The dreaded compulsive skin peeling disorder

We must all have such a situation: hands, lips with skin must be torn off, there must be a pimple to pick, scabbed wounds always can not help but also to pick and pull, often unknowingly chew nails, there should be many people's fingertips are bare, does not look very good ...... Perhaps we all have more or less such behavior, but In fact, some people are in deep pain because of such behavior.

They will constantly pick and bite nails, tear dead skin, and so on, not only will tear the fingers, but also involve the back, arms, and so on various parts of the skin causing more serious damage, the light feels pain, bleeding, serious may suffer from skin inflammation and other diseases, this symptom is called compulsive skin peeling disorder.

However, to determine whether you have this condition, you need to combine other criteria: in addition to the repetitive damage to the skin, you also need to determine whether you have ever tried to stop this behavior; this behavior is not caused by other diseases (skin disease, delusions of psychosis or hallucinations, etc.); this behavior has seriously affected life and caused harm.

Emma, 19, has symptoms of compulsive skin peeling disorder, and she takes anti-anxiety medication every day before she leaves the house because the tearing and scratching of her skin leaves her with scars that she does not want others to see.

Others will bite their nails, bite their fingers, long-term gnawing fingers may also lead to finger hyperplasia plaques, and finger hypertrophy, there is a 25-year-old man, once a soldier, but at that time in recruit training, due to heavy training tasks, emotional tension, involuntarily rubbing thumb joints, to decompress themselves, so it became a habit, rubbing, rubbing, finger hyperplasia such as the plaques on the map.

In fact, OCD can occur at all ages, and it may also exist in older ages, but it is more common in adolescence and adulthood, and is more common in women.

Similar to this skin peeling disorder is a plucking fetish, in which some people worry about their pitifully small amount of hair, but others can't help but pull their hair out.

A 17-year-old girl was reported to have caused baldness because she always involuntarily plucked her hair, which accumulated over a long period. After questioning, she formed such a habit because she was stressed out in her studies and plucked her hair to make her feel pain but addicted.

There is also a 23-year-old woman who is now bald person. Before that, she had to pluck her hair for 3 hours a day, and she got great satisfaction at that moment after plucking not only her hair, but also her sweaty hair, and she even wanted to pluck her eyebrows and eyelashes. She said that when she was a child, she had been teased to her face about having lice in her hair and not being clean, which was the psychological root of hair plucking, and then the anxiety and pressure from work and life when she grew up, which made her addicted to hair plucking.

Seeing something that must be gotten off, some people may think it is a compulsion, but in fact, it is not exactly the same as OCD, although it is often co-occurring with OCD. 52% of people with compulsive skin peeling disorder also have OCD, and it may also be more common in people with depression and those prone to anxiety. Behind the compulsive skin peeling disorder, there are hidden mental health problems in people.

Biting nails, tearing dead skin, pulling hair, etc. are BFRB (Body-focused Repetitive Behaviors), which means body-focused repetitive behaviors. Under heavy stress and anxiety, some people do not have other appropriate ways to express their emotions, they will form a "counter-stimulation" by biting their nails, hair pulling, and releasing stress, and pleasure, and over time become a habit. However, sometimes this behavior even causes harm to their own bodies, almost approaching self-harm behavior.

And they usually do not realize that they are doing these actions, to the point of pain or bleeding, only then they will realize what they are doing. And as they form the habit of doing so, leaving marks on their bodies, large and small, adding to their anxiety about being out socially, afraid to let others see them, creating an even worse psychological burden, it seems to create a vicious cycle.

In a study of children with a skin behavior disorder, it was shown that poor family upbringing, negative family environment, lack of friends, etc. were more likely to cause compulsive skin peeling disorder behaviors. Many people with these behaviors may be more inclined to have perfectionism, which may lead to mental tension and stress when the reality of the situation does not meet their pre-determined standards, thus exacerbating the behavior.

Holding a rubber ball can help divert attention

It's not as if they haven't tried to change themselves. Such a disorder can be reduced by distracting themselves from this behavior. Some will choose to play with a stress relief ball, others will choose to paint their nails and apply hand cream, others will play with Rubik's cubes, put gloves on themselves, etc. to correct their behavior, some will be able to achieve results, though many will have difficulty sticking with it.

Few people realize that this condition is a disease, and less than 20% of people with OCD seek treatment or professional medical help. There are medications for OCD that address the psychological condition, and professional doctors may also perform cognitive behavioral therapy, a treatment that specifically addresses bad habits and impulse control.

Obsessive-compulsive skin peeling disorder can be considered a chronic condition that, if left untreated, can be a long-term affliction of the behavior and harmful to mental health, and after treatment, more than half of patients can find relief from their symptoms.

I wonder if you have ever heard of parrots plucking their own feathers, or even plucking themselves to bareness. When parrots are left out or treated violently, it can also make them nervous and even suffer from depression by plucking their feathers to relieve stress.

Many people also love cats, and cats may also lick their fur excessively when irritated, which can also cause skin damage. Compared to the human compulsive skin peeling disorder and hair plucking fetish, which cannot be said to be identical, they can be said to be very similar.

Associated with modern society, fast-paced life, busy work, fierce competition, unkind words ...... under the burden of life, some people may be out of breath, may produce some psychological problems, however, picking and biting the skin for a moment, afterward healing crematorium.

I hope everyone can find a reasonable way to relieve themselves, rather than choosing to get themselves all over the place.