How to stop biting your nails

Question

Biting my nails is a bad habit that I picked up in elementary school. I’m not sure why I do it, but I know it has turned into a bizarre, repulsive habit. It is time to stop biting my nails, and I want to know what to do.

Answer 1

Biting your nails is not just child’s play. You may have developed this problem as a nervous habit. Maybe you got scared and nervous very easily as a child. Or a traumatic event happened to you and you have not been the same since.

So the first step to fight your nail biting habit is to find out why you are so nervous or tense. Many people have deep psychological problems that they have forced into the back of their minds. Whenever they are reminded of a bad event, they develop nervous habits.

A psychiatrist is the best person to turn to for answers. A nail biter is usually referred to a behavioral therapist. This professional studies the links between emotions and behaviors. You would learn how the environment may have caused you to engage in destructive behavior. Then, you go through modification treatments to keep your behavior under control.

Answer 2

It is definitely not pleasurable or beneficial to be a nail biter. When you think of all the dirt and bacteria that reside under the nails, the thought is sick and unhealthy.

To keep yourself from doing it, cut your nails short and then you have nothing to bite.

Or, instead of bite your nails, chew gum. You may think that is no good because you will develop a bad gum chewing habit. However, chewing gum looks much better and healthier than biting the nails.

Answer 3

I have had the same issue, and your question how to stop biting your nails was once mine. It’s really frustrating, but I somehow managed to overcome it. Look at your nail biting in the same way you look at your eating habits. The nails cannot be so appetizing that you cannot help but bite them constantly. So I put some chili powder, lemon or other distasteful substance on the nails. Whenever I put the nail in my mouth, I immediately spit it back out. After a few times, I was fed up and quit nibbling on my nails. Once you’ve done it, it never felt that hard any more. So I suggest you try this trick too.