Posted by Jackster on January 19, 2001, at 17:05:28
In reply to Re: Bizzarre compulsive behaviors anyone?, posted by Noa on January 18, 2001, at 16:36:05
I've done both - the scalp picking and the picking on my face. My acne wasn't really bad, but the fact that I would pick at it made it 10 x worse and liable to scarring. I never actually linked it with a mind disorder - part of my agoraphobia. It's kind of a relief to know that I'm not the only one that does it. I still pick every now and then when I'm really stressed.
Thanks for the link--it was interesting.
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> I do think my scalp scratching started because I had very dry skin, especially the scalp, when I was young, and had horrible itching, especially in the winter.
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> I think I went from scratching the itches, to picking at the scabs that developed from the severe itching-scratching, and then it became a nervous habit.
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> However, I still think there has to be an underlying biochemical-behavior loop because my brother also does this.
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> I also wonder about any connection to typcial social behavior in primates--checking for fleas on self and others, etc.
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> The itching eventually became controlled by medicated shampoo, and then just by using head and shoulders. But the scratching/picking at dandruff, etc. continued intermittently.
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> It spread to the face when acne developed and this was intermittent, too. In the past few years, my acne has been bad and the face picking worsened. I don't know if it is also related to medication. The acne is related to insulin resistance and irregular periods. But my face is made worse by the picking--I know that the acne itself isn't as unsightly as the results of what I do to it. I try to be aware of this, and as illogical as it is, sometimes I just cannot suppress the urge.
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> Let's keep this thread alive--I'd like to think we can think of ourselves as a research group in search of information together.
poster:Jackster
thread:3929
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/social/20010105/msgs/4064.html