Angela Hartlin has a long history with excoriation (skin-picking) disorder (also called dermatillomania). You may be familiar with her story, but if not, the disorder had a grip on her life from a young age. During her teens and...
Those who celebrate Christmas often have a wish list of gifts they would like to receive. Sure, it might seem like something a child will do to prep for Santa, but many teens and adults also have a list...
A Body-Focused Repetitive Behaviour Awareness Week tradition here at CBSN is to gather guest blogs to share throughout the week. In the past, we’ve gotten a variety of narratives from BFRBers across the world. This week, we have four...
A Body-Focused Repetitive Behaviour Awareness Week tradition here at CBSN is to gather guest blogs to share throughout the week. In the past, we’ve gotten a variety of narratives from BFRBers across the world. This week, we have four...
In the body-focused repetitive behaviour community, many people who have a BFRB or multiple BFRBs are searching for a cure. And if not a cure specifically, all of us are looking for answers of some sort—causes, triggers, what helps,...
Inspired by a blog on The Mighty about things the blogger wished she had been told about mental illness, I thought let’s delve into what we wished we had been told about body-focused repetitive behaviours (BFRBs), starting with dermatillomania....
“I used to cringe when I would hear the word ‘pick.’ It could be pick a colour, it could be pick a direction, pick a college, it didn’t really matter.” Lauren McKeaney’s story with skin picking started out like...
I’ve come to believe it’s important to separate our disorders from one another. No, I don’t mean the segregation of trich from derm, or dissolving the BFRB umbrella term. What I mean is separating our disorders so that we...
Twenty years ago, I was going on five years old. I wish I could say I had the hopes and ambitions of my future sparkling in my eyes while I went about life in a carefree manner, but I...
Here at CBSN, we often talk about the stigma that comes with BFRBs. Spread the Word. Break the Stigma. That’s one of our main taglines, but while we talk about stigma a lot, we don’t really speak about...
A beautiful poem from the perspective of the writer’s 12 year old self. Written by: Mariahlyn Elvers from Calgary, Alberta. “Dear mom and dad, I need you to understand I don’t mean to leave hair everywhere, on the...
The Girl with the Gloves I am the girl who wears the gloves. Finding your identity in high school is never easy and sadly the first thing that most people judge you on is your appearance. My entire life...
On March 4th, the Peer Support group based out of Toronto had the opportunity to have a guest: Dr. Mark Sinyor of Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre. We had posted to our Facebook page asking if anyone had any questions for...
This past Tuesday, advocate Angela Hartlin was featured in a webinar with the Trichotillomania Learning Center giving tips on how to “come out” about your BFRB. She gave a number of tips, such as having information ready in case...
Join the CBSN Toronto Peer Support Group on Tuesday October 15, 2013 from 6:30-8:30PM. The Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre will be hosting this free public event in recognition of OCD Awareness Week (October 14-20). The Frederick W. Thompson Anxiety Disorders Centre...