Online Test
Find out the severity of your symptoms with this free online test
Dermatophagia help
Hello, I’m new to this website, and I have dermatophagia since 1 year. The thing is, I have all the symptoms, but I don’t want to stop. I tear the skin off my fingers and feet until it’s all red and bloody, and I feel an extreme satisfaction doing this. However, I saw that, to be diagnosed as someone with dermatophagia, we must feel the urge to stop but we don’t succeed and I don’t feel this urge. I don’t want to stop at all, because I’m good with all this. So what do you think ? Can I still have dermatophagia without wanting to stop this behaviour ? Is that a phase of the disorder, and the urge to stop will come later ? Thank you
Hello,
If you have no desire to stop the behavior, then the purpose it [the behavior] serves is greater than the motivation for change.
In other words, if picking doesn’t bother you…if it’s enjoyable — if it doesn’t really cause “negative consequences”, then stopping the behavior isn’t your top priority.
To gain the motivation to stop, it usually requires some reflection on how the skin picking is adversely impacting your life.
Does it effect your social relationships in any way? Does picking cause you to miss out on activities that you used to enjoy? Does it impact your work or family life at all? Has it/could it impact your medical health (infection, for example).
If the answer is “no”, then your picking isn’t severe enough to require additional attention — and you likely won’t require the motivation to “stop”.
If, however, you answered yes to a few of those questions…then maybe that’s where your motivation comes from.
Maybe you enjoy picking (or at a minimum it doesn’t bother you), but perhaps you value the social relationships that picking has damaged even more. For me — my motivation is family
Only YOU will know exactly if/when you’ll need to focus your attention and motivation on stopping the behavior.
Best wishes ✌️
Hello
It's completely valid to have questions and uncertainties about your experience.
It's essential to consider that your satisfaction with this behavior doesn't negate the possibility of dermatophagia. The way we feel about stopping can differ among individuals with this disorder. Your feelings or lack of a desire to stop could be part of your experience with dermatophagia.
Skinpick provides a test (https://www.skinpick.com/test) that may help to assess your level of skin picking and may offer more clarity and insights into your situation.
It's a journey, and understanding it better can help you find the support you need.
Hope to hear back from you soon!
Wishing you well on your healing journey.