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American Psychiatric Association Proposes Reclassifying Nail Biting as an Obsessive Compulsive Disorder

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Wed, 2012-10-17 08:38 — capetroz

Nail-biters take note: You're (potentially) suffering from obsessive-compulsive disorder. According to the American Psychiatric Association, the organization proposes reclassifying nail biting as a mental disorder in its revised Diagnostic and Statistical Manual (DMS) scheduled for release in 2013.

What is being organized? Nail biting is being organized and reclassified into the likes of pathological grooming habits within the OCD classification compared to its previous "not otherwise classified" status. Although nail biting, the behavior, is being reclassified, those afflicted with the pathological behavioral pattern may also be categorized into individuals suffering from OCD depending on the severity of the biting. Nail biting is a sub-classification of OCD.

Why it is being organized? The reclassification provides a standardized criterion for mental health providers to work from when diagnosing an individual exhibiting a nail biting habit. The organization is essential for mental health care providers to diagnose behavior accurately and consistently in addition to helping individuals repeatedly exhibiting the behavior and suffering from it. Plus, the reclassification of nail biting into the DSM helps the psychiatry and mental health institutions gain funding from drug and the NIH to do research on preventative and behavioral methods and procedures. Therefore, it has institutional purposes.

How much is it being organized? Nail biting can be seen on a spectrum, ranging from minor to severe. Mental health care professionals will look at how much of a compulsion is it, how much time it takes away from an individual’s day, and its impact of the person’s health. Typically, the chronic, severe and complicated cases are categories under this classification.

When is it being organized? The nail biting habit will be organized and reclassified in 2013. 

By whom (or by what computational processes) it is being organized? The American Psychiatric Association is the institutional entity responsible for reclassifying nail biting into the DSM under OCD. Once revised and republished, mental health professionals in the United States will classify people with pathological nail biting habits as individuals with or without OCD depending on the severity of the biting in relation to the standardized criteria laid out in the DSM.