Chewing Fingernails Why
Chewing fingernails or nail biting (onychophagia) is a very common nervous habit. Both children and adults can affected by such compulsive behavior. Terry M. McClanahan’s study, “Operand Learning Principles Applied to Nail Biting” says that 28-33% of children aged 7 to 10 years old, 44% of adolescents, 19-29% of young adults and 5% of older adults bite their fingernails.
This nervous habit occurs when the person is nervous, bored, hungry, stressed or simply lacks activity, and it is more often seen in boys than girls. It is usually a harmless addiction that reveals itself unconsciously when a person is involved in watching TV or reading, but there are cases when chewing fingernails can lead to bleeding, bruises, infections or even permanent injury to the fingers.
Nail biting is usually regarded as a reaction to stress. The cause for chewing fingernails is most likely a mix of biological and environmental factors. Many animals pick or scratch their skin excessively and some scientists think that these responses are triggered by an extreme need for grooming stimulated by the brain.
Compulsive nail biting is usually encountered in people that suffer from obsessive-compulsive disorder. There are more reasons for which people can’t resist chewing fingernails and will-power might not be enough:
Under stress, many people feel the need to comfort themselves and chewing their fingernails has a calming effect which reduces tension.
When people lack activity and are bored they resort to nail biting to stimulate their nervous system.
Compulsive nail biters spend much time inspecting their fingers and are convinced that can improve the appearance of their fingernails by fixing small irregularities, usually with the exact opposite result.
Nail biting can lead to feelings of shame and concern that can amplify the compulsion. It can also be a great impediment in life and can hinder relationships, work and happiness in general. Many people do not recognize chewing fingernails as being a disorder and do not seek help. Fortunately for those who decide to seek treatment, there is both medication and behavioral therapy. Medication used to treat chewing fingernails belong to the same family as those used for obsessive-compulsive disorders, but they take more weeks with limited results. Natural treatments such as B-vitamin inositol can have good results in reducing the compulsion to pull or pick by enhancing serotonin in the brain . Psychotherapy can use different techniques which range from helping the nail chewing person to relax to making him more aware of the problem and even to help him replace nail biting with other activities such as gum or toothpicks chewing.
These treatments are used temporarily to reduce the urge of the person to bite or pick the nails. The idea is to weaken the urge by resisting it until it disappears completely.
This nervous habit occurs when the person is nervous, bored, hungry, stressed or simply lacks activity, and it is more often seen in boys than girls. It is usually a harmless addiction that reveals itself unconsciously when a person is involved in watching TV or reading, but there are cases when chewing fingernails can lead to bleeding, bruises, infections or even permanent injury to the fingers.
Nail biting is usually regarded as a reaction to stress. The cause for chewing fingernails is most likely a mix of biological and environmental factors. Many animals pick or scratch their skin excessively and some scientists think that these responses are triggered by an extreme need for grooming stimulated by the brain.
Compulsive nail biting is usually encountered in people that suffer from obsessive-compulsive disorder. There are more reasons for which people can’t resist chewing fingernails and will-power might not be enough:
Under stress, many people feel the need to comfort themselves and chewing their fingernails has a calming effect which reduces tension.
When people lack activity and are bored they resort to nail biting to stimulate their nervous system.
Compulsive nail biters spend much time inspecting their fingers and are convinced that can improve the appearance of their fingernails by fixing small irregularities, usually with the exact opposite result.
Nail biting can lead to feelings of shame and concern that can amplify the compulsion. It can also be a great impediment in life and can hinder relationships, work and happiness in general. Many people do not recognize chewing fingernails as being a disorder and do not seek help. Fortunately for those who decide to seek treatment, there is both medication and behavioral therapy. Medication used to treat chewing fingernails belong to the same family as those used for obsessive-compulsive disorders, but they take more weeks with limited results. Natural treatments such as B-vitamin inositol can have good results in reducing the compulsion to pull or pick by enhancing serotonin in the brain . Psychotherapy can use different techniques which range from helping the nail chewing person to relax to making him more aware of the problem and even to help him replace nail biting with other activities such as gum or toothpicks chewing.
These treatments are used temporarily to reduce the urge of the person to bite or pick the nails. The idea is to weaken the urge by resisting it until it disappears completely.
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