When You Can’t Stop Picking: Real Help for Excoriation Disorder
When You Can’t Stop Picking: Real Help for Excoriation Disorder
You may have picked at your skin for years—quietly, maybe even secretly. You’ve tried to stop, hidden the damage, promised yourself you wouldn’t do it again. But somehow, the urge returns. You’re left with pain, shame, and the sinking feeling that something deeper is going on.
If this sounds familiar, you may be living with Excoriation Disorder, also called Skin Picking Disorder or Dermatillomania—a real, clinical condition that affects adults of all ages and backgrounds.
At Honey Lake Clinic, we offer a place of refuge and healing for those ready to break free from these painful patterns. Through a combination of faith-based counseling and evidence-driven psychiatric care, we help individuals like you find lasting peace—not just over their behaviors, but over the emotional and spiritual wounds underneath them.
98% of our patients report meaningful progress. If you’re ready to experience that kind of healing, call us today.
What Is Excoriation Disorder?
Excoriation Disorder—also known as Skin Picking Disorder or Dermatillomania—is a mental health condition where a person compulsively picks at their skin, often causing bleeding, scarring, or infection. The behavior may focus on healthy skin, blemishes, scabs, or perceived imperfections.
It may bring momentary relief or control, but it’s usually followed by guilt, pain, or shame.
This is not about vanity or a lack of discipline. It’s about a brain-based compulsion reinforced by emotional distress—and it often hides in plain sight.
Many adults with skin picking disorder:
- Began picking during adolescence but never found lasting help
- Hide the damage from partners, coworkers, and family
- Feel stuck in a cycle of stress, picking, and regret
- Also struggle with anxiety, depression, or obsessive thoughts
If you’ve ever asked yourself, “Why do I keep doing this?” or “Why can’t I just stop?”—you are not alone. And you are not beyond help.
What Causes a Skin Picking Disorder?
There’s no single cause, but skin picking is often linked to deeper emotional, neurological, or spiritual pain. It can be triggered or worsened by:
- Anxiety or obsessive-compulsive patterns
- Past trauma or ongoing stress
- Perfectionism or sensory sensitivity
- A need for control or emotional release
- Underlying conditions like depression or body dysmorphia
Sometimes it starts with one scab or blemish. Over time, the behavior becomes a coping mechanism—training the brain to associate picking with relief, even if it causes harm.
How to Treat Skin Picking Disorder
How to Treat Skin Picking Disorder
You’ve likely tried everything—gloves, distractions, covering mirrors, even sheer willpower. But when the behavior keeps returning, it’s time for a deeper, more healing solution.
At Honey Lake Clinic, we treat the whole person—mind, body, and spirit. Our approach combines clinical expertise and Christian care to help you identify triggers, process underlying emotions, and rebuild your sense of peace and self-worth.
Your care plan may include
- Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) to address thought and behavior cycles
- Exposure and Response Prevention (ERP) for urge management
- Faith-based counseling and pastoral care to heal emotional and spiritual wound
- Medication support, when appropriate
- Therapeutic strategies for anxiety, stress, and emotional regulation
- Wellness therapies to restore calm, focus, and body awareness
We don’t just treat the behavior—we help you heal from what’s driving it.
Call to talk with someone who understands. Healing is possible. You don’t have to carry this alone.
Why Choose Honey Lake Clinic?
Why Choose Honey Lake Clinic?
For adults living with skin picking disorder, finding someone who truly understands
can feel impossible. But we see you—and we know how to help.
For adults living with skin picking disorder, finding someone who truly understands can feel impossible. But we see you—and we know how to help.
98% of patients report
meaningful progress
98% of patients report meaningful progress
Every plan is built by
Christian, board-certified
professionals
Every plan is built by Christian, board-certified professionals
We treat more than behavior—
we treat the emotional, physical,
and spiritual roots
We treat more than behavior—we treat the emotional, physical, and spiritual roots
Our serene campus offers privacy, peace, and space to reflect with hundreds of acres of space
Our serene campus offers privacy, peace, and space to reflect with hundreds of acres of space
Fully licensed and
accredited by AHCA
and JCAHO
Fully licensed and accredited by AHCA and JCAHO
If you’ve lived with this quietly for years, you’re not weak—you’re human.
And we’re here to help you find hope again.
If you’ve lived with this quietly for years, you’re not weak—you’re human. And we’re here to help you find hope again.
Call Now. You Don’t Have to Hide Anymore.
Call Now. You Don’t Have to Hide Anymore.
The shame. The secrecy. The silent struggle—it ends here.
Take the first step toward freedom. No judgment. Just compassionate,
Christ-centered care that meets you exactly where you are.
The shame. The secrecy. The silent struggle—it ends here.
Take the first step toward freedom. No judgment. Just compassionate, Christ-centered care that meets you exactly where you are.
Scientifically Validated Healing in a Faith-Based Environment
At Honey Lake Clinic, we believe true healing happens when the mind, body, and spirit are nurtured together. Our integrated approach is both scientifically validated and deeply rooted in Christian faith.
Honey Lake Clinic’s Proven Results:
98%
Feel better now than when admitted
98%
Of patients would recommend Honey Lake Clinic
95%
Reported reduced anxiety
93%
Experienced decreased depression
