Nail biting. How do I quit?!


Question: Nail biting. How do I quit?
I bite my nails whenever I'm nervous - and that's almost nonstop. Of course I don't bite them in my sleep, and not every minute of the day - but I bite them a lot.

...I really have tried a lot of things. I've tried nasty tasting polish. It doesn't work, because my /other/ nervous habit involves chipping nail polish! I've tried using hand sanitizer, but lol (call me weird) but I like the taste of it. That doesn't help either. I have tried snapping a rubber band whenever I catch myself biting. I actually picked that up too much, and hurt my wrists badly, so I'm keeping away from things like that (no rubber band snapping, no pinching, no pin pricking, kay?). So I'm trying to find people with their own (successful) ways to beat this bad habit. I'm sick of having ugly fingernails. Please, and thank you!

Answers:

As with any bad habit, being aware of it is the first step and the second step is consciously stopping it. Sometimes, substituting another non-harmful habit for the harmful one works.

Try keeping a pad of paper and pencil or pen nearby and when you feel the urge to bite your nails, start drawing or doodling to release the nervous energy.

If that doesn't work, you may consider getting a professional manicure and have acrylic nail tips applied (not the whole nail, just the tips). That may prevent you from biting.

And, if all else fails, consider seeking medical treatment. Sometimes in the case of an intractable bad habit, that will work when everything else fails.



when I quit I just kept my nails painted and because I didn't want nail polish in my mouth I just stopped and then you don't feel the need to bite them anymore. Just continually paint them and you'll be good.

My brain



Heck should I know. I've been biting on them since I was a kid. I'm 21 years old and still have that nasty habit. When you figure out a way to quit, feel free to let me know! :)



Try dipping them in lemon juice.

TV




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