
If you just can’t stop biting your nails, picking at your skin or pulling out a hank of hair, especially when you’re stressed out, here’s something to try that just might work. Instead of nibbling, picking or pulling, simply touch your skin gently, such as by lightly rubbing the fingertips, palm or back of arm, at least twice a day. That strategy, called “habit replacement,” helped 53% of participants in a new six-week study cut back on their unwanted behavior, a new study shows. “The rule is just to touch your body lightly,” lead study author Steffen Moritz, head of the clinical neuropsychology working group at University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf in Germany, told NBC News. “If you’re under stress, you might perform the movements faster, but not with more self-applied pressure.” These body-focused repetitive behaviors (BFRB) are believed to affect about 5% of people worldwide. The new study included 268 people. They either had trichotillomania, a condition in which people respond to stress or soothe themselves by plucking out their hair, or they repeatedly bit their nails or the inside of their cheek. Members of the control group were told they were on a waitlist for treatment (which they received after the study ended). Other participants were taught how to form a replacement habit through a manual and video. Those who bit their nails appeared… read on > read on >