What nail biting says about your personality
Are you a hair-twister, nail biter or eyelash puller who has tried to quit the habit with no luck? According to a new study, your perfectionist tendencies may be the root cause.
Researchers asked surveyed people questions regarding the extent they experienced emotions like boredom, anger, guilt, irritability and anxiety. They were then put into situations that would provoke relaxation, stress, frustration and boredom. Study leaders found that those who were easily bored, frustrated or impatient were more likely to perform body-focused repetitive behavior such as nail biting and skin picking.
“Although these behaviors can induce important distress, they also seem to satisfy an urge and deliver some form of reward,” said principal investigator Kieron O’Connor, of the University of Montreal, in a press release. “We believe that individuals with these repetitive behaviors maybe perfectionistic, meaning that they are unable to relax and perform task at a ‘normal’ pace. They are prone to frustration, impatience and dissatisfaction when they do not reach their goals. They also experience greater levels of boredom.”
Often, individuals who tend toward perfectionism have a certain internal mental model for how well they should perform or how positively others should see them.
When they can’t meet these unrealistically high expectations, they become anxious, explains Dr. Parag Merai, a psychiatrist at Advocate Dreyer Medical Clinic in Aurora, Ill.
“In my own practice, we tend to focus on identifying the underlying emotions that drive perfectionism, especially fears of failure, or how much one’s sense of self-esteem or identity is linked to one’s perceived success or failure,” says Dr. Merai.
The areas Dr. Merai focuses on with his patients include:
- Be mindfully present with their fears instead of using perfectionism or avoidance to temporarily numb or placate fears.
- Discuss how to build on their intrinsic worth rather than on achievements which can rise and fall throughout life.
- Use cognitive behavioral therapy to break the habit of engaging in compulsive behavior.
- Use habit reversal therapy, including replacing the habit of pulling or biting with adaptive behaviors that keep one’s hands occupied, as well as, exercise and meditation.
Related Posts
Comments
8 Comments
About the Author
health enews staff is a group of experienced writers from our Advocate Health Care and Aurora Health Care sites, which also includes freelance or intern writers.
I bit my nails and orally trimmed my cuticles until I was 50 years old. I did manage to quit for a brief period in my mid-20s when I practiced transcendental meditation, but when I stopped meditating, I started up again.
I don’t know what happened when I hit 50, but I seem to have stopped cold turkey, although I still do orally “trim” my cuticles from time to time.
As I age (I’m pushing 65 now), I’d like to think I’m mellowing, which may be a contributing factor, although the urge to chew remains!
This article I believe is a sign from God. I was just thinking about and asking myself why do I bite my fingernails and toenails? Why do I pick my scabs and eat them? Why do I do these things habitually, getting up 2-3 times during the nights to engage in these activities? I have engaged in these activities since I can remember, and I want do bad to stop. It’s becoming a disorder, a habit, and a bad example for my newborn daughter (7 months). On top of this I have eczema so I am constantly itching, and creating scabs. Then I don’t allow them to heal because I am constantly picking and eating them. I have thought before that it was a psychological problem, but did not know how to approach it. I know to some people I may seem weird, and even disgusting, and I know to others they may be thinking “I am not alone”, but it is a disorder, something we have no control over until we seek help from the right people. Honestly, this has answered a part of my concern, and I think the next step is to make an appointment with Dr. Parag Merai. I’m headed there now! Thanks Advocate.
I have been biting my nails for the past 10 years now. It was worse before when i first started where i would even bite the skin around my fingers until I began to bleed without noticing. I seem to have gotten better. I only bite my nails now and not so often but it it is still something that i would like to stop since it can be embarrasing when youre having a conversation with someone and they are grossed out by your hands.
As a psychotherapist I have treated nail biting with hypnosis with success. It appears in the clients I have worked with that it is a sign of unresolved tension or anxiety not dealt with in healthy ways. Sometimes anger is present and the nail biting is done without the person being aware that they are doing it until afterwords. It can be very difficult to get rid of unless the client has healthy alternate methods for dealing with stress and tension in their life. Habit disorders often respond to hypnosis or other behavioral approaches. Untreated they are not only a pain but are sources of embarassment.
I started biting my nails since I was 11years old I even reached for my toenails and bite them even used a plier to pull the cuticles ,I’m one off 11 brothers 10 of us still living and all retired ,I’m no 7 waiting hopefully to reach 80 in January, cutting short I father was to strict, unpleasant growing I have never stopped biting ever since now I’m even worse pulling nails right out , shocking cannot help it ,I do agree when you loose your self esteem, this what happened ,I always want to do things the best I can do ,even when I was employed, we are happy to say that we have achieved what we wanted in life but sorry to say I did inherit parts of my father strict rules, Happy with my children’s all married with lovely children, if anyone going through this habit please see someone know before gets to late
I noticed that my 8 yr. old granddaughter has been biting her toe nails, down to the skin! She also bites her fingernails, which her dad also does/did. This upset me and I told her about the bacteria and mouth sicknesses she could get. I don’t see any compulsive disorder nor anxiety in her, so could this behavior be a genetic trait, which is not being discussed?
I have been a chronic nail biter my whole life with stubs for fingernails and toenails. Neither of my parents were nail biters. They at first tried to help me break the habit but eventually gave up and accepted it. My childhood was conventional and mostly happy and I am now a married professional. Biting my nails is just something I automatically do but I never understand why. I bite my nails in public all the time without thinking even though I’m aware other people can be offended by it. In case anybody wonders, I only bite my toenails in private though it’s obvious when I am barefoot or wear flip flops. It’s just part of who I am.
I have an easy tenporary fix!
Yep, strange thing. Nails, skin around fingers and add biting the interior of mouth wjen ypu cant keep it out of reach. Been doing that for over 30 years. Managed to stop the nail biting but the other 2 are always coming back.
Now I have found out that a trick to stop completely for a few months is to “punish” your body for taking control. I mean, when you are driving, thinking and you find yourself biting in your mouth how is it your choosing? So, quick trick: when you notice the behavior, stop short, think “no” and contract your abs 10 times hard. Do this every time you start the behaviour and there you go! Quick fix for a few months. It will dwindle down to 0 occurences in 1-3 days.
Harder part is to use the fix quickly when your body wants to start again.