Ep. 166: Skin Picking, Hair Pulling, Nail Biting and ADHD

ADHD for Smart Ass Women with Tracy Otsuka

Tracy Otsuka

Alternative Health, Health & Fitness

4.8 • 1.6K Ratings

🗓️ 9 March 2022

⏱️ 32 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Body-Focused Repetitive Behaviors (BFRBs) such as skin picking and nail biting can feel like a bad habit we need to break, but these behaviors go beyond just a habit; it’s actually a complex condition that causes people to repeatedly touch their body in a way that results in physical damage. For years, BFRBs were thought to be a member of the OCD family, but new research shows they’re commonly co-morbid with ADHD as welll, which shouldn’t surprise too many ADHDers including myself. In this episode I’m hoping to lessen the shame many of us have surrounding these behaviors by sharing some of my own experiences and looking into the physiological reasons behind why we do them and why we often can’t stop doing them with willpower alone. I’ll also provide some helpful strategies for stopping or lessening BFRBs that were shared with me by our amazing Facebook group members, many of whom have struggled with BFRBs themselves. Remember, the more we can understand why we do the things we do, the more power we have to change them.

Transcript

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0:00.0	RBFBs are related to self grooming, anxiety management, or sensory stimulation.
0:09.0	The most common are hair pulling, skin picking, nail biting, skin biting, teeth grinding,
0:18.2	and then there's something called tongue biting as well.
0:21.2	So what are the strategies that we can use to stop, or at a minimum, lessen these repetitive
0:29.0	body-focused behaviors?
0:36.2	Thomas Edison, Richard Branson, John F. Kennedy, Mozart, Michael Jordan, Will Smith.
0:45.9	That sounds like a list of highly successful titans in a variety of locations.
0:51.7	Why is it that we rarely hear that they have or have ADHD?
0:57.9	And you know what we hear even less about?
1:03.6	Serena Williams, Emma Watson, Mel Robbins, Woopy Goldberg, Agatha Christie, Aaron
1:11.1	Brockovich, Cher.
1:13.6	Yeah, the successful women navigating ADHD.
1:18.0	And that's exactly why I started this podcast, ADHD for smart ass women.
1:23.7	I'm your host Tracey Otsuka.
1:26.0	I'm a lawyer, not a doctor, a lifelong student, now a coach.
1:30.8	I'm also the creator of your ADHD brain is A-OK, a system that helps people like you figure
1:38.2	out what they should do with their life.
1:40.7	And we're here today to talk ADHD, your strengths, your symptoms, your workarounds, and how
1:46.8	you proudly stand out instead of trying to fit in.
1:51.0	I credit my ADHD for some of my greatest gifts.
1:55.3	And you know what?
1:56.6	I spy a happier life for you, too.
	...

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