Why do people bite their nails?

Why do people bite their nails?

You might not know this, but nail biting falls under a list of behaviors known as body-focused repetitive disorders (or BFRDs), which are those little habits we have (think hair pulling or skin picking) that, when done often enough, can cause harm. As SELF previously reported, it’s not entirely clear why some people have BFRDs, but there are known triggers. SELF previously reported that those triggers fall into five main categories: There are sensory triggers, which might be anything that evokes the senses (taste, touch, sight, smell, or hearing). You may be triggered by certain thoughts or beliefs (these are called cognitive triggers). You could bite your nails when you face something called a motor trigger, which involves postures and movements that you make (and might not even be aware of). Even certain places might make your nail nibbling more prevalent (these are called setting triggers).