Ep. 166: Skin Picking, Hair Pulling, Nail Biting and ADHD

<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Body-Focused Repetitive Behaviors (BFRBs) such as skin picking and nail biting can feel like a bad habit we need to break, but these behaviors go beyond just a habit; it’s actually a complex condition that causes people to repeatedly touch their body in a way that results in physical damage. For years, BFRBs were thought to be a member of the OCD family, but new research shows they’re commonly co-morbid with ADHD as welll, which shouldn’t surprise too many ADHDers including myself.</span></p> <p> </p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">In this episode I’m hoping to lessen the shame many of us have surrounding these behaviors by sharing some of my own experiences and looking into the physiological reasons behind why we do them and why we often can’t stop doing them with willpower alone. I’ll also provide some helpful strategies for stopping or lessening BFRBs that were shared with me by our amazing Facebook group members, many of whom have struggled with BFRBs themselves. Remember, the more we can understand why we do the things we do, the more power we have to change them.</span></p>