This article is about a simple technique to overcome nail biting or skin picking. Compulsive behaviors like nail biting, skin picking, hair pulling and lip biting are common. The medical term for this is body-focused repetitive behaviors and is abbreviated as BFRBs. Although minor cases have little consequences, in other cases injured skin can get infected and cause sepsis. CNN published an article about a simple technique from Germany that you can apply now. It has the name of habit replacement technique, which the psychologist Dr. Steffen Moritz invented. Steffen Moritz is the head of clinical neuropsychology in the department of psychiatry and psychotherapy at the University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf in Germany.
All these cases respond very well to cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) where healthy behavior replaces the unhealthy behavior. Psychologists and psychiatrists offer this treatment modality. But Dr. Steffen Moritz developed a home remedy that you can immediately apply now.
Habit replacement
Dr. Moritz authored a mini-video, which shows this simple techniques that replaces the injurious habit with a harmless touching habit.
For instance, you can gently tap the index and middle finger against the thumb. This can distract your mind when you want to pick your skin. It gives you something else to do instead. The video has other suggestions. Dr. Moritz said: “So the idea was born to do something that is also repetitive and self-soothing, but it’s not dysfunctional. It’s also inconspicuous.”
Experiment organized by Dr. Moritz
Dr. Moritz recruited 268 people with BFRBs between the ages of 18 and 80 to do the following experiment. Half of the group received a manual describing the harmless touching habit developed by Dr. Moritz. The other group was told that they are on a waiting list to get enrolled in the program at a later time. This was the control group. After 6 weeks 54% of the group on the habit replacement techniques found significant improvement. Only 20% of the control group found improvement. Nail biters were profiting from the technique more than others. The experiment had some problems: the groups were largely white women. Dr. Moritz recruited the participants via social media. And there was no longer term follow-up, only one assessment at the end of the 6-week period.
A simple Technique to Overcome Nail Biting or Skin Picking
Conclusion
Compulsive behaviors like nail biting, skin picking, hair pulling and lip biting are common. These activities go by the name body-focused repetitive behaviors or BFRBs. The psychologist, Dr. Moritz from Hamburg- Eppendorf, Germany, developed a simple habit replacement technique. With this method the patient touches various spots in the upper extremities. The experimental group experienced 54% improvement after 6 weeks, particularly with nail biting. The control group improved only 20%. Patients can use this method when they wait for an appointment for cognitive behavioral (CB) treatment. Many health professionals consider CB treatment as the gold standard for treating BFRBs.
