I need to stop biting my nails. Throw some advice at me

[Kidd]

I've been struggling with this a lot since I was a kid and it's not even a nervous habit anymore--it's just something that I do. Luckily, I'm a little more conscious of it than some, and I never bite too low or close to the skin. That said, it's still a bad habit and one that I can't seem to stop. So, does anyone have any advice on how to go about stop biting my nails?

[MissCapnCrunch]

Put some clear nail polish on it! That stuff tastes nasty and will probably make you not want to chew so much! :)

[Dinh AaronMk]

Hack off your fingers. I'm sure by now you can get prosthetics to replace them. Or soon you will.

[Sunflower]

I bit my nails up until my senior year of high school. One thing that I did was i wrapped my fingertips in bandaids (I always bit my nails too short and they'd bleed) so I couldn't get to my fingernails. It sounds weird but it helped me a little bit. There were two things that stopped me from my bad habit: my wisdom teeth and to be a bit more feminine. When my top wisdom teeth came in I couldn't bite my nails (or anything) normally and it hurt to open my mouth and that jump started everything. So my second reason was vain and it probably wouldn't help you any. I was really embarassed of the way my nails looked because they were little more than raw little stumps and I always hid my hands in my pockets to hide them. After my wisdom teeth prevented me from biting down on my nails and I told myself "you're going to stop biting your nails because you want them to be pretty"...I just kind of stopped? (What is sort of ironic now is that I keep my nails long)

• Chew gum or do something to keep your mouth or hands busy. (This seems to work well for me when I get the urge to bite my nails.)
• Use clear nail polish (I was also told there is nail polish that is made for nail biters.) Someone also told me to put something spicy on my nails (like rubbing a pepper on them).
• Catch yourself when you're biting your nails and make the effort to put ypur hands down. Sometimes peole don't know that they are doing something because it has become "normal" to them.
• Have a goal. It's easier if you have some sort of motivation to keep you going.

I wish you the best of luck~

[mdk]

Keep a habanero pepper in your pocked, and develop a habit of rubbing it vigorously whenever your hands are idle.

[Foster]

I've been struggling with this a lot since I was a kid and it's not even a nervous habit anymore--it's just something that I do. Luckily, I'm a little more conscious of it than some, and I never bite too low or close to the skin. That said, it's still a bad habit and one that I can't seem to stop. So, does anyone have any advice on how to go about stop biting my nails?

@Kidd

Chew on a pencil and try to look sexy while doing so.

-Eventually that will get old. We'll be sure to let you know when. Alternately, invent a motion to indicate "I'm idle/bored/thinking". -Tapping a dubstep-beat on your cheekbones can work (strumming a desk is a bad idea)... Or, clean your ears before biting nails. A fingerload of ear-wax is a pretty good deterrent. -(or not, if your obsessive of keeping the underside of your nails clean)

[Kidd]

Thanks for the advice and "advice," everyone. :D Especially you, Sunflower. I'll definitely try the gum thing. Coming up with a goal will be a little more difficult, I think because I've grown to just not care about looking feminine or nanything. (But don't take this the wrong way, I'm not putting anyone down for it and I think it's awesome when other girls have the motivation and skill to pretty up, lol.)

[Sunflower]

You're welcome~ I think they sell rings or something like that with movable parts to help with fidgeting/boredom that you can try to help keep your hands away from your mouth. Maybe your goal is to stop biting your nails because it hurts or because it is doing more harm to you than good. It doesn't have to be a large goal, just one that you know isn't going to impossible or crazy (like growing your nails out so you can file them into claws in order to gouge out eyes or something...)

[Foster]

*absent-mindedly nibbles a pencil*

[Revans Exile]

I used to do something similar, everytime I got the urge I would hurt myself.

[twave]

I had a tendency to bite my nails. Mostly because they would get longer than I prefer and bother me. It however is not a very sanitary habit and since quitting I've noticed that I don't get sick quite as often. That is not a problem for everyone but something to keep in mind. I started carrying a nail file around. Any time I caught myself biting my nails I would stop and switch to the nail file. Eventually you'll learn to use the file. And just so you know I'm a guy so the whole looking pretty kind of thing didn't play a factor.

[Foster]

I started carrying a nail file around. Any time I caught myself biting my nails I would stop and switch to the nail file. Eventually you'll learn to use the file. And just so you know I'm a guy so the whole looking pretty kind of thing didn't play a factor.

@t2wave

Similar solution is a small 3-function swiss army-knife's scissors can be used to trim toe and fingernails. And anvil (wood or metal) and knife/chisel or just about anything sharp can also be used to trim the nails more effectively than teeth, although I recommend the contact-chopping method where the bit of the blade makes gentle contact and one merely applies the necessary pressure to finish the cut. Being a swiss army knife, it had many other uses, such as removing splinters, cutting rope/cordage, stripping wires, re-assembling computers, and plucking bits of popcorn kernels out of your teeth. Oh, and tightening hose-clamps. Foster was trained well.

[twave]

I started carrying a nail file around. Any time I caught myself biting my nails I would stop and switch to the nail file. Eventually you'll learn to use the file. And just so you know I'm a guy so the whole looking pretty kind of thing didn't play a factor.

@t2wave

Similar solution is a small 3-function swiss army-knife's scissors can be used to trim toe and fingernails. And anvil (wood or metal) and knife/chisel or just about anything sharp can also be used to trim the nails more effectively than teeth, although I recommend the contact-chopping method where the bit of the blade makes gentle contact and one merely applies the necessary pressure to finish the cut. Being a swiss army knife, it had many other uses, such as removing splinters, cutting rope/cordage, stripping wires, re-assembling computers, and plucking bits of popcorn kernels out of your teeth. Oh, and tightening hose-clamps. Foster was trained well.

@Foster

Yes, I have a multi-tool now that I use for work as well.

[NuttsnBolts]

Get some tin snips and cut off your fingers. That'll stop it for sure. ;)

[UltimatePuzle]

Well as a child my dance teacher told me that all the bacteria that grew under my nails would form worms in my stomach, and as a five year old I believed her. Then I went back to it when I was in middle school, bullying and the such, then my grandmother told me the chemicals in my nail polish would eat a hole in my stomach, I was very freaked out by stomachs at a young age. For a while I just fascinated myself with nail polish and forgot about biting them. There's my story. They make nail polish that is supposed to keep you from biting, Bitrex I think it's called. If not use the hair tie method. Every time you think about biting snap a hair tie or rubber band on your wrist. I hear it works. Best of luck!

[TheDookieNut]

Nail biting was classified as an addiction not too long ago after doctors found it released stress relieving endorphins. What helped me was getting false nails put on. Id try to bit out of habit and it badly hurt, I've stopped now because of it. Also getting gel painted on there helped too, I couldn't peel it off like you can with nail polish.

[Kidd]

Oh that's interesting. I had always assumed it had to do with stress, but I never thought it could be classified as an addiction. That must be why even though I'm not really stressed anymore, I'm having such trouble stopping. I hadn't considered fake nails. I suppose I could get some cheap ones and give that a shot. I've never heard of painting your nails with gel either?? I'm learning so much, thank you all Currently trying to play with a little rock owl I've had for a while whenever I get the urge. I don't particularly want to resort to hurting myself (even with a rubberband) quite yet, but if these other methods don't work I might have to, lol.

[EnergyWhale]

Stopping myself from biting my nails isn't the problem Noticing I'm doing it, is! You'll find the biggest part of stopping is that it's so ingrained in your habbits, that half the time it's something you do subconsciously. I had limited success with the stuff you put on your nails, and in the end gave up. Still, least I don't have to remember to cut them every few weeks. *looks at toes* ah crap, excuse me.

[Kidd]

That is a good point. I have been getting better at noticing when I'm doing it, so that's allowing me to stop myself. Still trying, though, and caught myself nibbling today during class. But if the progress continues to go as well as it is, I could be done nail biting by the weekend. So here's hoping

[HeySeuss]

Having to deal with something similar, I noticed that once you start to deconstruct the habit, you are on your way to ending it. In my case, I jaw-clench as a reaction that creates more tension in my jaw/neck/shoulders, so I try to stop it when I catch it.