TITLE

Fighting the Shame of Skin Picking

DESCRIPTION

Dermatillomania  (skin picking) along with Trichotillomania (hair pulling) are considered disorder classified as types of Obsessive-Compulsive disorders found in the American Psychiatric Association DSM – 5 (Diagnostic and Statistical Manual 5th Edition).

“These repetitive behaviors typically emerge around the onset of puberty, though they can begin earlier, and are more common in girls and women. They tend to occur along with mood disorders like anxiety and depression, or with obsessive-compulsive disorder. Patients report feeling an urge to pick or pull, followed by a physical sensation of relief or gratification while engaging in the behavior itself.”  People with these disorders experience great shame and hide the problems from friends and family.  Though treatments are readily available through psychotherapy, the intense shame makes suffers from making contact with a therapist until someone (often a professional medical person or perhaps an teacher) discovers the problem.   This engaging article is powerful and discusses a number of cases.

SOURCE

New York Times, September 5, 2019, by Lindsay Gellman

LINK TO RESOURCE

https://www.nytimes.com/2019/09/05/well/live/fighting-the-shame-of-skin-picking.html

(Tiny URL)  https://tinyurl.com/y35qwvw4

CLASS DISCUSSION QUESTIONS

•What is Dermatillomania?  What are the characteristics of this disorder?

•Why and how is it classified as an Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder in the DSM-5?

•What are the prevailing emotions that are experienced by those suffering with the disorder?

•The article discusses a number of anecdotal cases:  what do they all have in common?