“Normally [a BFRB] is a behavior, like fingernail biting, hair pulling, or pores and skin choosing, however for it to be meet the standards to be a dysfunction, it implies that it has to trigger some impairment and normally an impairment in functioning,” says Barbara O. Rothbaum, PhD, ABPP, a professor of psychiatry at Emory College College of Medication and a board member of The TLC Basis for Physique Centered Repetitive Behaviors. That implies that the habits makes folks self-conscious, injured, or anxious sufficient that it stops them from interacting with others, going to work, making social plans, or experiencing different essential components of life.
You don’t have to achieve this degree to note that you just’re doing this behavior, and perhaps need to reduce down. “Most likely everyone has bitten their lip out of a nervous behavior sooner or later,” Dr. Rothbaum says. However why did you begin lip biting within the first place?
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- Barbara O. Rothbaum, PhD, ABPP, professor in psychiatry at Emory College College of Medication and board member of the TLC Basis for Physique Centered Repetitive Behaviors
Usually, body-focused habits can begin as a solution to self-soothe or distract from anxiousness. If it not directly feels good, even subconsciously, an individual is extra prone to repeat the motion. That holds true for lip biting.
“If any person’s biting their lip once they’re anxious and there’s a little little bit of ache, it would truly distract them from their anxiousness and that is likely to be reinforcing,” Dr. Rothbaum says. “Anytime any person is burdened or anxious, you normally see any sort of repetitive habits enhance, even when it isn’t a behavior, you see folks getting extra fidgety and doing all types of issues.”
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Then, the extra typically you do an motion, you’ve gotten the potential to repeat that motion, “after which increase, you have acquired a habits,” says Dr. Rothbaum.
“If any person’s biting their lip once they’re anxious and there’s a little little bit of ache, it would truly distract them from their anxiousness and that is likely to be reinforcing.” —Barbara O. Rothbaum, PhD, ABPP
As for why you would possibly begin lip biting over another motion, specialists are nonetheless unsure, Dr. Rothbaum says. Some folks is likely to be extra genetically predisposed to fidgeting, and/or to particular actions, however the science on that’s not clear, but.
cease lip biting
So, what are you able to do about it? Step one is noticing the habits when it occurs. That means that you can doc occurrences, look at triggers, and put together for moments once you is likely to be prone to lip-bite. Dr. Rothbaum recommends truly writing down occurrences, which is able to mean you can observe patterns and know when it’s essential to be extra conscious or vigilant.
“A part of the character of a behavior is that plenty of it happens with out our consciousness after which abruptly we notice, oops, I’ve simply been biting my lips,” Dr. Rothbaum says. “Search for patterns, search for any ideas related to it, emotions related to it.”
Additionally useful: Dr. Rothbaum suggests doing one thing that bodily prevents you from doing the motion, like chewing gum. You possibly can pop a chunk everytime you discover the biting begin, or begin chewing preemptively once you’re in a nerve-racking scenario.
The excellent news is which you can most likely tame this behavior by yourself, Dr. Rothbaum says. Nonetheless, if you happen to really feel your lip biting is crossing over from a behavior to a BFRB, it’s possible you’ll need to search assist from a psychological well being skilled, and take a look at the assets out there from locations like The TLC Basis for BFRBs.
“A number of instances as soon as it begins, then it takes on a lifetime of its personal after which that is when it might probably change into exhausting and other people want therapy or need assistance to attempt to flip that round,” Dr. Rothbaum says.
