what is the urge to bite something called

Body-focused repetitive behaviors are different from OCD and self-harming rituals.

More Than a Bad Habit

Trunk-focused repetitive behaviors (BFRBs) are intense urges like biting, picking, and pulling that can cause harm. As many as 1 in 20 people have a BFRB, but they tin be dismissed as "bad habits." While BFRBs share some symptoms with obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), they're non the same. They're besides unlike from self-harming rituals, like cutting yourself.

Genes, personality, and stress all play a role in BFRB.

Who'due south Likely to Have Them?

Experts are notwithstanding trying to figure this out, merely they know your genes are involved. If someone in your family has a BFRB, you're more probable to have one, too. Other things that might play a role include your personality, the amount of stress in your life, your childhood, and even the historic period y'all first started showing signs of a BFRB. More women have them than men.

Picking your skin is a sign of dermatillomania.

Dermatillomania

If yous tin't assist but selection at pimples, scabs, bumps, or even good for you skin, you have dermatillomania, sometimes called excoriation disorder. Doctors don't know what causes it, only people who accept obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) are more likely to have it. Wearing bandages on your fingers or keeping your hands busy with a fidget spinner may stop you from picking so much.

You could hurt yourself and increase the risk of infection by biting your nails.

Onychophagia

You probably know this BFRB by its common name: nail biting. Every bit many as 30% of people exercise this -- some aren't even enlightened of it. Besides damaging your pare and nails, this besides can injure your teeth and lead to infections. Keeping your nails trimmed short tin aid. You can also utilise a special boom product that has a bitter taste.

Biting the inside of your mouth may lead to swelling and sores.

Morsicatio Buccarum

People with this BFRB can't cease biting the inside of their mouths. Over time, this causes sores and swelling. The inner lining of your mouth can also start to feel bumpy, which may make yous want to chew it more. Since people oftentimes exercise this to cocky-soothe, it can aid to notice a dissimilar action, like chewing gum, that gives you the same feeling.

Biting on your inner lip can lead to injury.

Morsicatio Labiorum

This is when you take the urge to chew, bite, or suck on your inner lip. Afterward a while, information technology can make the skin cells on your lip slough off and create a rough white, gray, or yellow patch. Wearing a "lip bumper," a device that keeps your lower teeth away from your lips, can assist suspension this bicycle. Talk therapy tin also assist you deal with feelings that may be behind this BFRB.

There are devices that help you avoid chewing on the side of your tongue.

Morsicatio Linguarum

Some people chew on the sides of their tongues. Information technology'due south more common than yous'd recall and is frequently caused by stress. Your dentist may suggest that you article of clothing a special mouth baby-sit that covers your teeth and shields your tongue. You tin as well talk to your md about ways to better manage your stress.

Picking and pulling at your fingernails or toenails is called onychotillomania.

Onychotillomania

If y'all have this BFRB, you lot tin can't stop picking or pulling at your fingernails and toenails, as well equally the skin effectually them. (You may also chew or bite them.) Over fourth dimension, this leads to hangnails and open sores, and yous tin can pass germs from your mouth into your skin. That can lead to infections. Instead, you lot might play with Lightheaded Putty or squeeze a stress ball. Wearing a pair of gloves could help, also.

Chewing on your skin to the point of injury is called dermatophagia.

Dermatophagia

This is when you chew on your skin, so swallow it or the scabs. Tension and worry can exist a trigger. Something you feel on your skin, similar a hangnail, can too set you off. Some people detect they can go rid of this BFRB in baby steps. For instance, choose a small area (like your thumbs) to stop chewing. Work your style upward to ane prepare of nails, then the other, and go on from there.

Excessive nose picking is called rhinotillexomania.

Rhinotillexomania

If you option your nose then much that it affects your daily life, y'all may have rhinotillexomania. In some cases, people spend hours each 24-hour interval trying to clean out their noses. People who accept this BFRB are too more probable to have another one, like skin picking or biting their nails. Try to detect each time you take the urge to pick your nose and write down how you feel at the time. This might help yous effigy out your triggers and what to exercise about them.

Pulling out eyelashes is one potential sign of trichotillomania.

Trichotillomania

Some people yank hair from their heads, eyelashes, eyebrows, or other parts of their bodies. Anxiety or boredom tin trigger it. In some cases, people don't know they're pulling their hair. Trichotillomania oftentimes starts between ages 10 and 13, just it tin be a trouble for life. You tin can try to replace it with another, more than healthy habit. For instance, you might knit, crochet, or cross-stitch to keep your fingers decorated.

Eating hair is known as trichophagia.

Trichophagia

Every bit many equally 20% of people who pull their hair also eat it. Some people nibble at the roots, while others swallow bunches. In very rare cases, people consume other people's pilus or pilus from animals. If you swallow a lot of hair, you lot can get a hairball in your stomach. If that happens and it'south non taken out, it tin be life-threatening.

Feeling negative feelings can be a trigger for hair biting or trichodaganomania.

Trichodaganomania

Hair bitter is the ground of this BFRB. Since it's difficult to chew on the hair attached to your scalp, virtually people nibble hair on other parts of their body. Like all BFRBs, negative feelings tin be a root cause. Doing something else with your rima oris can aid. For example, yous might chew on gum or a raw piece of spaghetti. You lot could also suck on a mint or crack open sunflower seeds with your teeth.

The strong urge to cut or shave off all hair on the body is a sign of trichotemnomania.

Trichotemnomania

In Greek, "temnein" means "to cut" and "trich" is "hair." If you accept this BFRB, you have a potent urge to remove hair from your body. This includes more than what'south on your scalp. You lot may also cutting or shave your eyebrows, the hair on your arms, legs, or pubic area. Like pilus-pulling, trichotemnomania's an obsessive-compulsive act. Deep down, you may believe cutting your hair will get rid of unwanted thoughts.

Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) can help you control the thoughts and feelings that lead to BFRB.

Treatment Can Help

If you have a BFRB, you can endeavor several things to proceed your habit from taking over your life. Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) may help the about. This type of therapy helps make you aware of your feelings and thoughts and gives you lot more than command over them. Sometimes medicines can help, too. Talk with your medico or therapist most what might work best for yous.

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REFERENCES:

Anxiety.org: "BFRBs: Compulsive Behaviors That Unintentionally Cause Physical Damage."
International OCD Foundation: "Disorders Related To (and Sometimes Confused With) OCD."
American Academy of Dermatology: "How to End Biting Your Nails," "Dermatologists share tips to stop blast biting."
Mental Health America: "Excoriation Disorder (Pare Picking or Dermatillomania)."
The TLC Foundation for Body-Focused Repetitive Behaviors: "Larn About BFRBs," "50 Ways to Terminate Pulling Your Hair," "Listing of Strategies for Skin Picking," "Nail Biting (Onychophagia)," "Virtually Chronic Cheek Biting," "Other Body-Focused Repetitive Behaviors," "Expert Consensus Treatment Guidelines: Body-Focused Repetitive Behaviors," "Help Yourself: A Self-Help Program to Managing Trichotillomania," "Agreement Body-Focused Repetitive Behaviors."
Mayo Clinic: "Trichotillomania (hair-pulling disorder)," "Therapy for BFRBs: Cerebral Behavioral Therapy."
Comprehensive Psychiatry: "Clinical Characteristics of Trichotillomania with Trichophagia."
Psychiatria Polska: "Trichotillomania and trichophagica—diagnosis, treatment and prevention. The attempt to plant guidelines of treatment in Poland."
Canadian BFRB Support Network: "BFRB Definitions + FAQs."
RDH: The National Magazine of Dental Hygiene Professionals: "Natural language Chewing."
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Annals of Dermatology: "Iii Cases of Mosicatio Labiorum."
The Bending Orthodontist: "Lower Lip Sucking Habit Treated with a Lip Bumper Appliance."
Turkish Journal of Medical Sciences: "Handling of Habitual Lip Biting: A Case Report."
Indian Periodical of Psychiatry: "Onychotillomania as manifestation for underlying depressive disorder."
NHS: "Skin Picking Disorder."
Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology: "Trichotemnomania: obsessive-compulsive habit of cutting or shaving the hair," "Trichodaganomania: the compulsive addiction of biting one's own hair."
The Journal of Clinical Psychiatry: "Rhinotellexomania: psychiatric disorder or habit."
ActaDV: "Trichotemnomania: Hair Loss Mediated by a Compulsive Addiction Not Admitted by Patients."
AnxetyBC: "Methods for Addressing Body Focused Repetitive Behaviors."

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