/r/calmhands
r/calmhands is a community based around kicking the habit of kicking compulsive habits such as nail biting and nail picking. The goal of the sub is for you to be able to share resources, photos, and accountability with a lovely community that wants to do the same. Together we got this!
Hi and welcome to r/calmhands a place where people go if they want to learn to be calmer in order to stop skin picking, nail biting, hair pulling or other nervous habits they have by examining what gets them started in the first place, trying to stop and forgiving yourself when you give in.
All healing contributions are welcome! Anger expressed at other users, off topic jokes that don't directly relate to healing, posts that are negative that don't directly relate to getting better will not be tolerated.
Here are some guidelines for this subreddit:
1)Please Block and Report trolls. It will not be tolerated.
2)Please write the words "trigger warning" or "picture trigger warning" if you are going to write graphic and descriptive details about your habit or post a graphic picture. (Possible flairs coming soon).
3)Please post your story about how you developed the habit you have and if there are any times you remember stopping yourself. You are brave for posting.
You are a human being and you are beautiful since you are alive. Everyone has weak points and makes mistakes but you can overcome them! Even with red spots, bald spots and bitten nails you are beautiful and you can do amazing things with your body!
Please post your experience with telling others about your habit, as some habits like nail biting are more “mainstream” than others like skin picking. A lot of these habits hold power because they are done in secret. Remember the people who care about you should listen if you find a good time to tell them and ask them to listen and not comment. Hopefully they will give you a hug too.
Related Communities
Compulsive Skin Picking - A forum focused on a form of OCD called Compulsive Skin Picking.
Trichsters - A forum focused on trichotillomania, or compulsive hair-pulling.
Trichotillomania - A forum focused on trichotillomania, or compulsive hair-pulling.
OCD - A forum for people with any type of OCD.
Anxiety - A forum for anxious people
FAQ*
- Why did you guys start this community?
/r/Calmhands is a community to be able to connect with other people who have the same issues you may have. We believe that it’s easier to stop a bad habit when you’re got a group to help support you along the way. Through support each other our goal is to help stop bad habits whether it’s nail biting, skin picking, hair pulling, etc.
- What are body repetitive behaviors?
Well, there are a lot. Trichotillomania and dermatillomania to name a few. Those include things like cheek biting, skin picking, nail biting, etc. These are related to OCD but are not OCD and so typically require a different type of treatment.
- Well if it isn’t OCD but related, what treatment will help?
Well there are a ton of different treatments. Things like cognitive behavioral therapy, dialectical therapy, hypnosis, NAC amino acid, etc. Here in the /r/calmhands community we focus on being your cheerleaders and the best support group we can be.
- I feel I need more help, where can I get that?
Well we have some for you. Check out our addition resosources section below, it’s an ever growing list that anyone and everyone is welcome to message the mods to help expand. In the list below each resource will be described in a bit more detail.
Additional Resources
The TLC Foundation for Body Focused Repetitive Behaviors (www.BFRB.org) is the major US organization that funds research for a cure, hosts training sessions for treatment professionals, and provides support for the community. They also host an annual conference and have a listing of hair salons and therapists on their website. It was started in the 90s by a hair puller, Christina Pearson.
Heart & Soul Academy (https://hasacademy.org/) - Christina Pearson now runs Heart & Soul. She has focused more on integrative health strategies and how they can help us all heal. They hold an annual retreat.
www.CanadianBFRB.org is a Canadian-based org primarily focused on building awareness and supporting the community. Their blog has many useful tips. This is volunteer run. Please reach out if you want to help them!
www.PickingMe.org is a foundation started by a compulsive skin picker for compulsive skin pickers. Their goal is to build awareness through outreach to treatment professionals. They also provide support to support groups.
/r/calmhands
55,078 Subscribers
Am i the only one with this habbit?
So since i was young i always pick and pluck lint and cotton from sweaters. like i pluck them and roll them and repeat to make big “lint rolls?” or something like that and its really fun and calming. I also like it when i have chapped lips and i kind of brush my lips against the sweater and the lint kinda gets stuck idk how to explain it but its such a good and fun feeling😭 i hope im not the only one who does this.
18:44 UTC
Day 5 - Second try
Hey there everyone,
I just saw that there is a sub about nailbiting and I had to go here. I have this habit for nearly 30 years and it sucks so much. I tried so many times to stop this but never really was abled to. Last year I made for like 2 month without butchering my nails and it was a struggle. The urge was always there for me. I relapsed sadly and needed a long time to collect myself and to try again. But this time I seem to have found something for me which seems to work very well for me.
I am using Raylex which is the only bittering agent which does anything for me. I am constantly using it so the nails stay bitter.
I also started chewing pretty hard chewing gum (mastix gum) which seems to kill the urge for nailbiting for me (at least 90%). I can observe myself chewing like a crazy person as soon as I feel a lot of stress. It seems I found another possibility to release stress via chewing and I don't need to bite my nails to release. Fingers crossed it will stick this time.
15:08 UTC
Nail biting due to itchy cuticles-anyone else experience this?
I posted this on the compulsive picking sub and didn't see many responses but I'm wondering if anyone else has experienced this on this sub.
I've been a nail biter since forever and it's always manifested from having itchy cuticles that make me compulsively want to pick and dig at the cuticle to relieve the itch which then eventually causes me to bite down my nail and causes my cuticles to become raw/bleed. It's not every finger, it always seems to trigger one finger on each hand, and it changes day to day.
At one point I noticed that it goes away when my anxiety calms down so I'm wondering if it's actually a physical itch or if it's actually my anxiety causing me to feel this itchy sensation and to want to pick and relieve it as quickly as possible.
Has anyone else experienced this and what have you tried to alleviate it when it starts to happen? I now have some fidget toys and some prickly round objects that allow me to apply pressure and itch the cuticle without picking it but I would love to stop this habit completely so if anyone has found something that works, please let me know.
I think I read on another post that this itchy cuticle symptom might be caused by a vitamin deficiency...wondering if there's something to that.
02:17 UTC