inner lip and cheek removing

Posted December 29th, 2009 by Maya617
ok, i've read most of the posts here and haven't read about a SINGLE case that resembles mine, so i'm more than a little frustrated. my picking, if it can be called that, is that i remove the skin of my inner lips and cheeks with my hand. i twist my mouth to all angles with my hand, botton and top lip and bite of the skin with my teeth. i rip it off untill its raw and damaged to an extreme, and very painful. i draw blood, and get these see through little bubbles that are infected and if i'm able, i pop those too. why am i doing this and how can i stop? is this considered compulsive skin picking? do i need meds? and if so which ones? phsycotherapy? cognitive behaviour therapy? hypnosis? god, i wanna stop. anyone else doing the same? can anyone give me advice?
‹ HELP I AM GETTING WORSE Tangerines look like they have blackheads! HOW CRUEL. ›
On December 30th, 2009 ssw-0760 said:
Hi Maya, For at least 6 years now, I have been practically eating the inside of my mouth, to the point that I had to get veneers on my teeth from the damage I've done. I guess this disease can play out several ways. As a child, I chewed my fingernails, then when I decided not to do that anymore, it moved to the cuticles and sides of my fingers. Then during one period of my life, I remember picking callouses and chewing on them. Got disgusted with that, and started chewing on my lips and inner cheeks. The dentist said that I had bruxism. I told him that was not it - I was not doing it in my sleep, I was doing it while awake, but he didn't believe me. I got a mouth guard, and was able to quit that habit by wearing the mouth guard, but just recently I started having problems with my skin, and now I've probably got 50 open sores on my back, left arm, and the backs of my legs. I think this all has to do with dermatillomania. Have you downloaded the guide? It has a list of therapists that deal with this disorder. I'm thinking about making an appointment with one, even though he would be 1 1/2 hours away. I'm very afraid of the sores I've got now - with MRSA around it's scary.
On February 18th, 2010 Maya617 said:
Hello, it's been over a year now since i posted here, and the problem is still as severe. I live in Israel, and haven't heard of any therapists treating this problem exclusively..... If you read this and have been able to overcome this, please post me how you did it. Agonosing about this daily....
For information on the skin picking disorder (Dermatillomania), symptoms, causes and treatment methods, get the Complete Guide to Skin Picking Disorders.