How to Stop Nail Biting
Most people find they started nail biting in childhood and that it continued into adulthood. Not only does nail biting cause cosmetic issues how it looks, as well as risk of sores or infection, often chronic nail biting can cause emotion distress and may well have an emotional root.
To help you stop biting your nails, here are a few recommended tips:
Keep your nails cut short. This reduces the temptation to bite.
Paint your nails with bitter-tasting nail polish. This stuff is available from pharmacies, is safe but tastes truly terrible, which can help to discourage nail biting.
Get regular manicures can help you, as you have the satisfaction of seeing them look so smart. Many report that Gel manicures are a particularly effective barrier. Some use gloves, which might only be useful at home, but it is an option
Track where and when you bite them, and identify your triggers. It could be a place, when you’re at work or watching TV, or a physical trigger such as noticing a hang nail, or certain feelings by like boredom or stress. When you start to work out triggers and any patterns, you can start to plan how to avoid triggers and support alternative behaviours. Even being more aware of what makes you bite can be a massive help in stopping biting your nails.
Using an alternative behaviour can help to initially interrupt the urge to bite your nails. I am a fan of tapping (EFT) for this stage, as it is more soothing to the body, but many people keep their hands busy with fiddle toys or putty to keep their hands busy.
Recognise that nail biting creates a light trance, as you focus totally on the nail. Mindfulness can help you notice if this happens.
You may have tried all of these things before and still struggle. It may suggest their is an underlying emotional reason for why this soothing behaviour developed. For many people it is. Nail biting is actually considered a BFRB, which is term covering a range of body focus repetitive behaviours such as hair pulling, and skin picking among many others.
Try asking yourself how does the nail biting help you? What is it’s function? Curiosity and Self compassion can show you clues for how to be free of nail biting.
At Inna Therapies, I specialise in treating nail biting holistically, using a powerful method of hypnotherapy and body techniques in a signature BFREE Program
We also have a BFRB Newsletter with monthly tips that may help you.