BFRBs Explained: Understanding Body-Focused Repetitive Behaviors
Body-focused repetitive behaviors (BFRBs) are repetitive self-grooming actions, such as biting, pulling, picking, or scraping, that involve a person’s own hair, skin, lips, cheeks, or nails.
These behaviors can lead to physical damage and often persist despite repeated efforts to stop or reduce them.
Common Types of BFRBs
Hair pulling (Trichotillomania)
Skin picking (Dermatillomania or Excoriation Disorder)
Nail or cuticle biting/picking (Onychophagia)
Cheek or lip biting (Morsicatio Buccarum)
To someone on the outside, these might look like simple habits. But for the person experiencing them, they’re often tied to deeper emotional patterns, and they can come with a lot of frustration, embarrassment, and shame.
Where Do BFRBs Come From?
A Natural Response, Even in Animals
BFRBs often serve a purpose, even if they don’t feel helpful. Behaviors like picking, pulling, or biting can bring a sense of relief, focus, or control—especially during moments of stress, anxiety, or boredom. Over time, they can become automatic habits, difficult to stop even when they begin to cause distress.
Interestingly, this isn’t something unique to humans. When under stress, animals also engage in similar repetitive behaviors. Birds may pluck their feathers, cats might overgroom, and lab mice sometimes chew their fur. These behaviors aren’t random; they’re instinctive ways of coping when things feel off.
It’s important to note: BFRBs aren’t a form of self-harm.
They’re the brain’s way of trying to self-soothe or regain a sense of balance in the moment.
Why Is It So Hard to Stop?
Most people don’t even notice when they’re doing it. It becomes part of their routine, often triggered by stress, fatigue, or even deep concentration. It can feel like a loop:
A feeling builds (tension, boredom, anxiety)
The behavior happens (pulling, picking, etc.)
There’s brief relief
Then guilt, irritation, or shame
Over time, this cycle becomes hardwired. But it can be interrupted.
How Do You Manage or Treat BFRBs?
There’s no quick fix, but here’s what can help:
Habit Reversal Training (HRT): A type of therapy that builds awareness and replaces the behavior with something else
Mindfulness and grounding tools: Such as fidget items, sensory substitutions, or breathing exercises
Apps: To track urges, build healthier habits, or find community
Support: From therapists, support groups, or loved ones
Medication: Some people benefit from medications that help with anxiety or impulse control, though it’s not the first step for everyone
You’re Not Alone
BFRBs affect millions of people. They don’t mean you're broken or doing something “bad.” They are ways your brain has tried to take care of you, even if those strategies no longer serve you.
With the right tools, support, and a little patience, you can build new ways of coping, and move toward healing.
Here at Atlanta Wellness Collective, we want to help. For support, contact us or schedule an appointment online.
This blog is not intended to substitute professional therapeutic advice. Talk with your healthcare provider about your health concerns and before starting or stopping therapies. No content on this site, regardless of date, should ever be used as a substitute for direct professional advice from your doctor or other qualified clinician.
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