# Breaking my nail biting habit



## RockNroses (Aug 5, 2015)

Ok, a bit of a background story here; I've had SA since 2003 when my father died and that exact day I started biting my nails, I do it for all the reasons possible: bored, hungry, tired, anxious, cold, hot, sad, angry... It gets pretty bad when I'm angry though _which is most of the time_ xD

I've tried to stop multiple times, all attempts failed obviously. But this time I'm done. I have a wedding in august 13th, so my goal is to be able to have my natural nails done thay day. I'll be taking pictures of my hands each week and post them here.

I started last week, july 17th ( I attached a picture of both my hands. Warning: Don't look if bitten nails trigger you or smth)

Update: 07-21-2016 (picture attached)


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## Kevin001 (Jan 2, 2015)

Oh wow this is awesome. I'm so rooting for you.


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## sarafinanickelbocker (May 16, 2010)

Ouch! (the 14th) D: 

Looking good so far. Keep it up!


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## sad1231234 (Jul 10, 2016)

Good for you


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## VanitysFiend (Jun 13, 2016)

I bite my nails too, even peel the skin around them, I'm not as bad as I used to be, but lets say I rarely need to actually clip them...

Have you tried wearing gloves?


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## millenniumman75 (Feb 4, 2005)

I chipped a tooth and had to have it filled.....eight days later, that filling popped out of my tooth because of my nail biting. It cost me money - I haven't bitten my nails since.


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## RockNroses (Aug 5, 2015)

VanitysFiend said:


> Have you tried wearing gloves?


Nail polish, gloves, chewing gum, fake nails... Nothing worked I always just take whatever I have off, it's even more fun with the polish you get to pick it off xD


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## Aribeth (Jan 14, 2012)

ayyyyyyyy your nails make my skin crawl


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## komorikun (Jan 11, 2009)

Find something else to suck on maybe? I don't bite my nails but I suck on my left hand fingers, not the thumb, mainly the pinky and the ring finger. The skin on the top of the fingers is a bit callused from it.


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## VanitysFiend (Jun 13, 2016)

RockNroses said:


> Nail polish, gloves, chewing gum, fake nails... Nothing worked I always just take whatever I have off, it's even more fun with the polish you get to pick it off xD


If nothing else I admire your dedication...


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## RockNroses (Aug 5, 2015)

Weirdly enough, I stil haven't given up, I'm pretty much reminding myself to take my hands aways from my mouth automatically now.. I guess it really is in the mind like they say :yes


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## Ominous Indeed (Sep 6, 2015)

RockNroses said:


> Weirdly enough, I stil haven't given up, I'm pretty much reminding myself to take my hands aways from my mouth automatically now.. I guess it really is in the mind like they say :yes












This should get you covered.


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## Kevin001 (Jan 2, 2015)

Update?


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## Daniel g (Sep 14, 2016)

I stopped biting my nails with a special custom-made dental device.
worked for me  good luck:
nail-biting-solution.com


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## TheFoxSays (Dec 4, 2016)

My dad is a plumber. He got over nail biting the first day on the job.

:laughing:


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## CrystalGemPearl (Oct 3, 2016)

I'm still a thumb sucker, so I can relate to your oral fixation.


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## Poko47 (Aug 14, 2017)

*What worked for me*



RockNroses said:


> Weirdly enough, I stil haven't given up, I'm pretty much reminding myself to take my hands aways from my mouth automatically now.. I guess it really is in the mind like they say :yes


I think most habits that come about as a result of escaping SA have a simple fix. Ultimately there is the change that needs to take place in the way we respond to the initial thoughts / feelings that result in the anxiousness and also deal with the physical habits like with nail biting. For the physical habit, few things are as effective as NLP combined with hypnosis, this is how I successfully stopped my nail biting habit. Progressive Hypnosis have good a self hypnosis recording on youtube that might help you make the change you desire with the nail biting

Don't stop stopping!


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## millenniumman75 (Feb 4, 2005)

My nail biting habit broke after it had removed a filling for a chipped front tooth that had just been put in eight days earlier. I had to go to work for four days with a chipped front tooth.


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## Revenwyn (Apr 11, 2011)

RockNroses said:


> Ok, a bit of a background story here; I've had SA since 2003 when my father died and that exact day I started biting my nails, I do it for all the reasons possible: bored, hungry, tired, anxious, cold, hot, sad, angry... It gets pretty bad when I'm angry though _which is most of the time_ xD
> 
> I've tried to stop multiple times, all attempts failed obviously. But this time I'm done. I have a wedding in august 13th, so my goal is to be able to have my natural nails done thay day. I'll be taking pictures of my hands each week and post them here.
> 
> ...


Please look up http://www.bfrb.org/

Compulsive nail biting is in a class of disorders called Body-focused Repetitive Behaviors along with skin-picking and hair pulling. It's not a "habit' it's an impulse control disorder. I have hair pulling, skin picking and nail biting.

There's not really any treatment that helps every person, it's all individual, and some people (like me) don't respond to any treatment at all.

And it's not your fault.


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## WillYouStopDave (Jul 14, 2013)

I used to do this many years ago. I think I used to bite my toenails too. That was when I was flexible enough to actually reach my toenails. :lol

Don't know why I never do it anymore. The downside is that I just let my nails grow and people probably wonder WTF is wrong with me when they see that. I do trim them from time to time but usually not before they start to cause some kind of issues.


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## rodriguezsmith (Jun 7, 2017)

I'm also having the same problem


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