I was curious to know if there is a technical term in the (pysch) medical profession to describe, what we laymen call, a nervous habit? And if so, bumping the question up a notch, is there a term which differentiates between an subconscious nervous habit, like biting a lip, versus an involuntary nervous habit like a nervous tick or twitch? And, what about repetitiev haqnd washing? Is that involuntary, or not?
Last, is it redundant to say an “subconscious nervous habit”? Are all nervous habits performed by the subconscious mind, or are they performed at the conscious level…and if subconscious…when does it become involuntary?
“Tick” is a fairly common term for a nervous twitch. A nervous twitch (such as an eye wiggle, or something), is by it’s definition, and unconscious action.
1.a. Something like tricotilomania (sp?) which is nervous hair pulling, is unconscious on a different level - that is, the hair puller can be made aware of their actions, and with therapy and certain types of medications, control it with some degree of success.
Compulsive hand washing can be a symptom of OCD. As a symptom, it can be treated (therapy and types of medications again). OCD is an illness, and a sufferer can no more control hand washing without intervention, than a diabetic can control their insulin level without intervention.
This is sort of a confusing question. I’m unaware of people who consciously decide to pull out their hair or wash their hands to relieve stress.
Compulsive hand washing can be a symptom of OCD. As a symptom, it can be treated (therapy and types of medications again)./QUOTE]
<evil giggle> My brother was dating a psych student and they came over for dinner, and I was making dinner when they arrived…I have a habit of frequent hand washing - any time I put down my knife, the knife, cutting board and my hands get washed, and the knife dried. I do this between each ingredient in my mise I am prepping. I think in about half an hour I washed my hands about every 3-5 minutes. She was convinced I was OCD…I was eliminating cross contamination, making my knife safe to handle [clean and dry hands and knife handle] and keeping my kitchen clean [I use something, it gets washed. My kitchen is pretty spotless by the time I am done cooking that dishes are about the only thing that needs washing up after we finish eating.] I have a series of small and medium [and large] plastic bowls that I use as my mise en place so all my ingredients are separated out and measured so I always know I have everything I need for the food, and in the right amount=)
I have to admit, I can cook for pretty much any group of people without cross contaminating foods for those with allergies if I know ahead I have to be careful=)
