Does anyone know what it is called when a person like me - is obsessed with picking and scratching at scabs - especially the scalp - i scratch scabs off of my scalp all day and night long - whenever i can - i pick so often that my scabs dont heal and/or i create new ones which i continue to pick and scratch off. i often like staring at them after i have picked them for a moment - idk why though - i also pick scabs on my face - although i try hard not to - i have an addictive fetish like euphoria when i scratch areas of where the scab used to be that i picked off - whether it be on the arm or foot or leg- whatever - i cant stop and i seem to get a kind of guilty sexual sensation when i do these things. i get the same type of sensation when i scratch bug bites or sores.
does anyone know anything about this - maybe a name for the disorder?
The name for the disorder is called Dermatillomania. Picking compulsions are psychological in nature. You’re doing it to yourself, no one forces you. Some inner force takes over your body, and it is often stronger than your will power.
Compulsive picking is usually a symptom of a deeper illness, and some common causes are:
Stress and anxiety; Neurological imbalance caused by stress overload to the nervous system; Chemical imbalance; Traumatic events, particularly in childhood and Heredity.
hmm thanks. that is odd though because i dont suffer from any of those things. i am actually really relaxed and a layed back irie person. i dont have any sort of anxiety at all ever. maybe something in my childhood could have triggered it though like you suggested and i just dont remember anything about it.
I checked out Dermatillomania and its not really what i have at all - its just scab picking and scratching - especially on the scalp - no hair pulling involved - although i am a nail biter - im also constantly playing with my ears and earrings and kind of enjoy the tugging pain. idk - im really messed up huh? haha jk - i would like to give a name to what i have though...
Dermatillomania doesn't involve hair pulling, that is Trichotillomania, but they are both compulsive disorders. Dermatillomania (also known as compulsive skin picking or CSP) is an impulse control disorder and form of self-injury characterized by the repeated urge to pick at one's own skin, often to the extent that damage is caused. Dermatillomania may be related to body dysmorphic disorder (BDD).
Last edited by Mittens_Kittens; 09-12-2009 at 09:24 PM.
Regardless if you find a name for it... the only option you really have, in my own opinion, is just realizing that sometimes when your thoughts become derailed or when you start staring off in space, you catch yourself beginning to pick at your scalp.
Regardless if you find a name for it... the only option you really have, in my own opinion, is just realizing that sometimes when your thoughts become derailed or when you start staring off in space, you catch yourself beginning to pick at your scalp.
Learn to stop.
Right?
well thats how it works for my head - but for other scabs like on my arm or leg that are big enough - those are the ones i am addicted to picking then scratching. i do it knowingly everytime - out of pure desire to do it - dont get me wrong because i am not trying to stop - i like it - im just looking for something to call it. i have no desire to pick my regular skin - just scabs - i am a little worried however that i might go as far as to start creating the scabs myself. o well - thank you for your help people.
I do the same thing and have been doing it all my life. Im constantly on my head when I'm not doing anything else w/ my hands. I'm 41 and have done it as far back as I can remember. I never tried to stop. It's actually rather soothing.
Does anyone know what it is called when a person like me - is obsessed with picking and scratching at scabs - especially the scalp - i scratch scabs off of my scalp all day and night long - whenever i can - i pick so often that my scabs dont heal and/or i create new ones which i continue to pick and scratch off. i often like staring at them after i have picked them for a moment - idk why though - i also pick scabs on my face - although i try hard not to - i have an addictive fetish like euphoria when i scratch areas of where the scab used to be that i picked off - whether it be on the arm or foot or leg- whatever - i cant stop and i seem to get a kind of guilty sexual sensation when i do these things. i get the same type of sensation when i scratch bug bites or sores.
does anyone know anything about this - maybe a name for the disorder?
I just wanted to say that you are not alone. I have had this problem for several years. It started after I went through a traumatic experience. I only do it to my scalp, and it has gotten so bad that my hair is coming out in small patches, and takes months to grow back. I have always been embarrassed to ask my doctor about it. Thanks to your post, I think I can finally talk to my doctor and get some help. I just wanted to say thank you for being brave enough to ask about this.
Yes, it's so addicting isn't it? to pick scabs and the scalp of the head. Somedays I pick my scalp till my head is bleeding. But you know what helps me? Being busy! Work, life activites, being tired and then going to bed day after day. When that happens, the scabs heal before I can think about them and they disappear and I forget they are there. But when I have too much time on my hands, nothing for my hands to do....then I pick!
Re: Scab picking -scratching - obesession 
