I need help for what i suspect is dermotillomania!!!!!

This morning my mother noted a couple of new sores ony face and made the observation that meth addicts have those sorts of things. She as good as said I looked like a meth addict in a way, despite the fact that I don't use any sort of illegal substance, let alone meth.

It's now that I've come to the conclusion that I have some for of dermotillomania. The compulsion I have is to pick at existing scabs and sores on my face, neck, cuticles and generally anywhere a sore or blemish crops up. I do so till there is either no more scab material to pick, or I have extracted all the fluid I can from a blemish or pimple (which I feel the overwhelming need to consume). It gets so bad that blood runs down from the sore, and scarring is left at times, sometimes heavily. I even feel excrutiating pain, but keep at it because the compulsion is so bad. Sometimes I even find myself picking at my face as I wake up in the morning, and I have left several bloodstains on my bedsheets.

It's affecting my self confidence and caused me to feel very embarrassed and to be even more reclusive than I already am. I am officially ready to declare that I need help and that I want to stop. Enough is enough.

How do I go about combating this compulsive behavior? Is it even curable, or will I have to struggle with this all my life? I just know I need help and feel ready to accept it.

Ah, such is the curse of perfectionism. I too spend hours compulsively picking and squeezing at blemishes I'm really not sure were there to begin with. Well, I suppose they are now, anyway.
Isn't it lovely when a perfectly well-meaning person shouts "What happened to your face!? You have a huge scar!" ?
In order to combat this compulsion, I would recommend replacing it with one less damaging. Cutting your nails short and avoiding the mirror helps as well.
Is this bad advice? Probably. But we do what we must.
Your case seems quite severe, so I do hope you go to a therapist about it.

Thanks Midday. I don't typically use a mirror to aide me whilst picking. I havent for a while now. I might clip my nails short though. I don't want to, but I might need to.

Are there psychologists that specialize in ocd and dermotillomania? Either way I am going to ask my T about this at our next visit.

I've been struggling with dermatillomania ever since I was a little kid. My focus has always been on the tips of my fingers. I pick at them almost constantly and sometimes it's not even a conscious effort, I'm just so used to doing it. It's always been a source of shame for me too and my mother likes to point it out... a lot...as some way of embarrassing me to stop. I really wish I knew how to stop myself, but at the same time I don't really want to. As weird and effed up as it sounds, I find it to be a source of comfort especially when I'm super stressed. It's like there's something grounding about it...like I feel that I can control my anxiety better if I just focus on peeling to the point where the skin is tender but not drawing blood. It's weirdly gratifying when I do this. The only time I ever stopped was when I got a manicure...and believe me, I still tried to pick even though I had pretty acrylics that made it almost impossible. That lasted for about a week until the acrylics started falling off and I was right back to it.

Btw, have you been to this website? You can take a short test about your behaviors and they'll get back to you on whether or not your displaying dermatillomania or not: http://ocdla.com/dermatillomania-com...n-picking-test

Oh, I'm quite sure there are. Is your picking more absent-minded or deliberate? Or both? I don't mean to pry, but I am a wee bit curious.

I do it both with and without thinking. It's something I might bring up at eithet my next therapy session or when I see my pdoc next.

I use a fidget toy to help me with my picking at my lips and scabs. I do it unconsciously sometimes, but when I notice I'm doing it using my Tangle helps keep my hands occupied. Maybe try one of them?

Thanks for the suggestion! What exactly is your Tangle? That plastic twisty toy that you can make longer by connecting more pieces?

People say it is a method by which some deal with unpleasant emotions, do you think that is the case for you?

Methinks it could be hereditary as well. My father rubs his knuckles quite a bit. That may not seem as severe as scratching your face until it bleeds, but after rubbing for so many years his knuckles are but bruised calluses. He says it soothes him. I personally engage in this behavior because the thought of something being in my skin aggravates me.
What I'm getting at, is there are a lot of different reasons behind it and figuring out what drives your picking habit could be very helpful in breaking it.

I've been doing it as long as I can remember. My parents tried everything to no avail. I am worse when I am anxious or depressed. I have scars all over from it. I am on lamictal (bipolar), buspirone and celexa, but none seem to help. even when I had Ativan it didn't seem to work, though I picked a lot less. for me it is scabs, I can't leave them alone. I often find sores, with no idea how they got there, and no memory of being cut or scratched.

Ya it is, I bought mine on amazon. I has seen some people using them when I was in the hospital and they seemed to help so I got one and I love it! I got a pack of three in case it breaks or I want it bigger. Its a Tangle Junior... The regular ones are REALLY big. You can get metallic ones, just plastic ones, or textured ones. Mine are textured, I like the different feelings on it, it sort of calms me down. Like I said,I got mine from amazon.com , but you can sometimes get them on other websites or in toy stores
Good luck

Awesome. I'll check Amazon.