Thank you for that NY Times link. The woman mentioned started at about the same time as I did as a "picker"- 12 or 13, and came from a chaotic household. In my case a broken marriage due to an alcoholic father. Kids become anxious and find ways of coping. Especially as an only child, it becomes easy to blame yourself for the chaos around you. It's like, "What have I done wrong"?, and then you punish yourself for decades on end. I read somewhere online that the condition was thought to mostly afflict women, but newer studies had shown that the split is 55% women /45% men. Like I had mentioned, I let all this pass for decades as I helped to raise two children, then the Mohs surgery brought all these feelings of shame, anxiety and self consciousness out all over again.
In terms of recommendations, there is a Dermatillomania Support Group on Facebook, with some scary pictures, but also some good advice from people who have the condition and coping with it the best they can. Many are in therapy, and there are a range of anti-depressant drugs. My family practice doctor gave me a script for Lexapro, but I have refused to take it because of the myriad side effects, with sleeplessness being one. I already have sleep issues, so I take Ambien. Too many drugs being mixed isn't a good thing. Many doctors aren't up to date on drug interactions.