I was obsessed with gouging out chunks of my own skin with tweezers, pliers and nails
WARNING GRAPHIC CONTENT: Charlotte Starling, 29, kept her skin condition a secret, until she was registered as disabled…
For years, Charlotte kept a very dark secret. Every day, she would wait impatiently for her family to head to work and school, so she could close the curtains, turn the TV volume to low, peel off her clothes and do what she loved doing best – pulling off chunks of her skin with tweezers and pliers.
"I would go into a sort of trance and sit for hours. I felt amazing when I was doing it – the only time I wasn’t picking or thinking about picking was when I was asleep," says Charlotte.
Over the course of several years, Charlotte covered her entire body in welts the size of 5p coins, and now barely has an inch of her body that isn’t scarred.
Charlotte was suffering from a rare condition called dermatillomania, a disorder where people become obsessed with pulling their skin off.Her problems began when, aged 16, she gave birth unexpectedly.
"I’d been having really bad pains for a couple of days, but it just felt like I needed the loo really badly," she says.
"I rushed to the toilet, and I couldn’t believe it when I heard a splash and a cry – I looked down and there was a baby girl."
Unbelievably, Charlotte had no idea she was pregnant. She had "always been a big girl", and assumed she’d put on a few extra pounds – and she’d had regular spotting which she’d mistaken for periods. Luckily, the baby had been
born in the breach position, or else she could have drowned.
"The cord had snapped when she popped out and I went running downstairs with it still flapping between my legs," recalls Charlotte. "I shouted, 'Mum! Dad! There’s a baby down the loo!'"
Charlotte’s astonished parents fished the baby out and an ambulance was soon on its way. In order to commemorate her unusual birth, Charlotte named her little girl Louise.
For years, Charlotte kept a very dark secret. Every day, she would wait impatiently for her family to head to work and school, so she could close the curtains, turn the TV volume to low, peel off her clothes and do what she loved doing best – pulling off chunks of her skin with tweezers and pliers.
"I would go into a sort of trance and sit for hours. I felt amazing when I was doing it – the only time I wasn’t picking or thinking about picking was when I was asleep," says Charlotte.
Over the course of several years, Charlotte covered her entire body in welts the size of 5p coins, and now barely has an inch of her body that isn’t scarred.
Charlotte was suffering from a rare condition called dermatillomania, a disorder where people become obsessed with pulling their skin off.Her problems began when, aged 16, she gave birth unexpectedly.
"I’d been having really bad pains for a couple of days, but it just felt like I needed the loo really badly," she says.
"I rushed to the toilet, and I couldn’t believe it when I heard a splash and a cry – I looked down and there was a baby girl."
Unbelievably, Charlotte had no idea she was pregnant. She had "always been a big girl", and assumed she’d put on a few extra pounds – and she’d had regular spotting which she’d mistaken for periods. Luckily, the baby had been
born in the breach position, or else she could have drowned.
"The cord had snapped when she popped out and I went running downstairs with it still flapping between my legs," recalls Charlotte. "I shouted, 'Mum! Dad! There’s a baby down the loo!'"
Charlotte’s astonished parents fished the baby out and an ambulance was soon on its way. In order to commemorate her unusual birth, Charlotte named her little girl Louise.
Comments