Scratching nonchalantly at a mosquito bite on your leg once in a while may be harmless, but spending hours picking at your face or other parts of your body may be a compulsive disorder called dermatillomania or pathologic skin picking. Picking at your skin may help reduce stress and make you feel better, but it is not a healthy or long-term way to deal with your problems. Learn to handle your compulsions and prevent skin picking from taking over your life.
Step 1
Consult a dermatologist to treat or drain any blemishes that may causing a problem. If you have acne that is causing you to pick your skin, treating your blemishes may help you feel more confident and resist the urge to pick at your skin.
Step 2
See a therapist for cognitive behavioral therapy or another psychological approach to help reduce the urge to pick your skin, recommends Health Services at Columbia University. Your therapist may help you understand the underlying reason why you pick at your skin.
Step 3
Consult your psychiatrist for a prescription selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor medication, like fluoxetin, which may be particularly effective in treating symptoms of pathologic skin picking.
Step 4
Experiment with substitution therapy. Every time you feel the urge to pick your face, do another more socially acceptable activity that you find soothing, like knitting or cooking.
Step 5
Exercise when you feel the urge to pick. Exercise may help increase serotonin levels in the brain, which may have a similar effect as prescription selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor medications.
Tips and Warnings
- Use prescription medications exactly as recommended by your doctor.
- Consult a doctor if your skin picking is out of control or your skin becomes infected.
