BFRB: Body-Focused Repetitive Behaviors and Regulation

Analyzing skin picking, hair pulling, and nail biting as sensory regulation tools rather than mere 'bad habits'.

Why Can't We Stop?

**Body-Focused Repetitive Behaviors (BFRBs)** are common among ADHD and Autistic populations. These actions are involuntary sensory regulation tools used by the nervous system to achieve equilibrium during periods of either overarousal (anxiety) or underarousal (boredom).

BFRBs often carry significant shame. However, skin picking or hair pulling is not a moral failing or character flaw; it is an effort by the nervous system to obtain tactile or proprioceptive feedback. Replacing harmful picking with tactile substitutes (like textured fidgets) is the first step toward management.