CNN —Compulsive nail-biting, skin-picking, hairpulling, and lip- and cheek-biting are among a range of body-focused repetitive behaviors, or BFRBs, that can become a source of distress, but new research may offer hope for relief.
Gently tapping the middle and index fingers against the thumb is one of the habit replacement techniques suggested by research.
In the study, Moritz recruited 268 people with BFRBs — include participants exhibiting skin-picking, trichotillomania, nail-biting, and lip- and cheek-biting behaviors — who were between ages 18 and 80.
After six weeks, 54% of people in the group using the habit replacement techniques reported improvement on a scale devised to measure the severity of body-focused repetitive behavior compared with 20% in the control group.
However, she said she thinks habit replacement techniques are just part of a bigger BFRB treatment puzzle.
Persons:
Steffen Moritz, ”, Moritz, “, They’re, I’ve, BFRBs, —, ” Moritz, Stacy Nakell, haven’t, Nakell, ” Nakell
Organizations:
CNN, University Medical Center
Locations:
Eppendorf, Germany