Many physicians and even mental health care providers do not know about these disorders. They ostracize or act in disgust toward their clients upon hearing the about compulsive skin picking, hair pulling, nail biting and related behaviours which causes further suffering and isolation in the lives of many Canadians.

"I never knew this was a problem until I read that skin picking is a disorder- so there's something wrong with me?" The answer to this is no. If you have went through life unscathed by your skin picking until an article brought it to your attention, then you addressing it as an issue will only undermine those of us who face scrutiny, even by the mental health community.