I have intense compulsions to pick at my skin when I feel anxious or sedentary or stimulated. I’ve heard that this compulsion is called “skin picking disorder” but the research on that topic has yielded no productive results. Often when I get the compulsion to cut myself, I can satiate it with picking. Does anyone else experience this?

i’ve struggles with dermatillomania (skin picking disorder) for years now, i get the same urges and it does help me stop cutting but at the cost of scars and infected wounds :/

@ruby.j do you ever try to manage the skin picking with other means of curbing the urge? I want to find a nondestructive release

@feralcaroll i’ve tried many things to do that give a similar feel, such as painting on my skin and peeling it off, peeling off glue from my skin, and other things like that. i’ve also tried fidget toys. they have all somewhat helped, but the urge specifically for skin picking is always there, and unfortunately i have never been able to completely stop, just minimize how much i do it.

I have a similar disorder (trichotillomania) and I’ve found that the most helpful thing is to try to maintain full consciousness if I have the urge. make sure I recognize why I feel like I have to pull a hair out and sometimes wait a couple seconds to resist. Keep practicing that and make the waiting period for picking longer and longer and then try to not pick it at all. Also for some reason, N-acetyl cystine helps!!

Wow, that’s a good question? Well, first of all; Yes, I’m expiring the same. Actually exactly the same. I think that for me it all started as dermatillomania and then evolved to cutting.. every time I’m exhausted, anxious, sad, numb and so on the urge rises.. But with my therapist I’ve been experiencing with different methods: - Holding a icecube - That didn’t work for me. - Squeezing a rough rock - Sometimes that helps! - NADA or acupuncture - That one does the trick! Basically (for me!!) I need to stimulate my senses - Anything I can feel/put on my skin... And my therapist tells me that breaking point is to NOT penetrate the skin. That is the point of no return?