These become pathological grooming disorders when they are repetitive and intentional acts of habitual behaviours that result in apparent physical harm and shame due to the inability to control the behaviour [1].
The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fifth Edition, categorizes chronic nail biting as other specified obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), classified in the same group as compulsive lip biting, nose picking, and hair pulling (American Psychiatric Association, 2013).
Prevalence. The true prevalence of onychotillomania is unknown and likely underreported. Mild nail picking is relatively common in the general population, but only a small percentage experience considerable distress from excessive nail picking [15,43].
It is thought that nail biting may also be linked with having a perfectionist personality type. Perfectionism is associated with a low boredom threshold and a much-reduced tolerance for frustration.
There can also be physical manifestations of the anxiety caused by ADHD such as headache, nausea, nail-biting or cuticle-picking.
Why do people bite their nails? Chronic nail biting often has a self-soothing quality — in fact, it provides a sense of calm — so people may use it as a coping mechanism. Sometimes, a hangnail or nail imperfection spurs you to groom a nail excessively, in order to improve the look of your nail.
Onuxophobia, which is the fear of fingernails and toenails... if you have this fear, you are excused for the rest of this post!
In some cases, nail biting can be caused by an underlying mental health condition. For example, chronic nail biting may be a sign of obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD). OCD causes you to use repetitive, compulsive behaviors to ease the anxiety caused by obsessive, intrusive thoughts.
Onychotillomania, a condition whose true incidence is unknown, is characterized by the compulsive or irresistible urge in patients to pick at, pull off, or harmfully bite or chew their nails. This urge may be conscious or unconscious.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) list ADHD as “one of the most common” neurodevelopmental conditions among children. People with ADHD may develop skin picking disorder in response to their hyperactivity or low impulse control.
Self-Soothing: When stressed, many people feel a need for self-soothing and find they feel better when they pick. Skin-picking has a kind of soothing effect on their nervous systems, and reduces over stimulation.
Also called dermatillomania or excoriation disorder, skin picking disorder is where you cannot stop picking at your skin. There are things you can try to help yourself, but some people may need professional treatment.
While skin-picking and hair-pulling are typically associated with OCD and classified as an obsessive and compulsive-related disorder, it can also occur in the context of ADHD. Skin-picking, hair-pulling, and nail-biting may be related to anxiety, sensory stimulation, and impulsivity.
People with OCD tend to have obsessive thoughts, which they try to prevent by engaging in repetitive rituals, or compulsions. In contrast, a person with ADHD typically presents with excessive hyperactivity and impulsivity and difficulty focusing on one task at a time.
Like other BFRBs, nail-biting appears to run in families to some degree, and may share neurological roots with OCD, anxiety, and other mental health disorders.
When you feel like biting your nails, try playing with a stress ball or silly putty instead. This will help keep your hands busy and away from your mouth. Identify your triggers. These could be physical triggers, such as the presence of hangnails, or other triggers, such as boredom, stress, or anxiety.
And repeatedly biting your nails can cause some short-term issues to develop, including: Dental problems such as misalignment and chipped teeth. Fungal infections in the nail bed. Illness, as fingers pass bacteria to your mouth.
1. Arachibutyrophobia (Fear of peanut butter sticking to the roof of your mouth) Arachibutyrophobia is the fear of peanut butter sticking to the roof of your mouth. While the phenomenon has happened to everyone at one point or another, people with arachibutyrophobia are extremely afraid of it.
Unlike many other subtypes of specific phobia, emetophobia is fairly difficult to treat. In fact, there are only a few published cases in the literature.
For instance, one theory is that it helps some people regulate their emotions — or it feels like it does anyways. Think of it this way: When you're understimulated (aka: bored or dissatisfied), biting your nails feels like it gives you something to do or feel satisfied about.
Leukonychia, or white nails, is usually not an alarming sign, but it can sometimes unmask severe systemic disorders or congenital conditions. The white color can be due to nail plate or nail bed abnormalities.