{"id":344809,"date":"2024-11-24T19:00:48","date_gmt":"2024-11-24T19:00:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ora-visio.com\/what-is-dermatillomania-often-seen-in-autistic-people\/"},"modified":"2024-11-24T19:00:48","modified_gmt":"2024-11-24T19:00:48","slug":"what-is-dermatillomania-often-seen-in-autistic-people","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ora-visio.com\/en\/what-is-dermatillomania-often-seen-in-autistic-people\/","title":{"rendered":"What Is Dermatillomania, Often Seen in Autistic People?"},"content":{"rendered":"

Dermatillomania is a mental health condition<\/strong>: this destructive behaviour aims to remove the skin’s slightest imperfections, whether visible or merely felt. Made worse by anxiety, boredom or stress<\/strong>, it can also develop in people with neurodevelopmental disorders, Autism Spectrum Disorder<\/a> (ASD) or Attention Deficit Disorder with or without Hyperactivity (ADHD).<\/p>\n

Dermatillomania, an addictive, recurring and painful behaviour<\/h2>\n

Dermatillomania involves repeatedly picking at the skin<\/strong>, to the point of causing lesions. The targeted areas vary from person to person: scalp, neck, face, shoulders, chest, stomach, hands, legs, etc. This disorder generally appears in adolescence and affects around 1.5%<\/strong> of the population, mostly women<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

People with dermatillomania often have mild acne caused by anxiety<\/strong>. But they see it as far more serious than it actually is. They then try to “smooth” their skin<\/strong>, removing the slightest imperfection (blackheads, scabs, hairs, dead skin, scars\u2026). Yet this impulsive, uncontrolled picking<\/strong> ends up creating new lesions. Not to mention that they won’t hesitate to use specific tools<\/strong> to better “purify” their skin (tweezers, razors, needles, blackhead extractors\u2026).<\/p>\n

Dermatillomania creates a growing feeling of tension<\/strong> before the picking, which then turns into pleasure, relief and satisfaction<\/strong> during the picking itself\u2026<\/p>\n

A way of relieving inner tension<\/h2>\n

While the cause of this condition has yet to be clearly defined, anxiety may be a driving factor<\/strong>: the compulsive ritual of dermatillomania could offer a way to compensate for inner tension, a way to release frustration. The skin then becomes the outlet for anxieties and unspoken feelings.<\/p>\n

This destructive behaviour reflects poor <\/strong>emotional regulation<\/strong><\/a>, a lack of confidence or self-esteem<\/strong>, which is often found in children with ASD and ADHD.<\/p>\n

Skin picking becomes a disorder<\/strong> when it affects the person’s personal, family and\/or professional life: they avoid certain activities and miss out on others because of damage they can no longer hide.<\/p>\n

Solutions for dermatillomania<\/h2>\n

Dermatillomania can be treated with Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT)<\/strong> led by a psychologist<\/a>. This approach focuses on reversing the habit by raising awareness of it, identifying the situations that trigger it, and using strategies to stop the picking. Note that hypnosis<\/strong><\/a> is also worth exploring to support behavioural change.<\/p>\n

In cases of comorbidity (with ADHD, for example), this condition may also require medication<\/strong> and\/or suitable dietary supplements<\/strong> to support the nervous system.<\/p>\n

Finally, multidisciplinary care may include dermatological follow-up<\/strong>, relaxation sessions to relieve inner tension, and support around overall lifestyle habits (sleep, diet), to optimise the effects of psychological support.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Dermatillomania is a mental health condition: this destructive behaviour aims […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":344810,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[341],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-344809","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-psychology"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/ora-visio.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/344809","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/ora-visio.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/ora-visio.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ora-visio.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/7"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ora-visio.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=344809"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/ora-visio.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/344809\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ora-visio.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/344810"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/ora-visio.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=344809"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ora-visio.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=344809"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ora-visio.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=344809"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}