Selfharm, children's injuries and oral fixation

Why do people gnaw their nails and how to stop doing it?

The habit of biting nails has about 20-30% of people, and the opinions of experts about it diverge: some consider it a way to cope with anxiety, others - a form of self -harm and even a mental disorder. "Cold" found out why this habit appears in children and adults, which is dangerous and how to deal with it.

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What is it?

Onychophagia is a chronic behavior in which a person nibbles his nails and cuticle. In severe form, it refers to the spectrum of obsessive-behavioral disorders (“behavior with repeating actions oriented to the body”). With this disorder, a person feels tension or anxiety shortly before starting to bite his nails, and the process brings him relief. At the same time, it noticeably harms the nails, but it is not possible to stop doing this.

This habit can lead to irreversible nail deformation, teeth damage, bite impairment, worms and dangerous bacteria infection due to dirt under the nails. You can become infected with infections due to constant wounds on the fingers.

There are several myths about onychophagia - for example, that this is a form of selfharma. But biting nails is not aimed at causing pain. In addition, many try to get rid of the habit precisely because of her pain. In Freud’s psychoanalysis, biting nails was considered as a type of oral fixation. Supporters of the approach suggested that such a habit could occur in a person if his mother adhered to breastfeeding at a strictly allotted time, ignoring the child's desire. However, this concept has no evidence.

Why do people gnaw their nails?

Nip biting is conscious and unconscious. Polish scientists even discovered the difference in awareness of the process between men and women: in their study, more than half of the men surveyed said that they would gnaw their nails purposefully, delaying other things for this. Most women, on the contrary, said that they were doing this unconsciously.

Scientists cannot yet distinguish the main causes of onychophagia and suggest that many different factors affect its development. Some explain this habit of anxiety, nervousness and stress. For example, a person can nibble his nails when he meets new people when he has a serious conversation or public performances. Still people can bite their nails from boredom when they want to take their hands and have fun, or when, on the contrary, they are passionate about in some business: watching a film, video game, study or work.

There are also genetic reasons. If the parents had compulsive habits, then the probability of their appearance in the child increases . The environment is also important - a child can imitate other people with onichophagia and start to do so too.

Some researchers suggest that onychophagia can be associated with perfectionism: for people who seek to be productive and are more often nervous, biting nails can be a way to cope with emotional stress.

The psychological characteristics of a person also affect the emergence of this habit. For example, people with a generalized alarming disorder are prone to compulsive behavior.

How to get rid of this habit?

First, it is important to find the reasons and try to fix them. If biting nails is associated with anxiety, a person needs the help of a psychologist to reduce the level of anxiety. With perfectionism, cognitive-behavioral therapy (KPT) can be effective. And under stress, it is important to learn how to relax and rest qualitatively: to sprinkle, spend less time in a phone or laptop, meditate. Also will help :

• Cut your nails briefly and make hygienic manicure. The shorter they are, the more difficult it is to bite them. In addition, dirt and bacteria accumulate under the nails that can enter the body and lead to infection with parasites and infections.

• Use special bitter varnish. He does not heal onchophagia, but helps to control the habit due to bitter and sharp taste.

• Replace the old habit with a new one. You can use an antistress ball, an elastic band on the wrist, a ring or pencil, which can be twisted in the hand.

Since self -control is needed to get rid of the habit, it can be difficult for children to do it on their own. Nevertheless, it is important to provide the child with a calm atmosphere of the house, monitor his emotional state, support him, try to explain why this habit is harmful, and in no case to punish the child. If you can’t cope with the habit, a child psychologist can help understand the causes and choose treatment. It is especially important to contact him if the child has another compulsive behavior (combs or shoes the skin, draws eyelashes and hair, sleeps poorly).