It's the one of the most common and unattractive habits - yet millions of continue to bite our nails.
But why do we do it? One psychologist claims it could be a distraction from negative feelings - and managing stress and anxiety could help kick the habit. Nail biting, like many habits, comes from a deep need to manage feelings of distress.
'It can develop as a response to triggers in the environment, initially as a way of regulating emotions,' says Professor Karen Pine, of the School of Psychology at the University of Herfordshire.
'These then persist because the brain has learned to associate that response to triggers, and generalises it more widely until it becomes unconscious and difficult to get control over.
Accompanied with behaviours such as hair pulling or skin picking, it could signal the person is extremely anxious, he added.
Some consider nail-biting a mere habit, while others view it as a fully-fledged obsessive-compulsive disorder.
However, not all experts agree that nail biting is always due to psychological distress.
A Canadian study this year found that at the frowned-upon habit could in fact be a sign of perfectionism – and not anxiety.
In tests, participants were more likely to start nibbling when frustrated and bored - both feelings commonly associated with perfectionists.
'We believe that individuals with these repetitive behaviours maybe perfectionistic, meaning that they are unable to relax and to perform tasks at a “normal” pace,' said author Professor Kieron O'Connor, from the University of Montreal.
'They are therefore prone to frustration, impatience, and dissatisfaction when they do not reach their goals.
'They also experience greater levels of boredom.'
Dr Richard O’Kearney, a psychologist of Australian National University, added there is also another theory.
Some people might bite their nails because they have different perceptions of touch – so it might feel good, he told the Huffington Post.
Or they may simply not have another way to cut their nails, he suggested.
For most people, the effects are cosmetic: they are left with unattractive nails and bleeding skin.
It is considered severe when the habit becomes destructive – when it impairs use of the hands or leads to repeated infections.
If people are biting their nails, picking their skin or pulling out their hair to the point where they are damaging their bodies they should seek professional help, Dr Kearney advised.
Here, experts reveal various techniques that can help break the habit:
REMIND YOURSELF OF THE HEALTH RISKS
‘Nails are full of bacteria from everything you touch such as door handles, toilet flushers and money,’ says psychotherapist Marisa Peer.
‘When you bite your nails you are putting these germs directly into your body, increasing your risk of infection.’
The broken skin can lead to infections and repeatedly biting or picking at the nails can permanently deform the nail, adds dermatologist Dr Sajjad Rajpar of the BMI Priory Hospital, Birmingham.
GET A MANICURE AND PAINT THEM RED
Go for a professional manicure - as a reward for trying to break the habit - and have your nails painted red, says leading cosmetic nail expert Leighton Denny.
‘That way it’s obvious when your nails are near your face – and you can make a mental note that red means "stop".
Encouraging excessive nail and hand grooming focuses attention on them in a more positive way, adds Martina McKeough, of Balance Hypnosis London.
‘Generally nail biters seek out any irregularities in their nails such as irregular shapes or hang nails and then focus their attention on them until they give in to their nail biting impulse.
'Removing these “‘temptations” with hand creams and by nail filing – or even wearing false nails – may prevent the need to bite.
ONLY BITE ONE HAND
Or, allow yourself to keep biting, but only one nail on each hand, allowing the other nails to grow, says Martina McKeough.
‘This makes it easier for to regain control. Once you have nice long nails on most of your fingers it’s only a small step to reduce the habit on the two remaining nails.’
CREATE DISTRACTION TECHNIQUES
Trying to overcome the habit with willpower is likely to fail, explains Professor Pine.
This is because the 'pull' of the habit is much stronger than the human ability to deploy willpower (which is weak).
Instead, develop a set of 'distractors' to use whenever your feel a craving to bite your nails, she says.
These could such as counting backwards in 3's from 99, folding a piece of paper six times, or even standing on one leg for one minute.
'This provides a distraction while the urge subsides and gradually re-trains the brain to expect a different response to the trigger,' she said.
Habit reversal training could also help, suggests Martina McKeough. ‘Nail biting is an unconscious habit which people do without noticing.
'Habit reversal training teaches people to recognise what is causing the problem so that is becomes a more conscious habit which can be controlled.
‘As an example when they are aware that they need to bite their nails they are told to make their hand into a tight fist for three minutes so that they can't get at their finger nails.
'The more they practice the less the problem should exist.
GET TO THE ROOT OF THE PROBLEM
‘Nail biting, like many habits, can develop as a response to triggers in the environment, initially as a way of regulating emotions and alleviating anxiety,’ says Professor Pine.
‘It then persists because the brain has learned to associate it as a response to stress. The behaviour change method we have found to be the most successful is “do something different”.
‘Habits exists in chains, and shaking up other everyday routines - such as where you sit or the radio station you listen to – will result in the person being less likely to engage in the unwanted behaviour.
TRY RELAXATION EXERCISES
Reducing stress through relaxation exercises may also help. Try progressive muscle relaxation, where you tense and then relax different muscle groups in their body, suggests Ms McKeough.
‘Start at the feet, tense the toes and then relax them. Do this all the way up the body with your eyes closed and the body will begin to relax.’
GET HYPNOTISED
Hypnotherapy may also help. ‘To get patients to stop we may use aversion therapy - telling the client that every time they place their fingers in their mouth they will experience an awful taste.
‘Or, we might suggest that every time they go to raise their fingers to their mouth their conscious mind will realise what they are doing and stop them from biting.’
No comments:
Post a Comment