Table of contents:
- Is it psychogenic itching?
- Psychogenic itching is not a skin disease, but mental
- Causes of psychogenic itching
- How to deal with psychogenic itching
Have you ever felt like scratching your skin? In fact, there are no bumps, hives, or other skin problems that you experience? If you have experienced it, you could be suffering from psychogenic itching. Unlike other types of itching such as insect bites, allergic itching, hives, or prickly heat, psychogenic itching is not usually characterized by any skin problems. To find out more about psychogenic itching, see the full review below.
Is it psychogenic itching?
Psychogenic itching is the urge to scratch the skin without any problems or causes for itching. Usually psychogenic itching appears only on areas of the body that you can easily reach, such as the arms, hamstrings, abdomen, shoulders, and face. The more you scratch, the itching will get worse.
Also, psychogenic itching usually occurs only when you are under stress, anxiety, have a difficult problem to solve, or when you feel threatened. However, in some cases people also report psychogenic itching when being overly happy.
Psychogenic itching is not a skin disease, but mental
The desire and the urge to scratch the skin without cause is not a disease. The feeling of wanting to scratch the skin arises from suggestions or the subconscious mind of the human mind. So, psychogenic itching is more accurately classified as a psychological disorder, not a skin disease.
People who suffer from psychogenic itching cannot tell whether the itching is just the feeling, or is it really itching for some reason. As a result, he will scratch the skin even more and this can lead to redness, eczema, and scratching scars.
Causes of psychogenic itching
Psychogenic itching is caused by abnormalities in brain activity when experiencing intense emotions. Itching is regulated by a part of the brain, the cingulate cortex. This part of the brain also seems to regulate various emotional and cognitive activities. So, when a person feels an overwhelming feeling, this part of the brain will be over-stimulated. This is what causes the urge to scratch the skin.
This case is also usually found in people who have various psychiatric disorders. These include dissociative disorder (multiple personalities), anxiety disorders, depression, obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), borderline personality disorder, psychosis, and somatization disorder.
How to deal with psychogenic itching
Until now, there is no medicine that can cure psychogenic itching. The best way to control psychogenic itching is to treat the psychiatric disorder itself. Suppose you have obsessive-compulsive disorder. Treating obsessive-compulsive disorder will help you prevent the urge to scratch your skin for no apparent medical reason.
To deal with mental disorders experienced, there are many types of psychotherapy or other psychological therapies that can be taken. You will be trained to change your mindset to be healthier so that the habit of scratching the itchy skin will gradually disappear. If you feel the urge to scratch your skin, try to distract yourself and keep your hands busy with other activities.
