Dermatillomania & Me

            As we entered Unit 2 of our disease class we turned a corner and switched from learning about body systems to focus on the brain, and more specifically the illnesses that might plague it. Our unit began with us exploring brain waves. Before we could talk about mental illness we had to carefully consider the way our brain works. Our brain uses electricity to communicate signals between neurons. We call these electric signals brainwaves. Did you know we experience different types of brainwaves depending on the task we are doing? For instance when concentrating or learning we use ‘beta waves’ and when in ‘Theta waves’ you are in a dreaming or flow state.

            The next thing we explored was autism. We explored everything from what autism might look like to how an autistic person might view the world. It was interesting to learn what life is like for these individuals, and one major takeaway from that lesson is that the way autistic people think isn't wrong but just different. Unlike most they understand easier through pictures and patterns, and they tend to have trouble focusing one sound at a time.

            The last thing we did was explore the DSM-V (The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders) which is used as a reference book on mental health and brain-related conditions and disorders. We used this helpful guide to pick a mental illness of interest and better understand it. We then took our newfound understanding of the disease and worked out a way to turn it into an experience that helps someone without the illness better empathize and understand what it's like to live with that condition.

            The condition I chose for my action project was dermatillomania or excoriation which is a condition where you cannot stop compulsively picking at your skin to the point of self-mutilation. I chose this disorder because before researching it I initially believed I had it to some extent. I thought this because I have a nervous habit of nail biting or picking at many of my hangnails or scabs sometimes until they bled. After doing further research I can conclude that my nervous habit does not quite qualify to the incessant and compulsive behavior exhibited by the real mental illness. Side tangent aside, the way I decided to put excoriation into a way someone without it could understand is to have the subject try and focus on a video where they have to count something on, meanwhile I take a feather and make you have to itch your hands, neck and face. This would simulate how distracting and time consuming the picking fits might be for someone with dermatillomania. Would you try this experience for yourself?


Action Project:

            What is Dermatillomania? Dermatillomania according to the DSM-5 it's a psychological condition that manifests as repetitive, compulsive skin picking. It is in a catagory called body-focused repetitive behaviors (BFRBs) that are currently classified in the DSM-5 under Obsessive-Compulsive and Related Disorders.  This means someone suffering from dermatillomania has a urge to pick or scratch at imperfections on their skin.  This urge is nearly impossible to resist.

            Dermatillomania is a disease that stems from a person's preconceived ideas of imperfection caused in some cases by body dysmorphia and exacerbated by stress or anxiety. It causes a person to feel ashamed of the way they are, and of small nitpicky things that anyone else would never notice at a glance. One woman had this to say about how she feels to live with the excoriation.  

"It's embarrassing.  People always wonder why would you do that to yourself?  It's hard.  It's not a pretty mental illness."  

            People with excoriation feel like they have imperfections and in doing so they tend to over-pick which can lead to scratches and eventually scarring. In relation to the picking another characteristic includes tardiness or exhaustion because of the excessive amounts of time spent picking at their skin.  You might be wondering what part of the brain causes these mannerisms to manifest.  Well according to the national library of medicine.  It's been indicated that the cerebellum is involved in psychopathologies with body-focused repetitive behaviors. The present study investigated whether patients with a diagnosis of skin-picking disorder (SPD) also show altered cerebellar structure and function.

'Dermatillomania Info Flier' -ER, 2023

            In conclusion, this was an interesting assignment that pushed me to consider how it might feel to suffer from this disorder. not only did this help me to gain a new and unique understanding of the disorder, but also helped me to empathize with it. One very unique piece of this was figuring out how best I can help others to imagine what life with dermatillomania would be like too. I think doing this forced me to visualize and immerse myself in the daily life with it. It made me consider what kinds of things would be different and harder with the condition; this component was the most difficult to simulate in my experience, but also the most integral to getting others to understand it properly. With more time one thing I would want to do that I didnt get a chance for was to try the experiment on a subject to help give me some feedback on the experience. Thank you for reading!

Biography:

“Skin Picking Disorder.” NHS Choices, NHS, 24 Mar. 2021, https://www.nhs.uk/mental-health/conditions/skin-picking-disorder/#:~:text=Also%20called%20dermatillomania%20or%20excoriation,people%20may%20need%20professional%20treatment.

“Dermatillomania (Skin Picking).” Psychology Today, Sussex Publishers, https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/conditions/dermatillomania-skin-picking.

Wabnegger, Albert, and Anne Schienle. “The Role of the Cerebellum in Skin-Picking Disorder.” Cerebellum (London, England), U.S. National Library of Medicine, Feb. 2019, https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6351678/. 

“My Journey with Dermatillomania.” YouTube, YouTube, 3 May 2021, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=53wswH1v-oQ&t=223s. Accessed 23 Feb. 2023.