1. Keep Your Nails Groomed
For some nail biters, it's about obsessively "fixing" problems with their nails. One solution is to keep your nails groomed. Manicure kits usually contain tools such as nail clippers, a file, small scissors and a cuticle pusher or orange stick. If you keep a kit with you, or even just carry a file, you can take care of broken nails or hangnails without biting them off.
1. Keep Your Nails Groomed
For some nail biters, it's about obsessively "fixing" problems with their nails. One solution is to keep your nails groomed. Manicure kits usually contain tools such as nail clippers, a file, small scissors and a cuticle pusher or orange stick. If you keep a kit with you, or even just carry a file, you can take care of broken nails or hangnails without biting them off.
Try giving yourself a manicure once a week. Start by clipping your nails if necessary, and then smooth the edges with the file working in one direction. Soak your nails for a few minutes in a bowl of warm water with olive oil or lotion added, and then gently push the cuticles back with a pusher or stick wrapped in cotton. Dry your hands and finish by rubbing on more lotion or a cuticle cream. You can use a buffer to make your nails shine.
If you can afford to get a professional manicure at least a few times a month (and they're for both men and women), spending the money may function as a deterrent. Polishing your nails with colored or clear polish can also help because you won't want to ruin your work. You could even consider getting fake nails or tips. This will give your real nails a chance to grow, and the added expense might be enough to make you leave your nails alone entirely.
If you've tried the manicure and it's not working, don't worry. There's another deterrent that involves doing something to your nails up next.
2: Apply a Deterrent
If you visit the nail care aisle in the drugstore, you might have seen creams, oils or nail polishes specifically designed to stop nail biting. Since nail biting is an unconscious habit, the reasoning goes, you'll be startled into awareness when you taste the nasty solution on your fingers and stop what you're doing. Many of these products are also marketed to stop thumb sucking (yet another nervous habit, but one that rarely lasts into adulthood).
Ingredients for these products are typically hot, such as cayenne pepper extract, or bitter, such as denatonium saccharide. The latter is a nontoxic chemical compound often added to toxic products such as antifreeze to discourage children and animals from drinking it. Some people also try home deterrent solutions such as straight black pepper or bitters (an alcoholic beverage). However, these are more easily washed off, while commercial products are designed to last longer.
Some nail biters have successfully kicked the habit this way, while others get used to the taste or are too disgusted by it to keep it on their nails. Some people try other deterrents such as applying stickers or bandages to their fingers, or wearing a bracelet, as a reminder not to bite them. Dentists can also fit you for a mouth guard if your nail biting is seriously damaging your teeth.
Putting something on your nails might still not be enough to make you stop biting, so perhaps a distraction is in order.
3. Distract Yourself.
Once you become aware of your nail biting habit, you could try directing that energy into a different action. For some people, that means keeping their hands busy so they don't have a chance to unconsciously put them up to their mouths. A stress ball — basically a little rubber ball that you can squeeze in the palm of your hand — might help. Whenever you find yourself starting to nibble a nail, take out the stress ball instead. It's not quite the same, but if you stick with it, the urge to bite your nails instead may disappear. You could also get some Silly Putty and knead it with your hands.
If you'd rather do something more productive with your hands, consider taking up a hobby that involves constant handwork like drawing, painting, sewing, knitting or crocheting. When you get really comfortable with one of the latter two, you can do them while watching TV, waiting in line or riding on a bus — all times when you may be spacing out and unconsciously start nail biting.
Rather than looking to your hands, it might be time to think about what's going on in your head when you bite your nails. Let's find out why the reasons behind nail biting are even more important than the actual act.
4: Find Out Why You Bite
At first, you might think that there really isn't a "why" when it comes to nail biting. You just started doing it one day and kept on doing it until it became a habit. That might be true for some nail biters. However, for many of them, there are very specific reasons for it, such as boredom, stress, fear or anxiety.
Maybe the first time you bit your nails was also the first day of school or the first time you attended a sleepover at a friend's house. Biting your nails was something physical that you could do to relieve the stress, fear and worry that you were probably feeling.
If you can figure out the motivation for biting your nails, then you can find a more constructive way to deal with your feelings. Consider keeping a sort of nail biting journal. You don't even have to write much; just answer a few questions when you find yourself starting to bite. Where are you? What are you doing? How do you feel, both physically and mentally? If you keep up this journal, you'll be able to look back and see a pattern.
Now that you see why you're biting, find ways to deal with it. You won't always be able to remove the source of stress, so find something else to do. If you feel bored at work, go for a quick walk or get a drink of water. If flying makes you anxious, make sure you have lots of reading material and a laptop so you can watch movies (or go online). Talking to somebody about your feelings can also help.
Maybe you've tried all of the suggestions we've given so far and nothing has worked. Next up, it might be time to seek professional help.
5: Seek Treatment
If your nail biting is extreme — meaning that you regularly bleed, have lost nails or have permanent damage due to your habit — then it may be time to seek help. Onychophagia is actually part of a group of behaviors that fall under the diagnosis of obsessive-compulsive disorders (OCD). If you suspect that you may have OCD, consult a psychiatrist. He may suggest medication, therapy or a combination of both. Medications that may be prescribed include drugs that you've probably heard about, such as Paxil, Zoloft or Celexa.
Even if you don't have a diagnosis of OCD, you can still try one of several behavioral treatments to curb your nail biting. These may include:
•Cognitive behavioral therapy – These are sessions to explore your feelings and behaviors as well as seeking new ways of behaving. It may also include learning relaxation techniques.
•Habit reversal training – This is used specifically to treat repetitive behaviors. It involves learning how to identify when the behavior is coming on and replacing it with another behavior.
•Exposure and response prevention – This therapy includes slowly increasing exposure to what makes you anxious or worried, while avoiding your typical response (in this case, the nail biting).
Finally, some nail biters have found relief through hypnosis. Typically, you'll be taught the patient cues so your subconscious mind can make your conscious mind aware of the habit. You'll also learn how to eliminate the compulsion to bite and how to relax more in general.
If you try one or more of these tips, you may look down one day to realize that you no longer have to be ashamed of your nails.
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