Do I really deserve a mental health day?
As a society, we tend to focus on getting on with it. Everyone is all about perseverance, and while I think yes, I will endure because I am who I am and its in my DNA, perseverance is not just...
Things I Wish I Had Been Told About Dermatillomania
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....
Stop Fighting Amongst Ourselves: Behaviour-Free vs Acceptance
It’s becoming more and more evident to me that there’s a stark divide between two different philosophies when it comes to body-focused repetitive behaviours. One the one side of things, we have community members who strive to be behaviour-free....
SkinPick.com’s New Self-Monitoring App
This guest blog was written by Tasneem Abrahams, a CBT therapist who treats BFRB clients, mainly with skin excoriation disorder and trichotillomania. Cognitive behavioral therapy has been shown to have the most effective results for helping people with BFRBs...
Stop Thinking You’re The Only One
I hope this blog, the first after a long period of silence, doesn’t come across too awfully, but there’s something that bugs me about the community. It’s a bit of a rant, I guess you could say. “Am I...
Attitudes Towards Our Scars
Scars are strange things. Not necessarily in how they biologically exist, but more so in how they’re treated. I, for instance, have a few different kinds of scars. Dermatillomania scars, of course, but I also have a dog bite...
#BFRBweek 2015
Welcome to CBSN’s #BFRBweek Headquarters! Did you know that 2-4% of Canadians live with a Body-Focused Repetitive Behaviour (BFRB)? That equals 1-2 MILLION children and adults in Canada. There are several different BFRBs, but the most common include Hair Pulling Disorder...
Guest Blog: Beth’s Story
She was about 12 years old the first time. She remembers looking in that mirror, trying to stop, but having no control. A process that has repeated almost every day since for the last 26 years. Open oozing wounds...
The Different Facets of Recovery
When most of us think of recovery, we probably first think of it in terms of abstinence. Shows like Intervention and many different talk shows that feature people who are in recovery talk about an absence of substance use....
#BFRBcon 2015: the messages we heard
“BFRBs are not the enemy, they are the messenger.” -Dr. Renae Reinardy The above is just one of several quotations that had an impact on me at the Trichotillomania Learning Center’s annual conference. For the first time ever, CBSN...
We Are Not Weak
We hate the words “just stop” because we know that if it were that easy we would do it. We know that if it were a simple matter of choice or effort that we wouldn’t be in the messes...
Breaking Down BFRBs – Katy’s Story
Last October we had a seminar in Toronto called “Breaking Down BFRBs”, we had several guest speakers who shared their personal stories with our audience. Here is Katy’s story:
BFRB’s Make Calgary Headlines
Our Peer Support Coordinator, Danielle Roberts, shared her story of living with dermatillomania (skin-picking disorder) which was published in her local newspaper, the Calgary Herald. Read the article here! A huge thank you to Danielle for her ongoing support...
Disorder Desperation
Most, if not all of us, have been in a place of desperation, especially when it comes to having relatively unknown disorders like BFRBs. Whether we are the ones with the BFRB or a parent of a child with...
Beauty & Fashion: Topic 1 – Hats
New Category in The BFRB Blog – Beauty & Fashion By CBSN Founder: Sarah Robertson I am someone who LOVES trying new products. I’ve spent so much money over the years on hair, skin and beauty/makeup products that I...