Which option best describes Excoriation Disorder (skin picking)?

• A. Skin picking with lesions; repeated attempts to stop
• B. Hair pulling
• C. Eating disorders
• D. Somatic symptoms

Answer: (A)

The key idea is that Excoriation Disorder is defined by repetitive skin picking that leads to lesions and causes significant distress or impairment, with ongoing, repeated attempts to stop. This captures both the behavior itself (picking at the skin) and the consequence (skin damage and impairment in daily functioning) as well as the persistent difficulty in control.

Hair pulling describes a separate condition (trichotillomania), another body-focused repetitive behavior, but it is not about picking skin. Eating disorders involve disturbance around eating and body image, not skin picking. Somatic symptom disorder centers on persistent bodily symptoms and excessive concerns about them, rather than a pattern of skin picking with lesions.