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how to break an addiction? (lemmy.zip)

submitted 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) by aslafoo@lemmy.zip to c/asklemmy@lemmy.world

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hey i’m not sure the title is accurate but i couldn’t think of anything better

basically i’ve been struggling with skin picking for my entire life

it started small

picking some overhangs and scans around my nails at 6

nothing too serious

as years went by it evolved into pretty severe skin picking, where i wasn’t able to go a day without making a lesion

and recently (like in the past year) the habit developed into full blown dermatilomania

i keep on picking to the point where my lesions can’t heal properly

the worst of it is i started picking skin on my heels to the point where i can’t walk properly anymore and when i do it causes me a lot of pain

it catches up to me in the evening when i’m bored

i’ve been advised to “occupy my hands with something” but what nobody seems to get is that it’s something i do absentmindedly i’m not sure what to do anymore

does anyone have similar experience or am i beyond help at this point ?

have a nice day

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[-] fubo@lemmy.world 66 points 1 year ago

This is a medical condition, not just a bad habit. It is very treatable but will probably benefit from psychiatric treatment, not just counseling or friendly advice. As with OCD, this can include cognitive behavioral therapy as well as medication.

[-] aslafoo@lemmy.zip 11 points 1 year ago

hi, thanks for reply that’s what i was afraid of

to be honest i started medical treatment with antidepressants around 3 years ago, 2.5 of which i spent speedrunning the entire pharmacy lmao in June this year i changed doctors and finally got on track (with venlafaxine and mirtazapine)

on top of that i started therapy in September i’ll try to bring up the skin picking again

i talked about this issue with my therapist earlier but despite my efforts i always end up relapsing so yeah thank you for thorough reply have a nice day

[-] Flickerby@lemm.ee 5 points 1 year ago

Also if you haven't heard the medical term for this yet, it's called dermatillomania, if it helps you to put a name to it.

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this post was submitted on 02 Nov 2023

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