body-focused repetitive behaviors

just going through the piles of schtuff on the desk. picked up a pamphlet while at the APA. and so glad I did.
makes me reconsider the really bad nail-biter at TU.

Body-focused repetitive behaviors
includes trichotillomania, severe nail biting, chronic skin picking, biting the inside of cheeks

/CSP
2% of all dermatology patients; 4% of college students pick to the point they cause noticeable tissue damage and have marked impairment
can start with a real injury, or after a stressful event. can start from any age.
can serve as emotional outlet. can increase activity level when bored; to control emotion when anxious, tense, upset; may cause a person to "numb" or "zone out."
is not the same as self-injurious behavior- do not wish to cause themselves pain in order to relieve a sense of numbness or to assert a level of control over their bodies. CSP usu feel distress and remorse after it.
treatment-
habit reversal training (HRT). learn the factors that contribute it. learn alternative coping strategies (squeezing a rubber ball).
stimulus control (SC). modifying environment to reduce sensory input that leads to picking (don't look at skin too closely; wear gloves/Band-Aids/rubber fingertips; avoid long periods reading, on the computer).
meds. SSRIs (fluoxetine, flovaxamine, setraline, paroxetine, citalopram, escitalopram)
decr alcohol abuse
resources-
www.trich.org