Compulsive Finger Picking

This website is the public resource for compulsive finger pickers — the true FingerFreaks.

This page is meant to launch you on your journey to understand the mind, emotions and behaviors of the person who compulsively picks his fingers — whether the habit is an absent-minded one meant to alleviate boredom, or is a full blown obsessive-compulsive disorder.

• Fingernail Anatomy — Given the morbid fascination of those who can’t stop picking their fingers or fingernails, a natural place to start is fingernail anatomy.
• Fingernail Disease — An understanding of common diseases of the fingernails and toenails– which can be environmentally and psychogenically caused — will highlight the harmful physical effects of the picking habit.
• Psychological after-effects — Shame at the often ugly and embarrassing damage caused by compulsive picking is the most prominent psychological effect.
• Why We Pick — There are a host of reasons why FingerFreaks pick their fingers, skin, hair, scabs — etc. Most are the psychological causes of this behavior.
• Treatments — Both medical and therapeutic (aka “talk therapy”) treatments can get at the real reason behind a destructive finger picking habit.