Excoriation Disorder involves recurrent, compulsive picking at one’s skin, leading to skin lesions and tissue damage. Like hair-pulling, this behavior is often a mechanism to cope with stress or other difficult emotions and can feel outside of one’s control. We offer compassionate support to help you manage these urges and promote healing.
Common Symptoms or Things to Look Out For:
- Recurrent skin picking resulting in skin lesions.
- Repeated attempts to decrease or stop skin picking.
- The skin picking causes clinically significant distress or impairment in social, occupational, or other important areas of functioning.
- Tension before picking or when attempting to resist the urge.
- A sense of relief or gratification during or after picking.
- Avoidance of social situations due to skin lesions.