Thumb picking anxiety

Excoriation disorder (also referred to as chronic skin-picking or dermatillomania) is a mental illness related to obsessive-compulsive disorder. It is characterized by repeated picking at one's own skin which results in skin lesions and causes significant disruption in one's life.

1. Why can't I stop picking at my thumbs?
2. Why do I pick my thumbs until they bleed?
3. Is it bad to pick your thumbs?
4. Is skin picking a symptom of anxiety?

Why can't I stop picking at my thumbs?

This condition is called excoriation disorder, and it's also known as dermatillomania, psychogenic excoriation, or neurotic excoriation. It's considered a type of obsessive compulsive disorder. “Skin-picking is quite common,” said Divya Singh, MD, a psychiatrist at Banner Behavioral Health Hospital in Scottdale, AZ.

Why do I pick my thumbs until they bleed?

It's skin-pickingly annoying. The condition is called dermatillomania, an impulse-control disorder categorized as a “body-focused repetitive behavior,” in the fifth edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders released by the American Psychiatric Association.

Is it bad to pick your thumbs?

Frequent picking can irritate existing sores and even cause new ones to form. This can cause additional scabbing and lead to scarring. This continued picking can develop into a condition called skin-picking disorder, or excoriation. People with this disorder pick at their skin out of habit or impulse.

Is skin picking a symptom of anxiety?

Skin picking can be triggered by emotional components such as anxiety, boredom, or tension. Pain in not reported to accompany these actions. Often a sense of relief, gratification, and pleasure is achieved following the skin picking.