What Is Dermatillomania?
Most individuals pick at the occasional hangnail or loose piece of skin on their lips. However, when this occasional picking goes beyond this realm and leads to extensive picking to the point of injury, it becomes a disorder. Dermatillomania, otherwise known as skin picking, is a relatively common disorder of severe picking that is most prevalent in individuals with comorbid psychological disorders, such as depression and anxiety.
The typical individual who picks his or her skin does not have skin picking disorder. Rather, an individual’s incessant picking behavior must fall within specific constraints to be categorized as such. Skin picking disorder is a disorder in which an individual picks the skin over and over to the point of causing tissue damage. In addition to tissue damage, the picking must also cause distress or complication with typical daily living activities such as work and social engagements.
The exact cause of skin picking disorder is unclear; however, research suggests it is linking to underlying psychological factors. Factors that influence the onset of skin picking disorder are likely to be both biological and environmental. At any rate, the disorder is classified as an impulse control disorder that is body focused. It may share ties with obsessive compulsive disorder or OCD.
As dermatillomania is a self-injurious behavior by nature, treating and remedying the condition is vital to continued health. Many natural treatments are available that offer relief and remedy the disorder. Bach flower remedies are an option that focus on the exact emotions of individual and offer extensive success for treating the underlying issues causing the disorder. These remedies include agrimony, beech, cherry plum, white chestnut, chestnut bud, and others dependent on the individual’s emotional needs. Additional treatment options include apple cider vinegar, vitamin A, zinc, magnesium, and a real food diet. Identifying the underlying cause helps focus and guide treatment options, so that is often the best place to begin dermatillomania treatment.
