ADHD Experts Podcast 386- Nail Biting! Skin Picking! Hair Pulling! Body-Focused Repetitive Behaviors and ADHD
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Jan 28, 2022 
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What Defines BFRBs
- Body-focused repetitive behaviors (BFRBs) are chronic actions that can be impulsive or compulsive and often cause physical damage.
- People feel compelled to perform them and may experience pleasure, pain, or both while doing them.
How ADHD Increases BFRB Risk
- ADHD raises risk for BFRBs through poor impulse control and intense hyperfocus that can make the behavior grounding and soothing.
- BFRBs provide stimulation an under-aroused ADHD brain seeks, sometimes even via pain or conflict.
BFRBs Sit Between OCD And ADHD
- BFRBs overlap with OCD but many arise from different ADHD-related drives like sensory seeking and arousal.
- Diagnostic classification under OCD can hide ADHD links and delay appropriate treatment.