Finger Nail Biting

Nail biter here. I've made it about a week a few times before, the nails looked nice. Then I'll chew them all off in a frenzy of nail munching and stare down at my hand and hey presto, they're all gone again!

Drives me nuts, I do it subconsciously so what hope do I have! Been doing it for as long as I can remember.
 
nas said:
I heard it was equivalent to licking inside a toilet bowl 10 times which at the time was sufficient to convince my infant mind.

Buy a nail clip and use it, simple as that really.
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It isn't though, is it? Because if you're a nail biter then you have no nails to clip with said nail clip.

As for it being as dirty as a toilet bowl... so what? Unless you're prodding your fingers into dog **** or human remains or whatever, whatevers under your nails is only going to help your immune system.
 
i dont bite the nails per say, but the skin around, if it flakes a little. sometimes it causes a lot of pain. Now i try and use a nail clipper to snip off the small piece of skin, so i'm not tempted to gnaw away at it.
 
If you want to stop chewing your fingernails, just chomp on a toenail instead. Hmmm, saying that it might look a bit strange sat on a bus/train with your foot in your gob.
 
Xire said:
I bite my nails. Who cares.
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a lot of people find it quite disgusting to look at and it tends to make you look nervous, uncomfortable and generally of weak character. I chew my nails and my other half hates it. She's always telling me off. I do it worst at home watching TV on the sofa (why? :o ) but have started to find myself doing it at work too which really is not good for the above reasons. I occasionally see people on the Tube do it which puts me off for a while (Tube = germs) but I always go back. Funnily enough seeing anyone do it makes me realise how pathetic it looks, but I always carry on..
 
I solved this in my youth by simply using lots of finger tip plasters - the ones that wrap around so grip well and still quite small.

The bad tasting products for painting on failed as by the time I tasted it the nail was bitten! The memory of the event was also soon gone.

These days with all our phone and keyboard use this approach is probably not convenient, but even when I did this it was only about a third of the day and a few most bitten nails but it was enough to break the habit.
 
With me it was ten pin bowling. I started bowling regularly and found that very often it would hurt because my nails were all chewed down. I just said to myself "I've had enough of this" and stopped biting them.
 
I destroy my nails and the skin around them with biting. I tend to do it when I'm bored or sitting in a meeting and have nothing else to do. Most of the time I don't even realise I'm doing it until something hurts.
 
I did it until I was 17. It caused a an infection on one of my left fingers making it swell up. A course of antibiotics didn't suss it, so I had to get the finger sliced open in casualty then it was in dressing for the next 4 weeks. It did put a stop to my nail biting, but it certainly was a lesson learnt the hard way! :eek:
 
Pawnless Endgame said:
I did it until I was 17. It caused a an infection on one of my left fingers making it swell up. A course of antibiotics didn't suss it, so I had to get the finger sliced open in casualty then it was in dressing for the next 4 weeks. It did put a stop to my nail biting, but it certainly was a lesson learnt the hard way! :eek:
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Ouch!

Also, my girlfriend's Dad was an undertaker before he retired. He used to bring people's ashes home at night sometimes, so he would threaten to put their fingers in them if they continued to bite their fingernails :p
 
I'm 36 now and have always bitten my nails. I've been making an effort the last 4 weeks or so not to bite them. My thumb nails are pretty impressive in fact (I almost want to take a picture of them! :D )

What I've decided to do rather than just go cold turkey is to grow 8 of them and bite two (one on each hand) and so I figured it gives me a bit of chewing still, but also I hope once I see how nice the others are, it'll help me stop biting completely.

Might even treat myself to my first ever manicure when I've got it sussed. :)
 
Get yourself a notepad
Make a mark every time you bite your nails and then every time you manage to stop yourself
It will help you become aware of the sensations which make you want to bite your nails
Then you need to do something instead when you feel the craving like put your hands in your pockets, sit on your hands or fold your arms something which will make it impossible to bite your nails
Its well understood that you can not stop a habit but you can alter them but simply changing how you respond to the craving
 
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