One of the most interesting science projects that I have done with my students during my 20 years as a public and private school teacher was how to overcome dermatillomania – the urge to pick a movie.
My disciples called him: Derma (skin) – till- ob- (you drove me crazy) mania
Interestingly, the idea to use dermatillomania as a science-project did not come from some girls in our small private school. but from Rob, a 17-year-old tough guy build nicely. When one of the girls asked Rob, “Why do you want to pick on dermatillomania as a science project?” R° replied, “Because dermatillomania is one of the areas we deal with the most, but no one wants to talk about!”
For their knowledge purposes, my students didn’t care who has dermatillomania, what is dermatillomania, what types of dermatillomania are out there, or what treatment options dermatillomania were available, they just wanted to overcome it. And so they did!
This is how they behaved successfully to overcome dermatillomania;
See what foods your skin reacts to.
Rob and Michaela, a 16-year-old girl, volunteered (with parental permission) to be guinea pigs. document the knowledge of my students. After trying different foods (and having a lot of fun) they found that they can produce skin reactions and skin irregularities by eating spicy foods. by eating chocolate or butter. By avoiding these two major types of food, Rob and Michaela saw an improvement in their skin conditions.
Keep your hands away from the face and arms
Until we used dermatillomania as a science project, Rob and Michaela didn’t know how often their hands touched their face, chest, and arms. Once the other students observed and noted what the two guinea pigs were doing with their hands throughout the school day, it quickly became clear that once their hands started touching their faces or arms, there was no stopping them.
It was also clear that the more Rob and Michaela touched their skin, the worse their dermatillomania became. My students also observed and noted that there was a symmetrical pattern where the skin would break once or one of the guinea pigs started to scratch. If Michaela had a skin irregularity on her right cheek and it was scratched, a skin irregularity was seen on her left cheek within a few hours. My disciples came up quickly saying, “Touch two.”
Keep something between your hands and your skin.
Knowing that the irregularity of touching one skin would make the two help Rob and Michaela when they were at school. At home, no other students are shouting “Touch one – two”. He tried to keep something between his fingers and skin by using his bike gloves – and it worked. The leather feel of the gloves helped Rob to know where his fingers were on his sometimes he wasn’t busy hands otherwise.
Michaela tried on gloves but refused to ever wear them. Through experimentation, Michaela discovered that she had to use part of her shirt, scarf, or even a piece of cloth to keep something between her fingers and her skin whenever she felt the urge to move her fingers to her face or arms.
Both Rob’s and Michael’s skin showed visible signs of improvement over the course of one week of not touching their face or arms as often as before. The following Monday, however, Rob showed visible signs that the skin irregularity was affecting his face. His defense, “I look like a haircut in the mirror”, is rebutted by another student with “Come on, the mirror is not your friend!”
Would you pick your skin if you were blind?
All of my older students were amazed when one of my youngest students, a 7-year-old boy, raised a question that would turn out to make all the difference in successfully treating dermatillomania. “Would you like your skin if you were blind?”
There was only one way to find out. As Rob and Michaela covered up for the next few minutes, they had no interest in picking their skin. They were too busy with their senses to understand what was going on around them. Their hands were busy feeling their room around the school. There was no time, energy, or incentive to pick at their skin.
Based on their experience of blindness and the effect it had on their skin stimuli, Rob, Michaela, and all the other students (including the younger ones) compiled a list of “careful strategies against dermatillomania” as a conclusion. to receive their knowledge.
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1. Avoid spicy foods, sweetened chocolate and sweetened peanut butter.
2. Keep your fingers away from your skin.
3. Keep something between your fingers and your skin.
4. Choose your eyes from every skin.
5. Step away from the mirrors.
6. Stay as far away from the mirror as possible (so you can’t see the details of your skin).
7. If you look in the mirror and need to shave or make-up, focus only on business and spend only a short time. Don’t look too far or too long.
8. Choose a garden.
When my students presented their eight major ways to overcome dermatillomania, I wondered about number 8, “Choose your proposal.” Rapta and Michaela, both with surprisingly clean skin, smiled. “Yes, we have a new impetus. Now we are devoted to healthy skin”
More by Aenean Thomas:
Back to School: Memorable & Innovative Tips to Help Your Child with Anxiety & Stress
Back to School: Depression in Girls – New Tips School Year
At School: Beware of Trichotillomania – Habit to Pull Hair
