"Nail-bitters/skin pickers" ..its real

I cant stop picking the skin around my nails on my fingers. I end up ripping skin off for no reason and if theres a piece of skin coming off I just cant leave it. If there is no noticeable skin coming off but it feels rough or weird, I pick. It's a disgusting and embarrassing habit and I have no clue why I do it. I don't know why or when this started happening but in High School I would have to get acrylic nails because it made it more difficult to pick . I used to think I only did it when I was nervous, however, I find myself doing it without even realizing that I am actually doing it. So, finally after many classes of sitting in the front row of the class and only being known as one of the "nail-bitters/skin pickers" I decided to finally blog about it. Today, after class I finally did some research on "picking the skin around nails" and I actually found out, that I am not alone and it is a real thing, known as Onychophagia. Onychophagia, medically, involves the repetitive biting, chewing, and picking of one’s fingernails and the cuticles around them. Compulsive skin picking is now classified as one of a cluster of compulsive behaviors that fall under the diagnosis of OCD. Other behaviors that may accompany skin picking are nail biting and hair pulling. However, I strictly am just a skin picker (gross, I hate saying it out loud) but it's true. "Hangnails are distended pieces of skin cuticles that become broken and loose, often catching painfully on any object touched. Nail clips and tweezers can often remove the hangnails rather painlessly and allow for quick healing. The person suffering from the OCD level of onychopagia will often continue picking or biting the area around the hangnail until the skin along the nail is even more damaged, sometimes bleeding. This freshly damaged skin leads to the urge to pick, chew, or bite even more." The description about describes exactly what I am going through. I read that it most people grow out of nail biting and cuticle picking by the time they reach adulthood. I'm twenty, so do I finally start seeking options, or do I just deal with it?

YAY! No Clas =)

Well, it's been a while since my last blog, oops! We didn't have class today, however in lieu of class, we had a "mini lecture" on neurodevelopmental disorders. It was only a 6 minute lecture so I was able to really pay attention to it. I didn't mind listening to it. I was really interested in Lesch-Nyhan Syndrome because I had never heard of it before and found it to be very odd. Lesch-Nyhan Syndrome is an extremely rare genetically identified disease. In our book, it is classified as an X-linked disorder and is characterized by mental retardation, signs of cerebral palsy and self-injurious behavior, including finger and lip biting. I was even more shocked to find out that only males are affected, because a recessive gene is responsible, where it is on the X chromosome in males it does not have a normal gene to balance it because males do not have a second X chromosome.

Synopis Paper

Look Me in the Eye is a book written by John Elder Robison and is about his life and growing up with Asperger’s. Robison did his best to express his thoughts and feelings as accurately as possible throughout the book. He wanted his book to reveal once and for all that, however robotic Aspergians may seem, they do have deep emotions just like anyone else. He had trouble trying to figure out how to make friends because he could never say the “right” thing. For example, in chapter 2, A Permanent Playmate he describes if someone said “Look at my Tonka truck” he would respond with something like, “I have a helicopter.” However, as he got older he was able to teach himself how to properly respond. Robison encounters many struggles during his childhood and even as an adult due to his condition. As a teenager, Robison used to blurt out in class, avoid eye contact, and also bounced and bobbed his head. This made him seem “abnormal” to his peers and teachers, and made fitting in, very difficult. “Deeply felt and often darkly funny, Look Me in the Eye is a delight.” –People (Critic’s Choice) “A fantastic life story told with grace, humor, and a bracing lack of sentimentality.” –Entertainment Weekly. These were two statements by critics that I strongly agree with and I believe provide a strong overall description of the book and would urge anyone to read this book.
I believe that the basic position Robison takes on Asperger’s/Autism leans more towards an appreciation of neurodiversity than a more pathological view. He seems to recognize and accept his way of life and stresses the point that everyone should feel comfortable with whom they are. Although his book shows both sides (neurodiversity and pathological) I feel he sends a general message that he does not feel bad that he has this neurological disease or that he is not “normal.”
Teachers saw Robison as a “social deviant” and at the time did not understand that the cause of his disruptive and unusual behavior was neurological. In chapter 4, A Trickster Is Born, Robison shares an experience with a “particularly disagreeable high school biology teacher.” As Robison said, “He tormented me during my weekly lab, holding up my “sloppily dissected frog” for everyone to ridicule.” This teacher would also call on John to answer questions he knew he couldn’t answer. In return, Robison tries to manage this by going to a local newsstand and buying magazines like Playboy and Penthouse. He looks up his teachers address and filled out subscription cards and checking “bill me” boxes.
Robison was able to overcome his feelings over being alone and struggling to fit in and was able to achieve success as an adult. Despite all the struggles and difficulties he encountered throughout his lifetime, he is now a successful author and small business owner, as well as a loving father and husband.

So today, class basically started. I liked that there was not a lot of notes to take. However, for a test I wish we would take more notes from the book. I personally have trouble reading from a book and actually really understanding everything fully. I liked that there were many students contributing to the class lecture because I don't really like to speak out in class. I think this class will be a very beneficial class and a lot will be learned.

Well classes started again and this abnormal psychology was my second class of the day as well as the semester! I was very pleased that we were able to leave class to watch the Inauguration of President Obama, although I did not want to come back an hour later. That's just me being the lazy person that I am though :). Too be honest, I don't think I will mind this whole blogging thing too much as long as they don't have to be too formal or long.