By: Carolyn Gregoire
Source: The Huffington Post
New
research from the University of Montreal suggests that compulsive behaviors
such as twisting hair and biting nails might say more about people's
personality. People who are usually peevish and restless are more likely to take
part in behaviors such as skin-picking, nail-biting, or eyelash-pulling. A
study points to perfectionism, a trait that can be a lot more hurtful than many
people realize. Individuals with these repetitive behaviors may be
perfectionists - people who refuse to accept any
standard short of perfection. Therefore, they are prone to frustration,
irritation, restlessness, and discontent when they do not achieve their goals. For
the study, researchers worked with forty-eight participants, half of them being
those to engage in these types of behaviors and the other half being those to
not engage in these types of behaviors, making themselves the control group.
These participants were asked questions about the degree to which they
experience emotions like weariness, rage, peevishness, and anxiety. Afterwards,
each participant was put into a particular situation that was designed to
provoke such feelings. The one half of the participants that engaged in body-focused
behaviors reported a strong urge to do so when they were feeling stressed and
frustrated. Often times it is okay to bite nails because it serves as a
temporary solution when individuals are not able to channel their energy more efficiently,
but when these habits are difficult to overcome, they can interfere with daily
life.
This article is significant as it raises awareness about
bad habits and how they can interfere with people's lives. Currently, there are
two ways to treat these behaviors -- "a behavioral treatment that involves
replacing the habit with a competing action, and a separate approach that
focuses on the underlying factors that create tension" (Gregoire).
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