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Medical Classification
The term BFRB represents a group of related disorders including hair pulling, skin picking, and nail-biting. (And more!)
According to the DSM-5, a “body-focused repetitive behavior disorder,” falls under “Other Specified Obsessive-Compulsive and Related Disorders.”
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HabitAware Definition
The hands are the gateway to the mind. When the mind is restless, it leads to "restless" hands. For 1 in 20 people, this manifests in troublesome hair pulling, skin picking, nail biting, and other body-focused repetitive behaviors.
These body-focused repetitive behaviors can manifest in one, or multiple, areas of the body.
For someone with Trichotillomania it might manifest in the scalp, beard, eyebrows/eyelashes, body hair, or pubic hair.
For someone with Dermatillomania, areas include face, scalp, neck, back, chest, arms, legs, lips, and fingers. Finger picking has another name: Onychotillomania.
Other Common BFRBs:
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Dermatophagia - Skin biting
Trichophagia - Hair biting
Onychotillomania - Nail Picking
Rhinotillexomania – nose picking -
Mucus fishing syndrome - compulsion to remove or "fish" strands of mucus from the eye
Morsicatio buccarum - Cheek biting
Morsicatio linguarum – Tongue biting
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The Hidden Struggles of Living with a Body-focused Repetitive Behavior: Realities that Need Understanding
Read the BlogIf you haven't experienced the relentless urges associated with chronic hair pulling, skin picking or nail biting, it can be difficult to grasp some of the struggles tied to these behaviors...
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Managing BFRBs: Redefining Relapse and Finding Your Own Path
Read the BlogIf you used to pull out all of your eyebrows in one night, but now only pull out a few hairs, is that a relapse? It depends on your own personal definition. Everyone's journey is different, and it's important to define success and progress for yourself.
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Body-Focused Repetitive Behaviors: The "Frozen" Analogy
Read the BlogLet's describe BFRB recovery, through the story of Disney's "Frozen" - and you might already get where I'm going with this. "A little girl, Elsa, has ice powers and doesn't know how to control them. Her parents are scared of her differences, and they have no idea how to help her."
