Originally Posted by bobo01

anyone here bipolar and have problems with skin picking..or dermatillomania?...i have ruined the skin on my upper legs, arms, and shoulders.....even on all the meds i'm on, i can't slow it down..

yeah I picked the **** out of myself!!

the worst was on my back cos I just could not get there.

I had to tie my hands up with something

...I ripped holes in my body...

i went deeper and just got worse about it...

were there things inside me?

that should not be there?

i ripped myself apart and there was nothing there

[nicole84]

Yes! Now reading this is making me want to start picking again. I pick the eczema on my scalp, pick pick pick until it's too sore/bleeding and repeat the process once it reforms.

Once I start I can't stop until i'm satisfied that i've got it off my scalp. Nothing seems to help once my hand is up there picking. It's definitely worse when i'm in an anxious situation or when my anxiety is high. I've done it for years, meds haven't helped either.

I'm not BiPolar, I have C-PTSD ... and, yes, I'm a nitpicking skin picker ...

I try not to, but the more I resist the more I'm compelled. Some days are better than others, and overall with years of therapy, it's improved a bit ... But I'm not sure if I'll ever be able to stop completely because I've done it since I was a child (I can remember doing it as far back as 5 years of age) and I'll soon be 52 years old ... That's a long time for a behavior to ingrain itself ...

I remarked to one therapist OMG! I've got like 20 active spots, and she said, at least it's not 100 ... That kinda put it in perspective for me, because it literally used to be 100 active spots and more ...

I hope your impulses eventually diminish too ... !

[RaggedyAnn67]

Wow, I am really sorry to hear about this. Can't you use nailpolish on your fingers and toes and pick that off instead? Or, something like lots of glue on your skin that you could pick off? That sounds so painful.

[Forgive77]

I don't know if I pick....I scratch a lot though...but I do have dry skin....hmmm.....

[needfixing]

my friend does the exact same thing! it's gotten so bad that her favorite excersie is to swim, and she can't do that anymore.
i try to get her to stop but she said she doesn't realize she's doing it while watching tv.
she picks, it bleeds, turns into a scab, and she picks again.

[Forgive77]

Originally Posted by needfixing

my friend does the exact same thing! it's gotten so bad that her favorite excersie is to swim, and she can't do that anymore.
i try to get her to stop but she said she doesn't realize she's doing it while watching tv.
she picks, it bleeds, turns into a scab, and she picks again.

I used to do that a lot when I was a kid. I always picked my scabs off. I guess that was my baby way of self harm. Now I just scratch holes in my skin because I itch from dry skin. I have claw marks all over my back, neck, and shoulder area that connect.

[Forgive77]

Anyone else picking and scratching like crazy now???

[tattoogirl33]

wearing fake nails is the only thing I have found to help.. a little

[Girl_Interrupted]

All the time, ever since I was a kid.