By: Joy Apostol Do you ever find yourself biting your nails when you’re just sitting comfortably on your couch or when you have your recitation in class or an interview for a job? If you’ll ask me, I’ll say yes. I’ve been biting my nails whenever I’m worried about something. However, these past few days I noticed that it became an uncontrollable habit, so I did some research about it.
Million years ago in ancient Greece, there was a man who was said to accumulate his intellect through biting his nails. A Stoic philosopher, Sidonius, called this particular man, Cleanthes. He was the first recorded nail-biter in history. Also, the technical name of nail biting is, “onychophagia” that also from a Greek word meaning "nail-eater." People tend to think that nail biting is a normal and uncontrolled grooming behavior. However, American Psychiatrists decided to count nail biting as a form of "pathological grooming," together with hair pulling, plucking out of eyelashes, or skin picking behaviors, that is actually associated with Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD). There are various speculations as to why people bite their nails. The first was because of preoccupation, tiredness, or a wish for simple comfort. The next was a sign of an inside aggression toward yourself. The third is being a perfectionist, it is because they’re focused on excellence,it appears that they’re more defenseless to body-focused repetitive disorder that’s why they easily get bored or frustrated in just a little misdeed, and tend to take it out on little things around them. Lastly, most experts agreed that biting of nails is a way for people to release stress. Nail Biting is caused by feelings of stress and after some time, the behavior becomes uncontrolled. It becomes automatic behavior that has no connection with external stimulus. Nail biting as a psychiatric disorder really exists, but if you’re a teenager, don’t react like you’re already going to a mental hospital because based on the Journal Behavior Research and Therapy, young adults who experience nail biting does not result from psychological disorder but simply from boredom and stress. So nail biting is not really terrifying. However, if you repeatedly bite your nails, it can leave your fingers red and sore and the area of skin around your nails may bleed and become infected. Be careful because it can transfer germs that are buried under the surface of the nail into your face and mouth.
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