Hoarding, skin picking, hair pulling, and body dysmorphic syndrome are categorized under which disorders?

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These conditions share a pattern of persistent intrusive thoughts, urges, or preoccupations that lead to repetitive behaviors or mental acts aimed at reducing distress or preventing feared outcomes. In DSM-5, hoarding disorder, excoriation (skin-picking) disorder, trichotillomania (hair pulling), and body dysmorphic disorder are grouped together under Obsessive-Compulsive and Related Disorders because they revolve around this obsessive-compulsive–like cycle, even though the content differs from classic OCD.

Hoarding involves persistent difficulty discarding possessions; excoriation involves recurrent skin picking; trichotillomania involves recurrent hair pulling; body dysmorphic disorder involves a preoccupation with perceived physical flaws. These share underlying patterns of intrusive concerns and repetitive behaviors, and they often respond to similar treatment approaches such as exposure with response prevention and related CBT strategies, sometimes with medications like SSRIs.

Not every anxiety-related problem fits this pattern. Generalized Anxiety Disorder centers on pervasive worry across many topics without the ritualistic compulsions of OCD; Panic Disorder is defined by recurrent panic attacks and fear of having more attacks; Separation Anxiety Disorder centers on distress related to separation from attachment figures.