Skin picking disorder
Overview
Also called dermatillomania or excoriation disorder, skin picking disorder is where you cannot stop picking at your skin. There are things you can try to help yourself, but some people may need professional treatment.
Causes
Skin picking disorder is related toobsessive compulsive disorder, where the person cannot stop themselves carrying out a particular action. It can be triggered by: boredomstress or anxietynegative emotions, such as guilt or shameskin conditions, such as acne or eczemaother blemishes that the person wants to get rid of (these may not be noticeable to other people) It's sometimes called a body-focused repetitive behaviour and is similar torepetitive hair pulling disorder (trichotillomania). It's also related to other obsessive compulsive disorders, such asbody dysmorphic disorder, where the person is excessively preoccupied with their appearance. People with skin picking disorder often also have other obsessive compulsive disorders. These may require their own assessment and treatment.
Treatment
Talking therapy is currently thought to be an effective treatment to help change skin picking behaviour. If you're offered this, it'll usually be given through community mental health services. The most common type of talking therapy offered for skin picking disorder iscognitive behavioural therapy, and may include a technique called habit reversal training. Habit reversal training works by helping you: recognise and be more aware of your skin picking and what's triggering itreplace skin picking with a less harmful behaviour Your doctors may recommend some types of medicine to help you control your skin picking behaviour. This may be prescribed by a GP, but more often it'll be prescribed by a specialist (psychiatrist).