This is a journal and a place to go for skin picking awareness.
Please note I am not a therapist or health professional, but feel free to ask questions.
Thanks!
Hey skin pickers!!
I found this website about calamine lotion on healing picking scars…check it out—-I just bought some calamine lotion to help minimize my redness and open wounds (I picked for sooo long last night from anxiety—-2 am-3am).
Check out the website:
http://www.skinpick.com/node/2328
Please try it and see how it works—I’m doing it right now.
21st May 2013
Reblogged From kriso
Notes: 12
I don’t have keratosis pilaris, but a few people have written in to say that they have it and it triggers their scratching and picking. But apparently, having KP on your face is common.
(Source: fckyeahbachelorettefrog)
Thanks once again to Skin Pick Guy I have been led to yet another article about the DSM V and it’s new additions. This article is Psychiatry’s New Diagnostic Manual: “Don’t Buy It. Don’t Use It. Don’t Teach It.” and it’s hell bent on discrediting and discouraging anyone paying attention to the newest edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Health Disorders, as I’m sure you can tell from the title.
Surprisingly, I agree with some of what this lengthy article is saying. It’s right, people do abuse the DSM for disagnosing, pharmaceutical companies jump at the chance to make a buck, and people are misdiagnosed constantly. However, people are more focused on this aspect than the fact that there are actually people that need help that aren’t currently getting it because the DSM says whatever their disorder is (for example dermatillomania) doesn’t exist. While slandering the DSM, these people are essentially saying that those who need help should be disregarded completely because the system is flawed.
While I was reading this, I was thinking it’s essentially the same argument as gun control. Get rid of guns because guns are bad, while completely disregarding the fact that guns don’t kill people. People kill people. Ergo, the DSM doesn’t abuse itself, misdiagnose or anything else negative they’re saying, it’s the doctors and pharmacies and everything else that use the DSM that are doing these things. The system is what needs to be fixed, not necessarily the DSM.
I have no fantasy that the DSM is going to be perfect (or that it already is), and there is another point in the article that I do agree with. For instance, diagnoses of certain disorders are rampant, and I think unnecessary, for example, ADHD/ADD. Yes, I’m sure there are a lot of people who have and deal with this, but when every child and their brother is disagnosed with this, I think there’s a problem. But again, that’s not the fault of the DSM or the people being diagnosed, it’s the system of people who do the disagnosing. As the article says, it’s mainly the primary care doctors who are doing the diagnosing, which is perhaps the first misstep in the process. I think if doctors suspect there might be an issue they should send the person to a specialist just to be sure. But that’s where things get tricky, because then costs start to come into effect if health insurance doesn’t cover it. Even here in Canada, the land of universal health care, psychiatric care is not included in that bill. So on the one hand, we need primary care doctors to diagnose us if we can’t afford specialized treatment or appointments, but on the other, they’re probably not really trained to do so. They’re called general practitioners for a reason, and that’s because they cover the general spectrum of health issues, not the more in depth and detailed issues, such as mental health. At least that’s the way I understand it.
My problem with this article in particular is that it doesn’t even give the DSM a chance. Every question is essentially, “What is wrong with the new DSM and why?” I guess it’s fair enough that an article have an angle it’s attacking, however, I think the article would have more credibility if there were at least some positive points made. I particularly take issue with the second page of the article, “The 11 Most Harmful Changes in the DSM-5,” which blatantly attacks each of the listed changes.
Number 8 is where dermatillomania comes in: “8. DSM-5 creates a slippery slope by introducing the concept of behavioral addictions that eventually can spread to make a mental disorder of everything we like to do a lot.” I think Allen Frances (the doctor who is saying these things) is completely off base when he says this and I don’t think he even knows what behavioral addictions are judging by this statement. Behavioral addictions aren’t things “we like to do a lot.” Behavioral addictions are things we do that disrupt our lives, are a strain on our lives, prevent us from living to the fullest. I’m resisting calling him a twat for even suggesting that these are things “we like to do a lot.” Especially when I think of dermatillomania, and even trichotillomania, there are so many stories of suffering I’ve seen, so many people just begging for a magical way to stop because they can’t live like this anymore. Where does this doctor get off categorizing these as something that someone might enjoy? Addictions are not typically enjoyable and are often a hindrance in people’s lives. Does he not understand this?
He also takes a jab at binge eating disorder, suggesting by his wording that it’s not an actual disorder at all. He says it’s mere “gluttony,” as if people are just doing it for the sake of wanting to. I personally don’t have binge eating disorder, but I take issue with the fact that he would trivialize something like that as a choice. And now that I think about it, judging by his wording for behavioral addictions being something “we like to do a lot,” he probably sees them as a choice, too.
There are problems with the DSM all around, like maybe it does include too much, maybe it does need some refining, but the bigger problem is in how people use it, and the fact that to get treated for any sort of mental disorder it pretty much needs a listing in the pages of this book. The book is not at fault, it’s the system and the people who use it. I don’t understand why people are denouncing a book instead of taking the time to think, “how can I use this properly and to help people?” I don’t understand why they aren’t looking at the system and going, “aha! That’s the problem right there!”
The more people discredit the DSM, the more there will be people that will go without help. If you’re not going to fix the system so that we don’t need a book to tell us what’s wrong with us, then don’t punish us by saying that our disorders are illegitimate. Having a book with a list of mental health issues/disorders is one thing. To make it a requirement for diagnosis and treatment is entirely another. And that’s right there is a big problem.
Misophonia is a sensitivity to certain sounds, like gum chewing, lip smacking, or eating. I actually did not know this word and had to look it up. Anyway, thanks for writing. Interesting question!
First of all, it’s important to note that misophonia is not listed in the ICD or DSM-IV, so it’s not a recognized medical or mental condition. What does this mean? It just means that there’s not much known about this, or experts haven’t been able to come together and agree that this is a condition.
Does it mean that some people are just annoyed at certain sounds and that they need to get over it? Well, that’d be the easy answer. But it sounds like his triggers and anger over certain sounds, like your nail tapping or picking, can’t be helped. Did he just develop this recently? Does he know you’re a skin picker? Did this all happen after you told him? Was he always sensitive to the sounds you made? Did it get worse recently? You might want to have a Sit Down Discussion with him and figure all of this out.
I guess the other thing to worry about is your relationship with your boyfriend. Is this something the two of you can work out? Are you two mature enough to talk about this, and work through? Is it worth it? Can you make it work, considering you have very competing sets of disorders and triggers? He can’t control what triggers himself, as much as you can’t control your picking. You both can’t just stop it. So there’s a stalemate and negotiations need to happen.
Can he get therapy or treatment to help him not get triggered by your picking or tapping sounds? (I’m assuming when you say nail tapping you mean just that you tap your nails, as a habit or perhaps because you are trying not to pick. I’m a leg bouncer myself, and sometimes tap also.) Can you stop tapping your nails? You may be able to use quieter methods of keeping your hands busy like using a fidget toy. However the sounds of picking at your skin will be harder to stop. And stopping yourself from picking, even around him, will be very hard.
So what can you do? Try to work it out, together. Talk about it. See if you can work it out. Accommodate each other. Pick up a fidget toy. See if he can get treatment. Try to get treatment yourself to reduce your picking. Or maybe you two aren’t destined to be together? I’m not a big believer in destiny, so perhaps just saying it’s not ideal to be together? I don’t know your history so that’s something you two will need to work out.
Anyway hope I was able to help. Let us know how things go. Thanks!
Hey thanks for writing. Bucky Balls are at the top of my life too. But they were just outlawed in the U.S. because they were declared unsafe for children. I read a story that some child had swallowed a few Bucky Balls and died. Very sad, and tragic but it always surprises me when the government decides to get involved in things like this, and not other safety issues, like, say, guns.
Mini rant over.
I agree, though. Never really thought of it that way, but the pulling and picking apart action of Bucky Balls are great fidget actions. No wonder it’s so satisfying. I don’t know if a) you can order Bucky Balls in the U.S. from other countries or b) if other countries have outlawed them too. I’m just too lazy to do a search :)
But I’m guessing the answer is out there! Thanks for writing in.
Hi there, thanks a lot! Well, I have a page that speaks generally about how to stop. But it’s a good first step. There’s a lot that you can do on your own, but I doubt that it can do much good. I mean, if we could stop on our own, we’d have done it already. There’s no magic formula. It jut takes a lot of work. You have to re-train your brain to think of new ways to deal with anxiety. You have to find new things to play with, rather than pick your skin. You should also find out why you’re picking. Why you’re anxious. What are your triggers. And stuff like that is best left to therapy.
It’s difficult to ask yourself these questions. Having someone to talk to and who knows a course of action for treating derma is important. The most common forms of therapy are cognitive behavioral therapy, or habit reversal therapy. Both try to get you to reverse your habits, or trade them in for new, better habits.
There’s medication, too, but of course that requires medical professionals as well. Unfortunately, you can’t take care of this on your own, usually. It doesn’t just go away. You need a focused treatment plan and the help of trained mental health professionals. Good luck!
I think fidget toys are very personal. So in the end, it really depends on what speaks to you. So that means you have to go and buy a few and start using them and see how it goes. Do you pick less? Do you reach for the fidget toy rather than pick? Those are the kinds of things you need to ask yourself.
Sure, they all have their purposes, but it depends on what you’re into. Do you like tactile things? Then maybe a brush or comb might be good. I carry around those $2 combs that fits in the palm of your hand because I like how it feels. But I use a different toy every week, practically. I get bored with them. So I have a large stockpile. Don’t worry about getting one fidget toy, worry about getting too many of them.
I have so many that I keep them in a little bag, like one of those travel bags that people use to carry their toiletries. I’ll post some pictures one day, with the bag and everything I keep inside, but the short story is that I have a lot of things in there. Sometimes I’m in the mood for something different, or something squishy, or maybe I just need some lotion or a band-aid. It’s all in my little bag.
Check out my page on fidget toys to get a start on what I recommend. I need to add more stuff, but you can really use anything as a fidget toy. Keys, or your key holder. Pens. An eraser. Anything in your purse or anything you put in your pocket. Be creative. Spoil yourself with toys. Don’t worry if you only use it once. It’s a learning process. And throw it in a bag, you might want to use it later.
Thanks for writing and good luck!
