Body-focused repetitive behavior

The cause of BFRBs is unknown. Emotional variables may have a differential impact on the expression of BFRBs. Research has suggested that the urge to repetitive self-injury is similar to a body-focused repetitive behavior but others have argued that for some the condition is more akin to a substance abuse disorder. Researchers are investigating a possible genetic component. Onset BFRBs most often begin in late childhood or in the early teens. ==Diagnosis==

Types The main BFRB disorders are: • Skin • Dermatillomania (excoriation disorder), skin picking • Dermatophagia, skin biting/consumption • Mouth • Morsicatio buccarum, cheek biting • Morsicatio labiorum, inner lip biting • Morsicatio linguarum, tongue biting • Nails • Onychotillomania, nail picking • Onychophagia, nail biting • Nose • Rhinotillexomania, nose picking • Trichotemnomania, hair cutting • Trichoteiromania, hair rubbing • Eyes • Mucus fishing syndrome, removing or "fishing" strands of mucus from the eye ==Treatment==

Psychotherapy Treatment can include behavior modification therapy, medication, and family therapy. Individual behavioral therapy has been shown as a "probably effective" evidence-based therapy to help with thumb sucking, and possibly nail biting. Another form of treatment that focuses on mindfulness, stimuli, and rewards has proven effective in some people. However, no treatment was deemed well-established to treat any form of BFRBs. Decoupling Decoupling is a behavioral self-help intervention for body-focused repetitive behavior (BFRB). The user is instructed to modify the original dysfunctional behavioral path by performing a counter-movement shortly before completing the self-injurious behavior (e.g., biting nails, picking skin, pulling hair). This is intended to trigger an irritation, which enables the person to detect and stop the compulsive behavior at an early stage. A systematic review from 2012 suggested some efficacy of decoupling, which was corroborated by another study in 2019. Decoupling was shown to be superior to habit reversal training in treating BFRB in one direct comparison study in 2021. ==Prevalence==

BFRBs are among the most poorly understood, misdiagnosed, and undertreated groups of disorders. BFRBs may affect at least 1 out of 20 people. == See also ==