The problem with picking: Permittance, escape and shame in problematic skin picking

Problematic skin picking (SP) is a poorly understood experience characterised by a drive to pick the skin and related psychosocial impact. In the DSM-5, problematic SP is classified as 'excoriation (skin picking) disorder'. The aim of this article is to present a rare qualitative perspective on the lived experience of problematic SP, prioritising participants' voices and sense-making.

An in-depth qualitative study of individuals who self-identified as picking their skin problematically and experienced related distress.

Seventeen UK-based participants were recruited online and interviewed about their SP. Participants were given choice of interview modality, including instant messenger platforms, telephone, email and Skype, to maximise comfort and improve the accessibility of the study. Transcripts were analysed using thematic analysis.

Three themes offering novel insight into the phenomenology of participants' SP are highlighted and explored: (1) how cognitions and circumstances drove and permitted SP, (2) how participants 'zoned out' while SP and the escape or relief that this attentional experience offered and (3) participants' feelings of shame and distress in how they felt their SP may appear to others.

This study contributes in-depth and novel ideas to the understanding of SP phenomenology and identifies how environmental factors, cognitions, contextual distress and shame may be considerations in therapeutic intervention. It presents the complexity of SP sense-making and demonstrates the need for individual formulation.