The study, published in the March issue of the Journal of Behavior Therapy and Experimental Psychiatry², points to perfectionism - a trait that can be more damaging than many people realize - as an underlying³ cause.

 

"We believe that individuals with these repetitive behaviors may be perfectionistic, meaning that they are unable to relax and to perform task at a 'normal' pace," Dr. Kieron O'Connor, professor of psychiatry at the university and the study's lead author, said in a press release Tuesday. "They are therefore prone⁴ to frustration⁵, impatience⁶, and dissatisfaction when they do not reach their goals. They also experience greater levels of boredom⁷."

 

In the study, the researchers worked with 48 participants, half of whom regularly engaged in these types of behaviors. The other participants, who didn't engage in these behaviors, acted as a control group. The participants were asked questions about the extent to which they experienced emotions like boredom, anger, guilt⁸, irritability⁹ and anxiety. Then, each participant was exposed to situations designed to provoke particular feelings (including relaxation¹⁰, stress, frustration and boredom). In the boredom scenario¹¹, for instance, the subject was simply left alone in a room for six minutes.

 

Participants with a history of fidgety, body-focused behaviors reported greater urges to engage in those behaviors when they were feeling stressed and frustrated. But they didn't report feeling those urges while they were relaxing.

 

If you do bite your nails from time to time, there's no need to worry - you're probably not doing much harm. In fact, the researchers say that such behaviors serve a temporary purpose when we're not able to channel our energy more productively.

 

"The positive effects of the habits are stimulation¹² and a (maladaptive) way of regulating emotion," O'Connor said in an email to The Huffington Post. "What triggers the habit is largely frustration and impatience so the action substitutes for more constructive¹³ action."

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