Bad Habit - Skin Rubbing

I have an unusual habit and I'm not sure if it has anything to do with ocd. For at least the past 5 years, I've had this habit where (if I'm at home - not out in public) I will rub the skin on the sides of my feet or the insides of my hands until this black "dirt" comes off... I then roll it into balls and set them down. Sometimes they accumulate into "piles" in spots around the house where I hang out most, and then I have to clean them up...

I'm not even sure how I acquired this habit, it's pretty gross. And I don't know if it's just a habit or something more? I do it every day, and I haven't told my psychiatrist or doctor because it is gross and embarrassing...

I have an anxiety disorder and depression.

hi Swim..

it could be just habit but also could be ocd-like symptoms. especially because you have anxiety disorder and depression. OCD is an anxiety disorder.

personally i think it depends on the reason for doing that? for instance, like to seek some relief or to alleviate anxiety. and do you feel anxious if you're not rubbing your skin? do you find it compulsive? like never felt you rub your skin 'enough'

no matter whether it is OCD or not, i'd suggest you talk to your Psych. good luck.

I seem to have some compulsive habits as well but I'm not sure if it is related to OCD or not. For instance:

1. I compulsively masturbate. I honestly can't stop! Even when I am making a conscious decision that I want to do a nofap, I just keep doing it. Sometimes I will be watching TV and laying down. I look down and realize I'm masturbating. I have sexual imagery going through my mind all the time and it is aggravating. This might have something to do with excessive porn use since I was 13-14 (I'm 22 now). It has gotten to the point where sometimes my penis swells up and sores start to appear, but I'll masturbate anyway.

2. I keep biting and picking at my lip, or peeling some skin off. My lips really start to hurt sometimes.

3. For the past 4-5 years, I keep rubbing my tongue up and down my bottom front teeth. The teeth and the gums start to feel sore and get irritated and I'm worried that I'm causing physical damage to them. My tongue pushes forward onto the teeth and then I take my finger and push in on the gums in between each tooth. Is there a name for this? I can't stop this either (I'm doing this as I type).

Oh my god, I cannot believe that there is someone else who does this. I literally thought I was the only one in the universe. Like, I know that people compulsively play with their skin (like I bite and peel my lips, which I'm sure other people do.) But rubbing skin into dark little balls and discarding them? I can't believe someone else does that. My mother always asks me why they're always all over my bedsheets, not understanding what the little black dots are. My husband thinks I do it when I'm anxious or angry or nervous, but the truth is I do it ALL THE TIME. Even in pubic. I can't stop. I really can't stop. I know I must look weird af and awkward doing it, I know it's gross, but it's that severe I just can't stop doing it. I also compulsively masturbate all the time. I never considered any of this to be a disorder or symptoms of anything, I just thought it was a bad habit. Until a girl I know told me she has dermatillomania, which was the first time I thought about my own weird skin issues and decided to google it.

Ii am so glad that there are other people with the same problem. I really want to stop rubbing myself but I can't. Even when I try not to touch my body, I suddenly find myself rubbing my fingers (usually thumb and index finger). The floor can really get messy, and lately I've just been throwing the accumulated skinballs outside my window.

Just a little update. Every day I hope that I will somehow stop doing this, yet I don't really achieve anything, maybe for a couple of days, but nothing serious. There might be a solution: try keeping hands inside pockets or wearing some kind of gloves.

I’m 24 and it’s nice to know that I’m not the only that does this. I never rubbed my skin when I was a kid, but I did bite my nails when I was a kid, and I still do. I rub my skin ALL THE TIME.I’ve been doing it since since I was 14. I try my best not to do it in public but I end up doing it unconsciously. I rub so much that I have callouses on my fingers from all the friction and I CANNOT stop. My aunt used to get annoyed and would tell me to stop rubbing, but I would continue doing it when she was distracted.I would end up feeling so ashamed whenever she did that and after I did it again after she told me not to. Whenever I try to stop rubbing, I end up biting my nails instead. It’s a vicious cycle and I can’t stop doing it. Plus, I feel like I have to do it and I get relief when I do it. You should see when I get anxious, I rub FRANTICALLY, like my skin is gonna disappear if I don’t. Sometimes it’s a nail biting-rubbing combo, I’ll be chewing my nails on the right hand while rubbing the crap out of my thigh or foot with my left. And the gross part is that I used to eat the dirt balls. I don’t know why but I felt like I had to, like I was loosing of part of myself if I didn’t. I know its gross and there’s bacteria and dirt but that didn’t matter because I would still eat it anyways. Sometimes I would get a bit of anxiety if I saw a little skinball fall somewhere and I couldn’t find it. It’s funny because everything else in my life is so chaotic, toxic, messed up and random that it seems like these are the only constant things in my life.