I think that irritation, or stress sets me off!

Let's just preface this by saying... I'm only just now realizing that "skin-picking" is more than just my own personal neurosis. I've made a pact to not touch my skin this week. However, today, I had an online history exam. In my online classes at a Sophmore level, they've always been open book. I still read because the time limit is such that you HAVE To know your material. Anyways, I started my test today. I forgot a few of the answers to the questions, and instead of looking them up, I sat there and picked on my head. Disgusting... I know. It didn't help anything, but it soothed me for some reason. Once I realized what I was doing, and that it was entirely unproductive, I moved on. But I think that for me, picking is almost a first response to stress. Kind of sad... I hope that I can get over this! My skin will look war torn until I can either way :-(