STOP PICKING - START LIVINGSTOP PICKING - START LIVING
Dermatologists are physicians who specialize in treating conditions of the skin. Skin picking disorder tends to result in visits to a dermatologist to help with problems from chronic skin damage. But how often do dermatologists recognize a compulsive body-focused repetitive behavior and refer to a patient to a therapist or psychiatrist for help?
When dermatologists are trained, they are made aware of the interconnectedness between the skin and the nervous system. Not only do some skins condition worsen during periods heightened nervous system activity such as stress and anxiety, but skin conditions often provide fuel to heighten the nervous system. In dermatology, the interconnection between the skin and the psychosocial dimension of skin conditions is referred to as psychocutaneous medicine (Gould, 2004). Despite receiving initial training, many dermatologists neglect the role psychology plays.
HabitAware uses technology to help people become more aware of the body-focused repetitive behaviors they want to change. The company recently applied for a patent for Keen, a wearable device that vibrates when your hand moves into a position to pick, pull, or bite.
First, it learns. Body-focused repetitive behaviors tend to have one thing in common. The use of the hands to bite, pull or pick and it usually starts with the dominant hand. Keen is a wearable device that senses movements and with the aid of a phone app, learns which movements are specific to the behavior for which you want to increase awareness. Next, it alerts. Once Keen learns your movements, it will alert you when you make movements that may be precursors to indesirable behaviors. It alerts you by sending a vibration through the wearable device. Allows you to make choices. Once you are made aware of the precursor movements, you can make a choice about what to do next. Do you follow through with the behavior? Or do you do something else with your hands?
The bacterial tenants of the skin exist in harmony with our bodies most of the time. Skin acts as a barrier, protecting our internal systems from the dangers of those bacteria and benefiting from that bacteria in ways we do not fully understand yet. If you compulsively pick at their skin, you risk disrupting the delicate balance resulting in potentially dangerous infections. Regular skin examinations can help reduce the risk of complications due to these skin infections. However, it must be noted that self skin-examination can also be a major trigger for picking for may compulsive skin pickers. In this instance it is best to have the skin examined by a medical professional such as a GP, dermatologist or nurse.
Excoriation disorder, or skin picking disorder, rarely occurs alone. There are many clinical correlates that when understood, help put the severity of skin picking symptoms in perspective enabling the development of more effective treatment plans.
The term “co-occurring disorders” refers to the existence of multiple mental health diagnoses experienced by one person at one time. Referring to correlates means anything that influences another thing in either a positive or negative direction. Many people who struggle with skin picking disorder will attest that they struggle with more than picking behaviors. The most common clinical correlates of skin picking disorder are obsessive-compulsive disorder, other body-focused repetitive behaviors, impulsivity, anxiety, depression, and shame. There are more issues that correlate with skin picking disorder, however, research seems to focus on these.
The Institute for Genomic Health (IGH) at SUNY Downstate Medical Center is conducting research on Obsessive Compulsive Disorder and other related disorders (Hoarding Disorder, Body Dysmorphic Disorder, Hair Pulling disorder/Trichotillomania and Skin Picking Disorder/Excoriation Disorder. We've been asked to post the following details to help recruit participants for the research:
Current research has indicated that some people are more likely to develop this disorder than others. We at Downstate, along with other collaborating research sites are working towards identifying the genes associated with this disorder in the hopes of contributing to the development of better, more effective treatments.
Our study is NIMH-funded and approved by Downstate Medical Center, study ID # 759153.
Participation for patients is one-time only. It includes:
Research for effective evidence-based therapies continues for excoriation disorder with promising results.
While the cause and mechanisms of excoriation disorder remain elusive, it is considered a body-focused repetitive behavior within the spectrum of obsessive-compulsive disorders (OCD). The research on effective treatments for OCD spectrum disorders and body-focused repetitive behaviors is helpful in addition to the research findings specific to excoriation disorder.
When treating excoriation disorder, evidence-based practice suggests a combined approach of pharmacology and psychotherapy.
Treatment is based on the way a person experiences excoriation disorder. For those who suffer from automatic, unconscious picking, treatment focuses on creating awareness, identifying triggers for picking behaviors, managing the triggers, and making conscious efforts to choose behavior. Those who suffer from picking behaviors in response to stressors, treatment focuses on recognizing stressors and managing stressors as well as changing habits and thinking related to picking behavior thereby giving someone power over impulses.
How you care for your skin after you pick will determine how quickly and how well your skin heals. Neglecting these steps can result in extended healing time and damaged skin, including scabs, scarring, and permanent redness.
Cleanse
Soothe
Hydrate
Habit reversal training for body-focused repetitive behaviors (BFRBs) includes improving awareness and self-monitoring, controlling stimuli, and creating competing responses. Stimulus control and competing responses sound very similar. This article will talk about what they are, how they are different, and how they work in tandem to reduce body-focused repetitive behaviors.
Stimulus control refers to managing external factors, usually in one’s environment, to influence behavior. For example, someone who picks at their skin may do so in a location at home that triggers it. An area such as a well-lit bathroom with a huge mirror and a lock on the door. The bright lighting and huge mirror draw attention to every little imperfection of the skin and whenever you walk in there, you lock the door, push your face as close to the mirror as possible, start picking, and before you know it, a couple of hours have gone by.
Stimulus control prompts you to consider that environment.
First, the big mirror. What things can be done to change the giant mirror so it doesn’t “pull you in?”
Competing responses are movements or activities that are incompatible with habitual or automatic behaviors. In simple terms, if your hands are not available to use for picking at your skin, you won’t pick at your skin. In addition, think of something that is the opposite of the behavior you want to replace. It should be something you can do for longer than a couple of minutes and will be more less unnoticeable by others. It may be something challenging that you do with your hands, or something easy to do that just keeps your hands occupied.
This video transcript talks about using your smart phone as a competing response.
Hi, welcome back to Talk Therapy Channel on YouTube.
I’m Tammy Fletcher, Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist in California, and today, my friend Scooter and I are going to be talking to you about iPhone apps that can help with skin picking and hair pulling.
If you were to ask people who suffer from excoriation disorder whether hormonal changes influence the severity of their picking, they would likely say yes. Research supports this anecdotal evidence in several ways. First, the onset of excoriation disorder tends to occur during puberty. This means, the first time symptoms of skin picking start during a major hormonal change in the body. In addition, a study of 1,471 women aged 10-60 found a relationship between hormonal changes and an increase in “focused” picking behavior (Flessner et al, 2009). These women, described picking behavior as more severe when hormones were changing throughout their lives.
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