Skin picking and hair pulling are common, misunderstood, and highly treatable. Here is what body-focused repetitive behaviors are, why willpower alone rarely stops them, and what actually works.
Skin picking and hair pulling are far more common than most people realize, and far more misunderstood. Known as body-focused repetitive behaviors, or BFRBs, they are often hidden in shame and met with well-meaning but useless advice to just stop. Understanding what these behaviors are, and why willpower alone rarely ends them, is the beginning of real help.
What BFRBs are
Body-focused repetitive behaviors involve recurrent picking, pulling, or similar actions directed at one's own body, often to the point of harm. The two most common are skin picking and hair pulling. They frequently serve a function, soothing tension, discharging restlessness, or providing a kind of relief, which is part of why they are so hard to stop through sheer effort.
Why willpower is not enough
Because BFRBs are often automatic and tied to emotion and sensation, telling someone to simply stop usually fails and adds a layer of shame. The behavior is not a character flaw or a lack of discipline; it is a pattern with roots in the nervous system and in how a person regulates tension. Treating it as such is what makes change possible.
What actually helps
- Building awareness of when and where the behavior tends to occur
- Identifying the triggers, urges, and situations that set it off
- Learning competing responses that meet the same need more safely
- Addressing the anxiety, tension, or emotion underneath the behavior
Effective, compassionate treatment
BFRBs respond well to specialized, evidence-based approaches, and treatment works best without shame. Dr. Kim provides treatment for skin picking, hair pulling, and related body-focused repetitive behaviors for adolescents and adults in Englewood and across Bergen County. If one of these behaviors has been a private struggle, know that it is common, understandable, and treatable.
Related services
This article is for general educational purposes and is not a substitute for individualized professional advice, diagnosis, or treatment. If you are in crisis or thinking about self-harm, call or text 988 (the Suicide and Crisis Lifeline).