Could Dermatillomania be considered stimming?

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I have been scratching my scalp for as long as I can remember. As I child I did it in the classroom, while watching t.v, before I went to sleep, I do it because it makes me feel good. I do it when I'm happy or sad. My emotion do not seem to play a roll in it. Is is possible that this could be a form of stimming? I would estimate I have been doing it for 36 yrs.

Last edited by Deb1970 on 26 Apr 2014, 1:19 pm, edited 1 time in total.

Yes. I think for me it is a combination of stimming and skin sensitivity.

I do it too, but I do sometimes bleed. It's not my intention to make myself bleed though.

I do it too; scalp scratching, and also skin picking on one thumb. It seems to calm me.

I do it all the time too. I do create sores on my scalp though.

I may create sores some times but not as much as when was younger. I think they may have bleed a little bit.

I thought mine was OCD or an impulse control issue, but now I'm not so sure. I've done this since I was little. I also have trich. I seem to do it and it helps me pay attention. Sometimes I get this burst of impassivity and I HAVE to do it, but most of the time I'm not very aware of it. Like you, I do it all of the time. I especially do it when I'm nervous, but not to necessarily relieve that emotion at all. It feels...good. Not in an OCD way, either. I have actual compulsions list list writing for hours on end that feels frantic and hopeless. I get a burst of anxiety, and the compulsion relieves it. However, skin picking and hair pulling is just...a good sensation.

When I don't bite the skin off of my lip when I'm very nervous and/or scared, I tend to rock. So, overall, I would say it's completely possible it's a stim. For me, it seems to be something I don't necessarily choose to do, but at the same time, it helps me filter out parts of the world. That sounds like what a stim is, from what I know.

For what it's worth, the person who gave me my diagnosis said from what he's seen, trich tends to be VERY common among people with ASD.

I have dermatillomania. I pick at myself unconsciously without realising all the time. I will do it consciously if I am nervous or worried though. It gives me a feel of control and order.

Do any of you get a feeling of euphoria when you do it? I get it even when I don't realize I'm picking. I just realize my feeling and notice that I'm doing it sometimes. It's quite weird. I know when I stim (like rock) it's just calming. I get the same effect with picking and pulling hair, but intensified.

Yes, I get a feeling of euphoria and relief. But I feel ashamed of being unable to control the urges afterwards.

Yeah, I do this several times a day. The skin around my fingers look beaten up now, but the comfort I get makes it worth it.

Yeah, I think dermitillomania could be considered a stim - albeit a somewhat destructive one, if it involves biting/picking (as it does with me ). I've gotten a lot better, though - it's mostly all in keeping my hands and fingers otherwise occupied with small objects, such as my Tangle Toys or stones, or my stuffed dolphin.

Yes, euphoria in a kind of "satisfaction" way -- it sounds weird, by when I get to pick at a nicely calloused bit of skin on the thumb I habitually pick, there's something about the successful picking off of the skin without a bleed, and nicely picking off the edge, that seems like a euphoric thing, as if I'm making a model airplane and perfectly put a section together without fumbling it, or like I iced a cake with a tricky move that I managed to do.

It seems really weird to apply that "Yes!" feeling to a piece of skin getting picked at, I know....I've never been able to explain why that's so satisfying. It's almost like my skin picking is a kind of hobby with fails and wins and "that was nicely done that time!" I have NO idea what's going on there!

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Yes. I hate it but can't stop permanently. I've been able to stop for periods of time but always come back to it. It's the scalp. at least it's hidden by hair if I go too far. But I'm self conscious of it sometimes if I catch myself doing it at work. It's like an addiction, only worse. I quit smoking 14 years ago. I can't quit this. Been doing it sinc eI was a kid.

I wonder if we get shame from it because of how others view people with sores and/or bald spots.

If I ended up rocking in public, I would also feel shame. This is because it's not socially "acceptable" to do that. Also, it's because of my lack of control. Unlike OCD, though, I don't have a spiraling panic effect when you keep doing compulsions. Like all of you, it feels good.

I feel like skin picking/hair pulling is some sort of weird crossroads between impulse control, stimming, tics, and something on the OCD spectrum. Also, OP, I've been doing my skin picking and hair pulling for 14 years.

I wonder if dermatillomania is more common in Asperger's people. I have it and I can sit in the mirror for hours picking my face. I used to have flawless skin but now it is discolored and scarred. After/during picking I get an intense euphoria/high but afterword's I get very depressed and ashamed and I am always worried about how people view me.