Nail Biting

Nail biting is the habit of biting one’s fingernails or toenails during periods of nervousness, stress, hunger or boredom. It is a common problem that is largely dismissed as a minor nuisance; nail biting can be anything from a bad habit to an outward symptom of a medical or emotional disorder. It can be obsessive compulsive or can even be a completely unconscious act where the affected person is not or barely aware of the behaviour while performing it. Some people bite their nails in their sleep, sometimes exclusively. This has been linked to stress while dreaming or stress from the dream, or simply stress in general. It considered to be the most widespread form of mild self mutilation. According to Freudian theory, nail biting is a symptom of oral fixation. The clinical name for nail biting is chronic onychophagia.

While nail biting and picking seems to be such a common problem, the psychological and medical research does not agree on an exact motivation for the action. However it suggests that nail biting can be the result of stress, various medical disorders, learned behaviours or just plain habit. The most common instigator of the disorder seems to be stress or anxiety. Nail and cuticle-skin biting may be an outlet for pent-up emotion, reducing tension for the individual. It is a common reaction to stress and boredom.

Nail biters could also suffer from a poor self-image or could be punishing themselves for deeper-rooted problems or anxieties. Basically, nail biting is a rational substitution of one problem for another. In many instances nail biting is used as a tension reliever. Any kind of disharmony as a result of friends, family, work, or school can trigger the habit.