Is Nail Biting Self Injury?
Nervous Habits May Sound the Alarm of a Serious Anxiety Disorder
Nov 6, 2008
A child stands with furrowed brow chewing on her fingernails as her mother watches with that same furrowed brow, worried that her anxious personality has traveled through the DNA.
While nail biting is often shunned as merely a bad habit, it can also be a type of self-mutilation common in anxiety disorders. People who nervously chew, rip and tear their nails could be on the road to more severe self Injury.
What is Self Injurious Behavior(SIB)?
Self Injurious Behaviors (SIBs) are ways that 4% to 38% of the population use to relieve symptoms of tension, stress and depression.
While some may bruise themselves, others cut or burn. These intentional burns, marks, and even designs in the skin often go covered and unnoticed. Extreme nail biting, to the point of bleeding, is often a warning sign that, although out in the open, goes ignored.
How Does Nail Biting Start?
While many nail biters can't remember when they began biting their nails, some associate an anxious time of their life with the habit. Some simply believe they have always done so. Parents often react with reminders and even products meant to curb the behavior of nail biting. Few nail biting remedies work and avid nail biters suffer through bitter creams, polishes and even hot sauce for the satisfaction and comfort this form of self injury can bring.
What Purpose Does Nail Biting Serve?
Behaviors like nail biting serve a purpose of offering a sense of gratification, control, and even relief from stress.
With nail biting, the severity can range from merely a nervous chewing of nail tips to ripping bits of skin from around the nail to the point of bleeding.
While extremely painful, it can actually soothe those with severe anxiety. As with other self injurious behaviors, the sufferer finds new ways to alleviate frustration through methods that can go unnoticed.
How Can You Eliminate Nail Biting?
So how do you end the cycle of nail biting?
For many nail biters, the length of the nails says much about their level of anxiety. Nail length can be an indicator,of sorts, for how much stress or anxiety the nail biter is experiencing.
The best way to ensure the successful elimination of an unhealthy habit, is to provide a positive replacement behavior. Treating the anxiety, the stress, or depression behind the behavior is key.
Treating Behaviors as the Big Picture
In most cases, seeking the advice of a medical professional is essential, as is seeking therapy to help devise a treatment plan.
For some, natural treatment with herbal supplements and stress-relieving activities are enough to successfully cope with daily stress. Some may require further monitoring with psychiatric medication and more intense therapy.
Hope for Ending Nail Biting
As with habits and addictions, the problem is never cured, the brain is simply rewired to cope more appropriately. Nail biting, like other forms of self mutilation, can signal more severe emotional issues. Devising a plan of action is key to coping with emotional distress before it becomes a greater issue.
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