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Bite Your Nails? You Might Have an Official Disorder

Severe cases expected to be categorized as OCD

By John Johnson,  Newser Staff

Posted Nov 1, 2012 4:56 PM CDT

(Newser) – Those who can't stop biting their nails might soon be able to lay claim to an official-sounding excuse: They have obsessive-compulsive disorder. The Health on Today blog reports that the American Psychiatric Association plans to classify severe cases under the OCD label when the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders is updated next year. Casual chomping gets a pass, but those who "have bitten so much that they are getting infections" or have limited the use of their hands qualify, explains a psychiatrist.

  (Shutterstock)
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COMMENTS
Showing 3 of 28 comments
cornelison
Nov 2, 2012 6:29 PM CDT
Maybe it replaces one bad habit with another.  Has anyone seen how much gum an ex-smoker chews?  
XYandZ
Nov 2, 2012 1:08 AM CDT
a "disorder" can be anything the politburo of psychologist/psychiatrist  decide it to be..they need the revenue(paitents..i.e. customers) and their drug suppliers need new "disorders" so they can make new drugs to make to fix those "disorders"
radicalronpaul
Nov 1, 2012 8:30 PM CDT
I've been biting my nails for so long, I'm using the stumps of my elbows to type this post.
 

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