Physical & Sensory Tools
These tools can help redirect urges and give your hands something else to do.
These are commonly used tools shared within the BFRB community.
Imagine Tangle
Awareness & Tracking
These tools and apps can help you notice urges earlier and understand your patterns over time.
Search these in your app store to get started.
KeenLite
Real-time awareness alerts for picking or pulling
Skin Pick
Track episodes and notice patterns over time
Trich Stop
Log urges and behaviors to understand triggers
Skin Aware
Track habits and build awareness over time
Strides
Set goals and track habits over time
Streaks
Build consistency by tracking daily habits
Habitnow
Create routines and track daily progress
Habitica
Turn habit tracking into a simple game
Simple Awareness Practices
These practices help you notice urges earlier and check in with your body before you act.
Body Scan: Bring attention to your body to notice sensations and tension
Breath Awareness: Use your breath as an anchor when your attention or hands drift
Hand Check-Ins: Pause throughout the day to notice where your hands are and what they’re doing
Guided Mindfulness Apps
These apps can guide short practices to help you build awareness and stay present.
Insight Timer
Headspace
Calm
Happier Meditation
Urge Management & Delay Strategies
These strategies can help you ride out urges without acting on them. Even a short delay can make a difference.
Urge Surfing: Notice the urge rise, peak, and fall without acting on it.
Name the Urge: Pause and say “I notice I have an urge to pick” to create space before acting.
Delay (1-Minute Rule): Wait one minute before acting, then reassess.
Distraction Bridge: Use a go-to activity (fidget, walk, text someone) to get through the peak.
Grounding: Focus on your senses (5 things you see, 4 you hear, etc.) to shift attention.
Want a step-by-step guide? Learn how to practice urge surfing.
Barriers & Environment
These strategies make it harder to act on an urge by changing your environment and creating small barriers between you and the behavior.
Blockers & Barriers
Use bandages, gauze, or pimple patches to cover target areas.
Use fingertip covers or gloves to reduce contact.
Wear hats or headbands to limit access.
Cover or reduce access to mirrors.
Use softer lighting in high-risk areas.
Remove tools like tweezers or magnifying mirrors.
Change Your Environment
Rearrange spaces where urges usually happen.
Keep fidgets nearby as a substitute.
Create a relaxation space away from BFRB behaviors.
Disrupt the Pattern
Identify high-risk times and have a plan ready.
Keep your hands busy during passive activities.
Use a timer or move to a different space when needed.
Plan Ahead
Mindset & Recovery
How you respond to urges and setbacks matters.
These strategies help you shift your mindset, reduce shame, and keep moving forward.
Change How You Talk to Yourself
Notice when your inner voice becomes critical after an urge or episode.
Try shifting it:
Speak to yourself the way you would to a friend.
Replace “I messed up” with “This was a hard moment.”
Remind yourself that struggling does not mean failing.
A more supportive response makes it easier to move forward.
Work With Thoughts, Not Against Them
Thoughts can increase urges, especially when they feel urgent or absolute.
Practice simple reframes:
“This urge will pass.”
“I can feel this without acting on it.”
“I don’t have to do this right now.”
You don’t need to eliminate the thought, just respond to it differently.
Use Movement to Interrupt the Pattern
When an urge builds, change what your body is doing.
Try this:
Clenching and releasing your fists
Placing your hands flat on a surface
Crossing your arms or sitting on your hands
Holding or manipulating a small object
Even brief movement can break the pattern.
Keep Going After a Slip
Setbacks are part of the process.
What matters is what you do next.
Pause instead of continuing automatically.
Reset without criticizing yourself.
Return to one small strategy.
Progress comes from repeating small shifts over time.
You don’t have to do this alone.