I’ll be honest, I didn’t even realise that such a thing as a skin picking disorder existed until recently when a couple of Youtubers who I follow did videos on the topic. It was a real aha moment for me! You see, I have been picking at my skin for as long as I can remember, with the intention of causing pain and visible wounds. The condition is known as dermatillomania.
As a child I used to pick at my lips constantly. I always had sore lips and barely ever stopped picking at them. As I grew older though, my focus became the skin around my fingernails.
I find myself picking at my skin when I am bored or stressed. I love to pick my nail quicks and rip the skin until I am bleeding and have horrible sores. I pick at any skin all around my nails, then later I feel annoyed with myself when I look at the sores. I also used to have a sore on my nose that I would pick until it bled, and if I ever have spots, I will make them bleed too.
I thought I was the only one in the world who did this, so to find that it’s a condition which is possibly related to anxiety was a revelation to me. I love nails and nail polish so why I do this to my fingers is something which I don’t understand about myself.
Have you ever experienced this? For more information please see the NHS website.
