Lauren McKeaney has lived with Skin Picking Disorder, also known as Dermatillomania, longer than her condition has had a …
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Living With Skin Picking Disorder for 30 Years
Lauren McKeaney has lived with Skin Picking Disorder, also known as Dermatillomania, longer than her condition has had a …
Check on YouTube
I really thought it was just me
I pick too.
Mostly my cuticles. I cant leave a split. I just cant.
She is so beautiful, brave, and strong! I’m so glad she has used her experience to help others!
If only I could properly describe how bad it hurts after a picking session. Especially after stopping for a few hours, and then forgetting how bad you picked, hopping in the shower, and putting the soap on your face, and shoulders! It burns so much. It went from only being my face, neck, and shoulders, to now, at 40 years old, I pick my arms and legs as well. So, even in the heat of a California summer, I have to wear long sleeves, and pants. 😢 thanks for talking about this, and vice for posting! It’s been about 23 years since I started this. 😢
wow u r such a beautiful skater ……… start doin it again girl ……..
I struggle with this too I always pick at my scabs and nails. Wish I could stop, but every time I see the damaged skin, I pick right back at it in an attempt to make it look better. My case isn’t as severe as her but that just gives me even more justification to continue this behavior.
I am so relieved to know i am not alone. I pick at my scalp incessantly. I also suffer from trich. Which is a disorder in which i pull my hair out to get at the hair root. None of the treatments have ever worked for either of my disorders. I am very thankful for this upload and all the people commenting. I have thought i was the only one for years. The shame and isolation is absolute HELL.
So good that you are helping others while helping yourself. You’re very brave.
I used to pick my eyelashes. Severe anxiety.
Has she tried psychedelic therapy?
Why not just kick the habit? 😅
This video came in at the right time for me because I've been going through this since I was 15. I'm now with a psychiatrist and need to speak about it.
Lmaoo YT people always got some weird stuff this is payback for all the wrong yall ancestor done
i feel and empathize with you so hard – i’m a survivor of childhood trauma and molestation from the hands of my father. my skin picking started manifesting in high school and got progressively worse around covid. my face and legs look exactly like yours. i dropped out in my third year of uni for music when my skin picking was at its worst. people thought i was doing opiates and i felt ashamed and couldn’t leave the house. i’m better now with it but haven’t been able to work since the skin picking became so debilitating, sacrificing my dream of becoming a musician. I’m on part time disability now and have no idea where my future is going.
“relapse” is the hardest and makes it feel like all your progress is gone. 30 minutes in a mirror destroying 2 weeks of healing bringing me right back to ground 0 again. I try to not give any f’s and i hope videos like this raise awareness and will help with empathy for this disorder.
I’ve never been officially diagnosed with it but I’ve been picking my skin for years. Specifically at my temples and on the inside and outsides of my ears. I always keep a little container of Vaseline handy for when the blood comes. I can’t seem to leave the affected areas alone enough for them to completely heal up. They scab over and you know what happens after that. I’ve tried using fidget spinners to keep my hands busy (I have issues with anxiety) but nothing has worked. Thankfully, my hair hides the scars.
I am extremely agoraphobic, i never hear of anyone else that is…. i hope that she can get over the nervous disorders and live her life… poor girl. I feel your pain fr. Leaving my house everyday causes me extreme panic attacks or anxiety… sometimes I begin picking my fingers or chewing them until i bleed.
Humans are so interesting like we really do this. I hope everyone can get help ❤
I get anxiety and my anxiety comes out through panic attacks. It’s crazy how humans cope with feelings / emotions. Consciously or subconsciously
I've been picking my nose for 4 decades and I'll never stop 😂
omg i definitely have this, jn addition to trichotillomania 😭😭😭 It's like heroin for obsessive pulling/picking, without the drugs.
Had no clue that I have been doing this in relation to ocd and anxiety with the skin around my nails
I live with somebody that does this to her face. Walks around with bandages on her face all the time. I tried to get her to stop, her therapist has tried for Years, nothing has worked. I gave up.
I guess her demons are living in her head and aren't going to move out, Ever.😡😣
lmao self intentional feeding. just like dont do it ? lol? dont be a beta?
I have suffered from this condition since I was born. And it isna condtion related to my ADHD. And I have to say that medication and keeping my nails short has made a huge difference when it comes to dealing with this condition. My skin around my fingers was always mashed up and torn and would often bleed. Now I hardly pick my fingers anymore. However this doesn’t stop that my legs are covered in scars which I hope with time will fade. And if they do not I’m sure that if I can save up I can afford to save some money to get some scar fading procedures
Its really difficult to deal with the compulsion, or be able to stop. Its made worse when you are shamed and told to 'just stop picking' when it is far from simple. Its not taken seriously either as an actual disorder, when it is much more complex. To me it's beyond being a form of self harm. With self harm there is a clearer connection with triggers, and it's easier to notice. Whatever the form of temporary relief that's found through injurious behavior, can be identified and there's a more straightforward therapeutic focus. However with skin picking, the triggers are not necessarily so obvious. The origins behind the compulsion can go much deeper, thus making much progress beyond managing symptoms challenging. I've been doing this since I was an infant and discovered my nails. Right now I'm in the midst of one of the biggest flare ups with PTSD and currently 'working' at the side of my head. There's a huge bald patch as I've found a genius combination of skin AND hair picking. My head looks like half of it has been blown off but I can't stop. The worst thing is, I don't want to. If I seek help for this I won't be able to get the relief or be left to pick in peace. I pick all day and any time I wake up half asleep..if there's any sign of healing I get a sinking feeling, so I pick furiously so as to make sure theres something to pick.
I'm literally like an addict who doesn't want to stop.
Although this isn't seen as dangerous or life threatening as certain disorders like anorexia, it's just as complex and insidious. Getting to the root of this to try and understand beyond the most superficial aspects is an almighty challenge. Especially since it's only had a recent classification in the DSM V. Thank you for this courageous sharing and I hope anyone who reads this finds some comfort 🤗
Such a pretty lady
How do you stop
The female autoerotic ocd condition is worsening
have you tried hot sauce? my mom would've put hot sauce on my finger tips
Could I possibly have this? If I get a hang nailor some injury on my fingers, I constantly pick at it. I like the pain. Am I just crazy? I have fibromyalgia and I have been in pain from that for about 30 years and the doctors can't do anything about it. I relish causing this type of pain. It really is like a compulsion. Am I just crazy???
I have this. It got a little better with age, and managing triggers like acne, anxiety, my vyvanse, long finger nails, lack of sleep, and snapping out of the "its too late" or trance like mental states
amazing to see the amount of progress she’s already made and all these valuable tricks to help other who may be struggling with the same symptoms ❤
I think mom also has a problem…
That's terrible but I wonder, how people like her can afford such flats if this is so debilitating?
I used to spend several hours in the mirror picking. I try to keep it under an hour. My main spots are my scalp, face, legs, and fingers. One time I picked at my nose and it got SUPERRR infected and tripled in size on one size. It was so painful. It takes weeks to months for any type of wound to heal. My cheek recently got really big and painful from picking. I’ve also pulled up nail beds. It’s exhausting, constantly searching for something to pick at.
I watched this while picking my fingers the entire time. Like it’s so awful.
I also struggle from this and it's very validating to hear her talk. I also really admire all the way she's learned to cope with urges and channel them into not-so-destructive outlets <3
A friend of mine suffered with this. He pretty much picked off all the tattoos on his arms😢
I def have a form of this, but with hair. I don’t pluck out my hair but I’ll run my fingers over the length of the hairs because the texture satisfies me and calms me. I’m 31 and I didn’t start doing this until last year when my some of my hair texture changed bc of pregnancy. I had straight hair my whole life but some hairs, esp on top, turned wavy and textured. Idk why it’s so satisfying to feel and see it. Sometimes I’ll spend hours repeatedly feeling my hair. Maybe this is a response to the intense anxiety and depression I’ve had to endure since my pregnancy
No way I just saw this after picking on my whole face and leaving it bloody …
I have been suffering with this for over 20 years. I’m so glad someone has put something out there for people like us to get serious help.