Skin Picking: The Freedom We Found

by Annette Pasternak

Are you struggling with chronic compulsive skin picking, also known as dermatillomania? Imagine what it would be like to have a whole group of friends who have found freedom from skin picking, and who can’t wait to share everything that helped them get better.

In Skin The Freedom We Found , Annette Pasternak (author of the best-selling Skin The Freedom to Finally Stop ), brings you stories of hope and advice from dozens of her clients and other people with Skin Picking Disorder.

The book will comfort and inspire you, and give you the tools you need to stop this devastating behavior.

Annette and friends will teach you how

173 pages, Paperback

Published January 1, 2020

Reviews

[Aarti Patel · Rating 5 out of 5]

As a naturopathic doctor who specializes in treating acne, I've become increasingly aware of how skin picking can play a big part in skin health along with general and mental health. It's a habit that can persist for years, as patients have often told me. Just like my patients wonder about acne--will it ever resolve?--I also hear the same question echoed toward skin picking. The Freedom We Found is a cool book in which Annette shares examples from her clients who have experienced the light at the end of the tunnel. The stories are very candid and through recounting them, Annette offers a variety of tips and tools that have helped her clients find relief as well as the strength and accountability they need long-term in order to face a skin picking habit (or addiction). There may be no quick fix to stop skin picking, but this book shows that with creativity, patience, and dedication, you can establish your own practice and routine that will make a real difference and help you reclaim your skin and your health.

[Laura A. Barton · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read Annette Pasternak's first book, Skin Picking: The Freedom to Finally Stop, years ago when it first came out. The thing that stuck out to me the most about that book was the way that she approached skin picking disorder with methods that we might not really think about, like examining your diet and other areas of your day to day life to unroot underlying triggers for the behaviours. I see The Freedom We Found as a continuation of that.

Full disclosure: while I was interested in reading this since I'd ready The Freedom to Finally Stop, part of why I read The Freedom We Found is because I learned I'm quoted in the book.

Pasternak brings back many of the strategies she uses in her coaching, but what I enjoyed the most was her adding the perspective of her clients. Throughout the book, she sprinkles in quotes and anecdotes from her clients that show the different ways that these strategies have not only helped, but how they can be tailored to each person's individual experience. This is an important piece of the puzzle as it can help others see how these kinds of approaches could be helpful to everyone.

One thing about The Freedom We Found that stuck out to me me was I wasn't sure how Pasternak or any of her clients conceptualize or frame skin picking disorder. There are occasions where it's called skin picking disorder, other times where it's referred to as a habit, and others still where it's called an addiction. I know there are many arguments for each of these standpoints, but in my mind, they each mean different things and could even be seen as opposing viewpoints (for instances habit versus disorder).

Given that, I think having that clarity is important so that folks have a solid foundation of what they're dealing with.

Overall though, I enjoyed this book.