Individuals who get easily bored, frustrated, or impatient are more inclined to develop skin-picking and other body-focused repetitive behaviors, say researchers at the Institut universitaire en santé mentale de Montréal and the University of Montreal.
“Chronic hair-pulling, skin-picking disorder, and nail-biting and various other habits are known as body-focused repetitive behaviors. Although these behaviors can induce important distress [such as shame], they also seem to satisfy an urge and deliver some form of reward,” said principal investigator Kieron O'Connor.
Chronic hair-pulling is also known as trichotillomania. “We believe that individuals with these repetitive behaviors may be perfectionistic, meaning that they are unable to relax and to perform task at a ‘normal’ pace. They are therefore prone to frustration, impatience, and dissatisfaction when they do not reach their goals. They also experience greater levels of boredom.”
