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concernedspouse , 30 Jun 2010

Wondering if my spouse has CSP

Hello all, I'm wondering if what seemed to me to be a bit of a nervous habit is actually CSP. I'd never heard of the term CSP before yesterday when I started to do a bit of research. My husband has always had a habit of picking at his lower lip. There is visible skin damage, but it looks more like chapped lips than anything else. Lately he seems to be picking other sites including his elbows and knees. He has small calluses at each of these locations that he seems to gravitate to. Again, there is no major damage, but the calluses are noticeable if you look. The frequency of the picking seems to be increasing. He did lose his job a few months ago, so the stress of this may be a factor. He's also at home more now so it could be that I'm just noticing it more (I work from home). I'm feeling a bit guilty as I've been riding him about this picking habit for awhile now. Frankly, I find it to be a real turn off. I guess I thought that it was just an eccentricity or "weird habit" that he should be able to control. Now I'm wondering if there's a whole lot more to this than I realized. I would really like to help him deal with this. He has no idea that I've done this research...and I haven't brought it up with him yet. Does anyone have any advice about how to approach this topic with him? I have no idea if he's even heard of CSP. Also, I'm wondering... is there a genetic component to this? I ask because my father in law would seem to have similar issues. Many thanks.
1 Answer
Jena8604
July 18, 2010
I think its better to be safe than sorry with him...Tel him you're concerned and show him this site...it seems like you've caught it at its really early stages if he does have csp. The longer it goes, the worse (and more extensive) it'll get...it might just be a habit but let him know about it anyway. if he's willing to get rid of the habit, you can definitly try to help him...like if you notice he's picking and doesn't know he's doing it (or even if he does) grab his hand or have a signal in public that can let him know to stop

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