Obsessive & Compulsive
Skin Picking Disorder
Also known as Excoriation Disorder
Repeated picking at skin, causing wounds, scarring and distress, often in response to tension or as an automatic habit.
What it can feel like
- Picking at spots, scabs or healthy skin
- Long sessions in front of a mirror or in the car
- Tension before, relief after
- Scarring, infection or medical treatment
- Shame and attempts to hide the skin
Not everyone has every symptom, and you do not need a label to deserve support.
Things that help
Interrupt the hands
Fidget tools, gloves, or keeping nails short reduce the automatic pick without relying on willpower.
Plan for the mirror
Dim lighting, a timer, or removing the mirror from the picking spot changes the cue that starts it.
Care for the skin instead
A simple, gentle routine replaces picking with something that helps the skin heal and reduces the urge from rough texture.
Want to actually do these? Save them to your practices and tick them off as you go.
Add to my practicesWhen to reach for more support
Habit-reversal training and CBT help. See a GP if wounds are not healing or you feel unable to stop.
Often looked at together
Body Dysmorphic Disorder
Preoccupation with a perceived flaw in appearance that others cannot see, or see as minor, causing real distress and repetitive checking.
Hoarding Disorder
Persistent difficulty discarding possessions, whatever their value, leading to clutter that makes living spaces hard to use.
Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder
Intrusive, unwanted thoughts paired with rituals that briefly quiet the fear and then strengthen it.