Skin picking, nail biting and other obsessions

For humans, one of the most immediate consequences of being social animals is that every action automatically becomes a signal, a reflection of our internal conscience that anyone who sees as is free to interpret. Given that so far it is not possible for someone else to read our mind, the only alternative is to try to extrapolate what we are thinking from our actions (including the words we say). Surprisingly, these signal do not specifically serve the purpose of the individuals but by revealing the internal working of each of us help the society to determine our willingness to comply with its standards. Because, as a general rule, a society where everybody plays by known rules (not necessarily by the same rules) works better, at least in the short term.

In aspects that are not central to the organization of the society, our actions reveal our tastes: the way we dress reveals if we care about the way we look or not, if we are willing to follow the social canon or prefer a more counter-cultural look. Other actions like our body language play a very strong supporting role in interpersonal communication, revealing if an opinion irritates us or pleases us, if we are willing to cooperate with another person or ready to obstruct their work. Dressing in a certain way might ease the communication or make it more difficult depending on the situation: attending a corporate meeting with a suit and a tie might inspire confidence in the other attendees about your propriety, but using the same attire for a job interview at an internet start-up in Silicon Valley is likely to feel stale and old fashioned.

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A particular case of these signaling behaviors are the rites: not only religious rites but also other types of social rites, and they are particular because they not only signal the others our adherence to the canon, but it also help to reassure us that we are still "on track". By attending the weekly religious services of your creed you not only show everybody that you are a good believer, but it also immediately soothes your conscience a bit in case you behaved "sub-optimally" over the week. If you throw a wonderful party every year for your birthday your friends will be looking forward to it year after year, but it will also help reinforce the idea that you "still have it" when it comes to throwing a party.

The end of the spectrum are the personal habits or rites, which are expected to take place primarily in private but whose effects (or should I say "defects") might be of social import, because I failure can lead to a serious loss of status in the view of others. For instance, checking that you have locked the door of your house can give you peace of mind because if you were burgled and it was found that the door was never locked you would lose face in front of your family, the police and the insurance company. Similarly, brushing your teeth is not something anyone is expected to witness, but we all do our best to do it properly, lest the next person we meet wrinkles their nose and decides they do not want to work with us anymore.

In situations where anxiety takes over our brain it is common that all these insecurities assault us without pause and we start to think if we have cleansed and groomed ourselves properly: some people keep combing their hair, some keep tightening the knot of their tie or adjusting the cuffs of the shirt and yet others keep looking at their fingernails, hands or their skin in general for barbs and imperfections. The extreme version of these tics are called dermatillomania (skin picking) and onychophagia (nail biting) where the patients (because yes, it is a disorder) keep finding things to fix in their skins and finger nails even after they have gone over every single square millimeter time and time again, to the point where they end up inflicting wound upon themselves, bleeding, getting scabs, etc.

It is easy to think that we would never fall into such behaviors and that is probably true because most people do not focus their anxiety in that way, but it does not mean that we are free from manias. Any behavior that reassures us is a potential source of obsession: putting on make up, exercising, getting a tattoo, undergoing plastic surgery, looking at yourself in the mirror, gesticulating while talking or the use of fillers, drinking up whatever is left in your glass, and many others.

As for myself, I have to admit that I am a fidget: when I was younger I was know to uncap and recap my pen until it got so loose that it would not hold in place. Even today, I am the terror of any retractable ball pen that falls in my hands. I had taken part in the 1995 movie Goldeneye, the click pen scene would have been much shorter. How about you? Do you have any compulsion? On way or another, have a nice evening.