Valentina Mikhaylova
Author of the FreeFromHabit Project
My name is Valentina Mikhaylova and I have been living with dermatillomania for about 15-16 years.
For the last 3 years, I have been in a strong remission.
I was hiding behind clothes and tons of foundation, which still could not hide all the consequences of my habit.
⠀
I have tried many times to find information on how to deal with this. And found nothing. Psychologists I asked, told me it's auto aggression/self-harm or just recommended to meditate more and to relax. At some point, I just resigned myself. I decided that I was just not quite normal and that I would just have to live with it.
I once found the website of an organization in the USA, TLC BFRB, that deals with the BFRB problem.
I started reading and doing the exercises. The less I picked, the less the urge was.
At some point, I felt that I didn't need a habit. I found other ways to deal with my emotions. ⠀
During the treatment, I have read all of the materials on the site https://www.bfrb.org/, studied the available literature, watched numerous webinars of psychologists working in this area.
I was able to develop a comprehensive strategy to combat the BFRB. And I continue to supplement and improve it with the new training and knowledge.
The goal of the FreeFromHabit project is to help people with BFRB cope with the problem, and to convey to the rest that this problem exists, this is not an empty phrase and not something that you can just stop.
For the last 3 years, I have been in a strong remission.
I was hiding behind clothes and tons of foundation, which still could not hide all the consequences of my habit.
⠀
I have tried many times to find information on how to deal with this. And found nothing. Psychologists I asked, told me it's auto aggression/self-harm or just recommended to meditate more and to relax. At some point, I just resigned myself. I decided that I was just not quite normal and that I would just have to live with it.
I once found the website of an organization in the USA, TLC BFRB, that deals with the BFRB problem.
I started reading and doing the exercises. The less I picked, the less the urge was.
At some point, I felt that I didn't need a habit. I found other ways to deal with my emotions. ⠀
During the treatment, I have read all of the materials on the site https://www.bfrb.org/, studied the available literature, watched numerous webinars of psychologists working in this area.
I was able to develop a comprehensive strategy to combat the BFRB. And I continue to supplement and improve it with the new training and knowledge.
The goal of the FreeFromHabit project is to help people with BFRB cope with the problem, and to convey to the rest that this problem exists, this is not an empty phrase and not something that you can just stop.