Skin picking

[Guest Posts]

I have previously suffered from severe eczema in the past which thankfully seems to have improved over the years... however, I realised that in the last year, I had started skin picking. I didn't realise until my husband mentioned it and now I feel totally ashamed as I can't stop doing it. I am now getting really depressed about it as it's not something I feel I can share with anyone and I don't want to discuss it - any advice is most welcome please.
Pat

[Dr Alexandra Mizara]

Thank you for your question. Psychological intervention can actually help you reverse this habit/behavioural response. Please seek referral via your GP to NHS services. You can also observe via a log/diary what drives this behaviour and collect some more information around when you pick your skin and understand it better.
It is actually a common habit as it is nail biting.

[professor andrew r thompson]

Dear Pat,

I agree with Dr Mizara, it is certainly worth talking to your GP (lots of support available now for managing eczema, low mood, and skin picking). Psychological therapy and some self-help approaches can assist with skin picking, and can also assist in relieving stress and low mood. Info on habit reversal can be found here: https://www.pcds.org.uk/files/gallery/H ... herapy.pdf. It can also be useful to connect with other people with eczema or/and to read about their stories as this can help reduce the sense of being alone with the impact - see - https://eczema.org, with kind thoughts and thanks for sharing your feelings, Andrew (Prof Thompson)