Whilst I am incredibly open about my trichotillomania on this site and other places across t'internet, there is one thing which I am forever embarrassed and ashamed about. I've come to terms with not having eyebrows or eyelashes, but have pushed its sister disorder completely to one side. Dermotillomania has destroyed my nails. Throughout my teens, I would (warning: this sounds disgusting) compulsively pick away at my nails and my cuticles...and I still do to this day. It makes me feel disgusting and has physically ruined my nails. My cuticles are scabby, red and sore (and often picked so much they bleed) and the nails on my thumbs have curved so much they just look abnormal now (my family call them my 'werewolf claws'). I love painting my nails and making them look pretty, but always had hang-ups with the way my fingers looked with dermotillomania- scabby, werewolf claws are just not elegant. Nail varnish never hid the curves in my nails, but I've recently discovered one thing which does: false nails.
