Excoriation Disorder (dermatillomania): The Problem Of Peeling Off Excoriated Skin
Do you touch your skin excessively? Why are abrasions bad? When touching the skin becomes an obsession, we may encounter a possible excoriation disorder.
It is completely normal for us to scratch our skin from time to time. But when this excoriation becomes a chronic behavior, we may be facing a excoriation disorder or dermatillomania
These types of behaviors can indicate that you are facing a mental health problem. In fact, the majority of people who begin to excoriate their body end up seeing their quality of life affected. So, what does it mean to have a tendency to abrade (or abrasion) ?
The excoriation or excoriation It is a term used in Medina that means to remove or remove the skin. Therefore, when a person performs abrasions (or abrasions) it implies that he or she has scratched his or her own skin. In many cases, the abrasion or excoriation of the skin usually causes small wounds in the person who does it.
Excoriation disorder or dermatillomania
Dermatillomania consists of uncontrollable need or impulse from touching, rubbing, scratching or picking the skin. Sometimes, the need is to remove or eliminate blackheads, acne, scabs or looking for defects or imperfections in the skin. It is necessary, before diagnosing anyone with this disorder due to abrasions (or excoriations), to rule out any organic cause that could explain it (pruritus, dermatitis, etc…). Once any organic cause has been ruled out, it will be necessary to psychologically evaluate said disorder.
The excoriation or excoriation As a disorder, it usually occurs more frequently in women than in men. In addition, most people tend to develop symptoms more frequently during adolescence or adulthood. Some of the characteristics that can show that someone suffers from severe abrasions is when a person tends to do the following.
When a person presents excoriation disorder or excoriation occurs on the skin, it usually has the following symptoms:
Pinching the skin multiple occasions: The people who do excoration or excoriation They usually present recurrent skin lesions or open wounds due to continuous pinching.
Try to eliminate imperfections: When someone is affected by dermatillomania She usually tries to eliminate those imperfections that appear on her skin. That is, try to remove pimples, blackheads or any scab they find on it.
Spending a lot of time pinching: The excoriation on the skin It occurs mainly when people tend to spend long periods of time (which can even be several hours) pinching their skin.
Development of scars and infections: He excoriation disorder It can end up causing infections, injuries and scars that last for long periods of time. In fact, some of these infections may even require medical treatment.
Avoid going out due to injuries: In cases that abrasions or abrasions be very persistent, some people may avoid leaving the house because of the shame of showing these wounds due to dermatillomania.
These are some of the signs that show that someone may suffer from a excoriation or excoriation disorder For many of them, it is important that you go to a professional psychologist due to the impact this can have on your life.
Causes of excoriation or abrasion on the skin
There are a series of effects on our mental health that can cause a tendency to excoriation or abrasion Among the most common we can find the following.
Stress: Stress is one of the main causes of abrasions. Normally, people grains pop by the nerves of stress, just as you may compulsively break out pimples or pick off scabs due to these sensations.
OCD: Obsessive-compulsive disorder is a mental health condition that is mainly characterized by repetitive thoughts and behaviors that are unwanted. The abrasions They may be one of these compulsive behaviors.
Trichotillomania: This compulsive driving leads those who suffer from it to exhibit behaviors such as pulling their hair, biting their nails or grinding their teeth. People who suffer from it can also end up suffering an excoriation or excoriation disorder
ADHD: People with ADHD often have attention problems and an inability to control certain impulsive behaviors. One of them may be the dermatillomania
Body dysmorphic disorder: This disorder involves people experiencing negative obsessive thoughts about their body appearance. These types of ideas can lead individuals to go to the abrasions to eliminate the imperfections that they perceive (erroneously) in them.
Major depressive disorder: The dermatillomania It may also be related to depression. This is because the feelings of sadness caused by this disorder can lead to a series of compulsive behaviors such as picking the skin.
As we see in the vast majority of cases the excoriation or excoriation disorder It implies an impact on our mental health. For this reason, if these types of compulsions are interfering in your life, you should try to consult with a professional psychologist.
How is dermatillomania treated?
Different studies have shown that it is the cognitive behavioral therapy the one that has the greatest effectiveness in the treatment of said disorder. To do this, the therapy must be divided into the following phases:
Assessment: It will consist of one or two sessions where the psychologist will collect all the information necessary to diagnose precisely said disorder.
Hypothesis and therapy: Based on the information collected in the previous phase, the psychologist will establish a hypothesis about the antecedents and consequences that cause said disorder to occur and be maintained over time. The therapy will last between 12-15 sessions, always taking into account the individual characteristics of the patient. In the therapy The control of stimuli that cause the appearance of the behavior will be worked on, habit reversal techniques where the patient will learn to perform behaviors incompatible with scratching, pinching, rubbing…, as well as activation control techniques such as muscle relaxation. , breathing exercises….
Follow-up: Where will the patient be taught to identify all those factors that can favor the reappearance of the disorder, providing the necessary tools and skills to avoid possible relapses. The follow-up will last a minimum of 3 sessions and a maximum of 5, the latter being carried out by telephone.
The dermatillomania It is a disorder that affects people who suffer from it in many ways. Therefore, it is important to find the reason behind the excoriations in order to find a solution to both these compulsions and the disease behind them.
