Mum with skin-picking disorder wants to be put in a coma

A mother of two has a skin-picking disorder so severe that she’s begging doctors to be put into a coma.

Linda Smith before she picked at her skin, which she says has ruined her life.

A mum-of-two has revealed her skin picking condition is so bad that she believes her only hope is to be placed into a medically-induced coma so that her wounds can heal.

Linda Smith claims the disorder has taken over her life, leaving her unable to date for more than four years after ripping apart her own face in ‘picking marathons’ that can last EIGHT HOURS.

The 50-year-old has suffered from dermatillomania, which compels somebody to pick at their skin causing visible wounds, ever since she was a child but isn’t sure what triggered it.

The compulsive skin picker’s body is littered with wounds and scars and says that she feels so hopeless that the only way this can be controlled is if she is ‘unconscious or in a straitjacket’.

Steroid creams intended to get rid of some of the spots have caused facial hair to grow, according to Linda, leaving her having to shave her face DAILY.

Linda, from Pennsylvania, US, said: “It is very hard to deal with all of the time. This might sound extreme but I feel like I want to be dead already because it is just never going to stop.

“I feel completely hopeless and helpless about ever being able to control, much less stop, picking.

The 50-year-old has suffered from dermatillomania, which compels somebody to pick at their skin.

Linda Smith claims the disorder has taken over her life, leaving her unable to date for more than four years.

“I honestly believe that the only way my skin is ever going to completely heal is if I am unable to touch it all.

“The only way this could ever happen would be if I were unconscious and put in a coma. I don’t think they would ever put you in a coma so you skin could heal but I definitely would do it if it was an option.

“I think the only thing that would help me is to either be put in a straitjacket or have somebody watch me 24 hours a day and stop me the second I started picking.

“I avoid going out. I wouldn’t go out of the house unless I have to. I wait until after dark to put my garbage out and I don’t date.

“It is taking over my life. It affects everything. It is like the older I get the worse it gets. Now I’m lucky if I can go a few hours without picking at something.

“It is definitely a mental thing. It is a form of OCD and mixed with addiction. There is no logic to it. That is the number one thing.

“Your brain is thinking I will tear whatever this imperfection is off my skin and then my skin will be perfect but it doesn’t work that way. It works the opposite way. My skin is never going to be good enough to please me.

“It is like you’re arguing with yourself. I have had eight hour picking sessions before. My face gets really bad after one of those.”

Linda says the condition is ruining her life.

The mum has been advised to stop wearing make-up to encourage her to stop picking at her skin and she has decided to get tattoos to cover some of her scars.

So upset by how she looks from the wounds and scars, Linda has piled on three stone in a year after from being too embarrassed to go out.

Linda said: “I will be less likely to pick if I don’t wear make-up because I don’t want my face to look like this. The only place that I don’t pick is my chest and stomach because they don’t break out.

“I’ve stopped caring about what the rest of me looks like because my face is so hideous. I have gained 30 lbs (13.6kg). I feel like I’m letting myself go. I think not wearing make-up is a bad thing for me. My self-esteem goes.

“I will never forget when my son came over one day my face was really bad after one of my picking marathons and he looked at me and shuddered.

“I would not leave the house without make-up so this was the first time he had seen me like that.

Linda Smith has a skin picking condition so bad that she believes her only hope is to be placed into a medically-induced coma so that her wounds can heal.

“I’m really frustrated and I don’t know where to turn. I’ve had people ask me if they are from using drugs. There are other reasons other than drugs to look like this.

“I have had it ever since I was a child, I have been picking for as long as I can remember. I’ve always liked the feeling of picking things like the picking paint feeling. I do know that stress aggravates it.

“If I got a mosquito bite and there was a scab, I would be picking at it. I don’t know why, I guess maybe boredom. If I’m watching TV my hands would be moving around feeling for something bumpy.”

Linda has also been prescribed a steroid cream to help battle the spots caused by the picking but she claims it is causing facial hair to grow, which she now has to shave.

Linda said: “It is a bit of a nightmare. It’s very aggravating. I wish there was something I could do to clear the skin and get rid of the facial hair too. It makes you feel like a man when you have to shave your face.

“I’ve been having facial hair for ten years now but recently using the steroid cream on a daily basis the hair has been growing a lot faster.”