Skin Picking Due to OCD: Need Help!

i’ve been able to re direct some of it to tearing paper and using fidget toys. also i asked my partner to call me out when i do it and make me stop. that helps a lot.

Yes. mine is compulsive and is done as a self soothing behavior. i can’t let scabs heal. i find it distressing too. i’m covered in flakes as we speak lol. i’ve been doing it for like a decade and a half now. i try to keep my nails short and rounded for minimum damage, try to use pimple patches to heal them so i can’t access them, band aids for cuts, and i wear head scarves to stop myself from scalp picking. it’s worse if i’m having anxiety, so i try to manage that and monitor the two. i think it could be the trigger.

YES. It's called dermotillomania and is an OCD variant. Mine has only gotten better since being on a high dose of my antidepressant. My new psychiatrist swears the vitamin inositol is great too, but I haven't noticed a difference yet. Behaviorally, I've found the best way to get ahead of it is to figure out what settings trigger me to pick and minimize them.

Our ocd is intrusive thoughts