Skin peeling - Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD) Message Board

beautiful mama · 06-10-2006, 10:26 PM

I think I may have ocd because I will sit in front of a mirror for like 2 hours and peel my sun burned skin. And when someone else is peeling, I want to peel theirs too. Is this normal or what?

steveo23 · 06-12-2006, 09:42 AM

Hey

It could be related to CSP (Compulsive Skin Picking) with falls under the obsessive compulsive spectrum. Do you find it hard to stop picking?

Steve

kitkat77 · 06-12-2006, 10:46 AM

I have OCD and am also a picker but I don't think that all peeling and picking is OCD related. For me the answer lies in WHY you are peeling the skin.

If you just want the area smooth, or it relaxes you to peel, then perhaps you are doing this for enjoyment or it could be a habit.

If you feel you MUST peel -- that it is absolutely necessary to remove the skin or something bad will happen, then it's possible it is OCD.

I think there's a fine line between OCD and habits and alot of people cannot differentiate between the 2. Think of cigarette smoking for example. Some people chain smoke or "need" a cigarette badly (even physically shaking for it) but one would never say that these people suffer from OCD. Yet there can be one person who doesn't smoke regularly but feels they MUST have a cigarette every so often or the world would stop turning -- THAT is OCD.

Hope this helps.

beautiful mama · 06-12-2006, 01:24 PM

Thank you both for your input. Mainly I do mine out of habit. I find enjoyment out of it. My Dr did say I was ocd but it was totally diff from this.

dgold · 06-12-2006, 10:56 PM

You may find a small dosage of SSRI or even anti-psyhotics (tiny dosage) will lessen this compulsive. I would try low dose of SSRI but since there is such a heavy physical element involved you may need to add a tiny dose of A-P to lessen the dopamine in your brain.
I am not a doc but I would consider just SSRI first at low to med dose. Try luvox and see what happens