PhronesisWe apply the Displacement Framework to Body-Focused Repetitive Behaviors (BFRBs) — trichotillomania, excoriation disorder, and onychophagia — formalizing them as sensory wrong attractors maintained by direct tactile-sensory reinforcement rather than by cognitive processes. The regulatory ground state S°_regulate is defined as the capacity to manage arousal and tension through flexible strategies with bodily integrity maintained and grooming serving its actual function.
The wrong attractor W_bfrb is characterized by three functional subtypes (automatic/focused/mixed from TLC/HabitAware research): in the automatic subtype, behavior provides sensory stimulation during low-arousal states; in the focused subtype, behavior provides emotional regulation via sensory distraction from negative affect; in mixed, both operate. The grooming hijack hypothesis is formalized: BFRBs involve activation of the evolutionarily conserved grooming reward circuit, producing genuine tactile-sensory reinforcement that operates below the level of habitual decision-making.
The shame-concealment loop is formally modeled as a positive-feedback deepening mechanism with the feedback equation Ḃ ∝ (concealment) × (shame). The trance state — semi-dissociative automatic onset without conscious awareness of episode initiation — is formalized as a groove-depth signature of the deeply reinforced wrong attractor. Nine formal propositions are derived. Return paths include Habit Reversal Training, Comprehensive Behavioral Treatment (ComB), ACT, and N-acetylcysteine (glutamatergic mechanism).
Comorbidities with ADHD and autism spectrum are addressed through the lens of sensory amplification and inhibition deficits.