We recently asked members of the BuzzFeed Community to tell us how they deal with skin-picking compulsions.
Excoriation (also known as dermatillomania) is a disorder that causes people to repetitively touch, rub, scratch, pick at, or dig into their skin in ways that result in physical damage — like skin disfigurement, discoloration, bleeding, or scarring. Effective treatment often involves professional help, but these are the tricks some people have found helpful — physically, emotionally, or otherwise — for dealing with skin-picking.
Remember: These aren’t meant to be medical recommendations, but they’re tactics that have worked for others and might work for you, too. And heads up, some of these responses contain detailed descriptions of skin-picking urges and behaviors.