Mom traumatized after being told she had GONORRHOEA… but it was actually compulsive skin picking 

A mother was traumatized after a trip to the emergency room where medics insisted the scabs on her body were signs of gonorrhea, when in fact she suffers from compulsive skin picking.

Angela Hartlin, 36, a 36-year-old writer and mental health advocate from Nova Scotia, Canada, has endured the behavior for almost her entire life.

While seeking medical attention for pain in her abdomen, a doctor was convinced Ms. Hartlin had gonorrhea because she had a slightly open sore next to her bikini line.

After explaining to the doctor that she was happily married and that gonorrhea couldn’t be the case, the doctor still assumed she had indulged in risky sexual behavior.

Since then, mother-of-one Ms. Hartlin has always suffered from an excoriation disorder, also known as skin picking, which means she has a compulsive need to constantly pick at her skin, leaving her with torn skin and open wounds.

The abdominal pain was later diagnosed as a twisting fibroid — when a fibroid (benign clump of muscle and fibers usually found in the uterine wall) twists on its stem and cuts off blood supply.

She said, “Despite explaining I’m married, he made an assessment that included the possibility that I was engaging in risky sex or seeking drugs rather than just being desperate for help.”

Unfortunately, this wasn’t the only time Ms. Hartlin had unpleasant and even dangerous reactions from healthcare professionals because of her skin picking.

Mrs. Hartlin’s condition worsened from anxiety at the age of 13, in part because her father had become mentally and physically disabled from a blood clot in his brain.

She said, “I’ve always picked at scabs, scrapes, etc., but by fifth grade it definitely became a problem.”

Since then, mother-of-one Ms. Hartlin has struggled with an excoriation disorder, also known as skin picking, meaning she has a compulsive need to constantly pick at her skin, leaving her with torn skin and open wounds.

Another doctor refused help to Mrs. Hartlin for an infection on her chin, feeling she deserved it because it was her fault she had picked at her skin, causing the open wound to become infected.

As disgusted as Ms. Hartlin has been about the treatment she has received for her physical ailments, the mental toll it has taken on her is enormous.

She said, “I’ve always picked at scabs, scrapes, etc., but by fifth grade it definitely became a problem.”

Stress is a big factor that has affected Ms. Hartlin’s condition, which means she is still prone to flare-ups during times of extreme stress

Many medical professionals didn’t take Ms. Hartlin seriously because there was no real diagnosis for skin picking until May 2013, when it was categorized as an excoriation disorder in the fifth Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5).

Before this inclusion, it was classified among many different conditions, such as dermatillomania, psychogenic or neurotic excoriation, and compulsive, chronic, self-injurious, or pathological skin picking – but it never had its own diagnosis until 2013.

After going through 12 intensive weeks of Cognitive Behavioral Therapy and Acceptance and Commitment Therapy with licensed therapist and BFRB expert Karen Pickett, Ms. Hartlin and Karen wrote a book seeking publication called “Embracing Dermatillomania: Through Pain and Recovery,” in which the step-by-step recovery process Ms. Hartlin took.

Everything she’s learned through therapy has allowed Ms. Hartlin to use her knowledge to get through her recovery.

Stress is a big factor influencing Ms. Hartlin’s condition, which means she is still prone to flare-ups during times of extreme stress.

She said, “Eight years later, I’m experiencing flare-ups, but I’ve learned how to manage most of them.

“I don’t have hour-long ‘pick sessions’ anymore, although I still get triggered by something on my skin that I feel shouldn’t be there, or maybe I feel a certain way that makes my hands start searching for something .’

Ms Hartlin and her husband gave birth to a baby girl the month before the first Covid-19 lockdown and hope she gets the right help to be a better mother to her daughter.

“The month before the first lockdown, my husband and I became proud parents of our one and only girl who brings us more joy than we could have ever imagined,” she said.

“My focus is on doing what I can to get the health care I’ve desperately needed for years so I can be the wife, mother, and person I want to be.”

She added, “Whatever you’re going through right now, you’re not alone.

“Even if you don’t have access to treatment for any health condition, get involved in an online community to share your story, feel understood, and support others who understand.”