双语阅读：我们为何会咬指甲Whatdoex-BritishprimeminsterGordonBrown,JackieOnassis,BritneySpearsandIallhaveincommon?Weallare(orwere)nailbiters.It'snotahabitI'mproudof.It'sprettydisgustingforotherpeopletowatch,ruinstheappearanceofmyhands,isprobablyunhygienicandsometimeshurtsifItakeittoofar.I'vetriedtoquitmanytimes,buthavenevermanagedtokeepitup.LatelyI'vebeenwonderingwhatmakessomeoneaninveteratenail-biterlikeme.Areweweakerwilled?Moreneurotic?Hungrier?Perhaps,somewhereintheannalsofpsychologicalresearchtherecouldbeananswertomyquestion,andmaybeevenhintsabouthowtocuremyselfofthisunsavouryhabit.英国前首相戈登·布朗(GordonBrown)、杰奎琳·肯尼迪(JackieOnassis)、布兰妮·斯皮尔斯(BritneySpears)之间有什么共同点呢?他们都爱(或曾经都爱)咬指甲。我们为何会咬指甲这嗜好我可不喜欢。被别人看到多恶心呀，把双手的形象全毁了，很可能不卫生，如果咬得太深还会受伤。我也几次试图想要戒掉，但从未持之以恒。最近，我总在想是什么让像我这样爱咬指甲的人恶习难改呢?难道和其他人相比我们意志更薄弱?更神经质?更有欲望?也许心理学研究的文献能够给我答案，也许还能给我一些暗示，教我如何自我摆脱这个令人讨厌的习惯。Myfirstdipintotheliteratureshowsupthemedicalnameforexcessivenailbiting:'onychophagia'.Psychiatristsclassifyitasanimpulsecontrolproblem,alongsidethingslikeobsessivecompulsivedisorder.Butthisisforextremecases,wherepsychiatrichelpisbeneficial,aswithotherexcessivegroominghabitslikeskinpickingorhairpulling.I'mnotatthatstage,fallinginsteadamongthemajorityofnailbiterswhocarryonthehabitwithoutserioussideeffects.Upto45%ofteenagersbitetheirnails,forexample;teenagersmaybeahandfulbutyouwouldn'targuethatnearlyhalfofthemneedmedicalintervention.Iwanttounderstandthe'subclinical'sideofthephenomenon–nailbitingthatisn'tamajorproblem,butstillenoughofanissueformetowanttoberidofit.第一次浏览文献就发现了过度咬指甲的医学术语：“咬甲癖”(onychophagia)。心理学家把它归于一种冲脉控制问题，即类似强迫症问题。但这仅指极端案例，精神病学对此的帮助颇有成效，对其他过度怪癖也是如此，如：皮肤搔抓症，拔毛癖。我可没到那种程度，只是和大多数爱咬指甲的人一样，一直有这样的癖好，但没什么严重的不良反应。45%以上的青少年爱咬指甲，比如：青少年可能只占一小部分，但你不会说他们中一半人需要接受医学治疗。我想要了解这种现象临床症状不明显的一面——咬指甲没什么大惊小怪，但它对我来说依然是件大事，得去克服。It’smother’sfault都是妈妈的错Psychotherapistshavehadsometheoriesaboutnailbiting,ofcourse.SigmundFreudblameditonarrestedpsycho-sexualdevelopment,attheoralstage(ofcourse).TypicaltoF