Onychophagia

[Truck]

aka nail biting. i want to stop!!! i read one of the easiest ways to get rid of this habit is to replace it with another, more socially acceptable habit. anyone know of one? I read an interesting article saying how nail biting and other habits like it could be cause by serotonin levels, and that when either your levels are two low or high (stress or bordom), you start biting or doing your bad habit of choice. I feel like the only way ill be able to stop is if i just cover up my fingers for a month or something.. maybe i could get some fake finger nails to put on top, haha.

anyway, anyone here have the same problem? anyone over come it? i'm just tired of this shit.

 

[D_Shermie Shtoinkle]

I have been told there could be underlying psychological reasons that cause the nail biting in that case I assume that just finding another thing to do instead wouldnt really help.

I am sure there will be some good ideas in this forum.

 

[D_Doe_Ray_Mi]

When I first began practicing dentistry I had also become certified as a hypnotherapist. I figured it would be a unique alternative to offer to deal with patient anxieties and even anesthetics. One patient asked if I could assist her to stop smoking and I agreed to give it a try. When she came back a few weeks later for a follow-up she burst into my office, hugged me and profusely thanked me for she had no urge to smoke and had stopped her life-long habit of chewing her fingernails and believe me she'd had a serious problem with that. Just a thought for you to consider. Good luck!

 

[D_Inglethorp Rumpshow]

I stopped biting my nails when I started smoking. :silly:

 

[jackoalltrades]

Clip your nails every morning - Nothing left to bite...

 

[Mastur]

I started biting my nails as a child. And not just biting. I would 'scalp' the top layers of nail too! It looked so terrible that my hands were constantly balled into fists to hide my nails. I tried using the bitter liquid... I got to like the taste...

Eventually, in 11th grade, I fell in love with this beautiful girl and that was enough motivation to make me stop, since I didn't want to be ashamed holding hands.

At varsity however, I started the awful habit again. I got fed-up with myself and decided to lavish attention on my nails. I bought a manicure set and clipped and filed all the rough edges and buffed my nails to an amazing shine. After that, the moment my nails would touch my lips, the polished smoothness would feel so alien and I would realize what I was about to do and stop.

I haven't bitten my nails yet and it's been years since. Now I rarely do more than just clipping them, although it's advisable to file them a little as not to have any annoying rough edges that could tempt you to bite them again.

 

[DaveyR]

When I first began practicing dentistry I had also become certified as a hypnotherapist. I figured it would be a unique alternative to offer to deal with patient anxieties and even anesthetics. One patient asked if I could assist her to stop smoking and I agreed to give it a try. When she came back a few weeks later for a follow-up she burst into my office, hugged me and profusely thanked me for she had no urge to smoke and had stopped her life-long habit of chewing her fingernails and believe me she'd had a serious problem with that. Just a thought for you to consider. Good luck!

I read the first sentence and thought you were going to suggest having his teeth pulled.

 

[Blorkin]

If it's habit, they make a clear (non-shiny) nail polish that has a disgusting taste that you can put on it, so that your brain becomes conditioned to "finger + mouth = bad taste".

This does not always work, my parents did it to me and i still bit my nails with it on, they eventually stoped because if they kept it up it would have been bad for my health (this was when i was younger like 10ish). It should work for a normal person because you condition your brain to associate it with a bad though, you can also do this with dogs you ring a bell and give them food and they will start salviating whenever a bell is rung regardless of food being present. To this day i still bit my nails and have had no side effects, but i dont bit my nails when i am stressed, only sometimes. Also on the replacing a bad habit with another bad habit you can replace it with a good one. When i am stressed i read a book (can be a bad habit, sophmore year my parents took reading away from me b/c my grades were bad). I guess you can say i bit my nails for the hell of it and to keep them trimmed.