This Is What Makes It Into an Addiction – Chronic Skin Picking & Hair Pulling

Tell me your story and receive support here 💛 - https://calendly.com/raffaelamarie/fr... Why can chronic skin picking, hair pulling or nail biting become so incredibly addictive? You know the behaviour is hurting you. You desperately want to stop. And yet, your brain keeps pulling you back towards it again and again. There’s actually a reason for this — and when you understand what your brain has learned through these behaviours, so much starts to make sense. In this episode, you'll discover: ✨ How positive reinforcement, negative reinforcement and unpredictable rewards can combine to make picking, pulling and biting incredibly difficult to resist ✨ Why your brain learned to rely on these behaviours in the first place — and why it doesn't mean there's something wrong with you ✨ One of the biggest underlying factors fuelling the addictive cycle and where you can start focusing your healing instead Your brain learned that picking, pulling or biting could help you escape discomfort AND give you relief, soothing or satisfaction. But what your brain has learned, it can also learn to respond to differently. And by building your capacity to navigate your emotional world, you can slowly reduce how much you need these behaviours to do it for you. ---- Resources: Emotion regulation deficits in skin picking (excoriation) disorder: A systematic review https://www.sciencedirect.com/science... The clinical phenomenology of skin-picking disorder – Are there any obsessive-compulsive components? https://www.sciencedirect.com/science... ---- 🙋‍♀️About your host: My name is Raffaela Marie. I'm a holistic BFPA™ coach (BFRB + addiction science) who has healed from 15 years of chronic skin picking myself and dedicated my life to helping driven women do the same. Through my podcast, free resources, and programs, I teach strategies to overcome urges, build emotional safety, and expand into authenticity. My approach goes beyond quick fixes, focusing on root causes and long-term recovery. --- My resources: 💌 Book your FREE BFPA™* Support Call with me - https://calendly.com/raffaelamarie/fr... ✅VIP Access to BFPA Masterclasses + Workshops - https://swarm.store/beyond-resources 🌟Download your FREE Guide to Stop Skin Picking Using Somatics - https://raffaelamarie.com/free-inside... 🎯Join the 7-Day Skin Picking Recovery Challenge https://raffaelamarie.com/7-day-skin-... 🤓Sign up - FREE BFPA Monthly Masterclass https://raffaelamarie.com/register-fr... ✨Join - BEYOND Support Group on WhatsApp https://chat.whatsapp.com/EeYt0iNvp68... 🙋‍♀️Send me a message here - https://raffaelamarie.com/Contact-Us *BFPA™ = Body Focused Process Addictions (aka. BFRB + Addiction Science) Time Stamps: 00:00 Understanding Process Addictions 03:25 Behavioral Mechanisms Behind Addictions 08:55 The Role of Reinforcement in Addictive Behaviors 14:24 Emotional Regulation and Healing Strategies