Trichotillomania (hair pulling) and Dermatillomania (skin picking) are impulse control disorders that are very similar to OCD and addictive disorders. These conditions involve a repetitive and compulsive urge to pull one’s hair or to pick one’s own skin during moments of anxiety and distress, which leads to significant damage.
Like OCD, the more you engage in the compulsion to pull or pick in order to relieve the immediate anxiety, the more the anxiety intensifies in the long run. In both trichotillomania and dermotillomania there is a sense of tension before pulling the hair or picking the skin and an immediate gratification or relief during episodes of pulling or picking. This relief lasts briefly and soon after anxiety is exacerbated and tension returns.
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