It is often concluded that individuals who bite their nails, twist their hair, and engage in subconscious habits such as scratching, skin picking and other repetitive body focused behaviors are either impatient or insecure. Though this may leave a negative impact among peers, recent studies surfaced that these habits actually tell a lot about one's personality.
As per Huffington Post, a new research which was done by the University of Montreal stated that a compulsive behavior does speak a lot about one's personality. It was concluded that impatient individuals such as those who would get bored and frustrated easily are more likely to engage on nail biting, hair pulling, and other repetitive bodily focused behaviors.
Their research whcich was published in the Journal of Behavior Therapy and Experimental Psychology stated that there traits are actually manifestations of perfectionism. These habits however can be more damaging than most individuals think.
The website then added that one does not need to worry about nail bating as it is often temporary. It's a subconscious way for the individual to channel his or her frustration. It is a way of releasing the tension when an individual was not able to productively perform the assigned task.
As per the professor of psychiatry at the university and the study's lead author, Dr Kieron O'Connor, people who exhibit repetitive behaviors tend to be perfectionistic, where in they can't relax and when they would not be able to perfectly perform their obligations. O'Connor then added that these individuals also have higher boredom levels and are easily frustrated when things wouldn't go as planned.
In an email, O'Connor told the Huffington Post that:
"The positive effects of the habits are stimulation and a (maladaptive) way of regulating emotion, what triggers the habit is largely frustration and impatience so the action substitutes for more constructive action."
