The reason why you bite your nails, according to a psychologist
According to psychological analysis of our daily habits, nail biting and skin picking are not just mindless reflexes, but also survival mechanisms.
There’s no clear reason why people bite their nails, but there are a few theories. These include starting the habit of coping with challenging emotions, boredom and the need to keep your hands busy, as well as inheriting this habit from parents.
These behaviors may seem irrational, unhygienic, and in some cases painful. But clinical psychologist Dr Charlie Heriot-Maitland suggests that we developed these “little harms” to protect ourselves.
“By creating a small sensation, the body is able to instantly create a physical focus and a feeling of tension and control,” Dr Heriot-Maitland said. Independent“This is preferable to the alternative, which leads to out-of-control, overwhelming feelings,” he adds.
new book, Controlled Explosions in Mental HealthIt is divided into three main sections: self-sabotage, self-criticism, and self-harm. These may include traits such as overshadowing a new friend, perfectionism, and nail biting.
He explained that while skin picking and nail biting are milder forms of self-harm that people can relate to, serious problems such as cutting or eating disorders are more extreme versions. She hopes that by discussing habits like skin picking and nail biting, people will understand the more stigmatized versions of self-harm.
“If you create pain by pulling your hair, you feel relief immediately after the pain. So it’s like you’ve awakened your body’s natural endorphins,” he explained.
But he suggests we do this not just for immediate relief but also as a way to protect ourselves.
He added: “Our brain is a survival machine. It is programmed to keep us alive, not to optimize our happiness and well-being. It needs us to exist in a predictable world. It doesn’t like surprises. It doesn’t want us to be caught off guard.”
This protective mechanism works on a basic principle: The brain prefers to deal with the certainty of a controlled, known threat rather than the possibility of an out-of-control, unknown threat.
The science behind this theory is based on how the human brain evolved for survival rather than happiness. Brains are programmed to detect danger everywhere, which has helped the species survive. But this does mean that we are now more sensitive to possible pain, whether physical or emotional, that looms on the horizon.
Dr Heriot-Maitland suggested that in many cases, people with habits such as nail biting may have initially started doing it when they felt anxious, and it later became a learned, repeated action.
While there are practical tips to kick the habit, such as shortening nails and anti-nail biting treatment, Dr Heriot-Maitland said there were no “quick fixes”.
Instead, he explained, we need to “understand the function of these behaviors” and “understand some of the fears that are protected underneath” rather than trying to eliminate them.
