Stop Finger Nail Biting
If you are trying to stop finger nail biting there are plenty of methods and treatments that you can try. Biting nails affects people of all ages. It tends to affect a lot of teenagers and children between the ages of 10 to adulthood. Most commonly, fingernail biting amongst children starts at the onset of puberty, carrying on throughout the teenage years. Fingernail biting can indeed carry on well into the early adult years. It tends to affect more boys than girls, and is usually cured by the time the teenager reaches adulthood.
Most people tend to bite their nails out of nervousness, stress and anxiety, boredom, or just because they have learned it from another family member. Nail biting, has many cousins in the form of body focused repetitive behaviors. These include pulling one’s hair, picking one’s nose, or picking at one’s skin.
There are many different types of treatment to help you to stop finger nail biting. Many of these methods will actually focus on preventing you from biting your nails by establishing some sort of physical barrier between you and your nails. Other methods take a more psychological approach and try and change your behavior over a period of time.
One of the psychological methods to help you to stop nail biting is to try and keep your nails well manicured. By consciously taking care of your nails, trimming them and filing them, you are being constantly encouraged to keep them looking good. When you first begin your conscious attempt at stopping nail biting, you should start a diary. In the diary you can not only try and isolate the times when you’re nail biting is at its worst, your entries should also be a record of how you feel about your nails, and what you think other people’s perceptions are of your fingernails. When your fingernails are in good condition, when they are beautifully manicured, this will help you to psychologically defeat your habit of nail biting.
There are also many stress management techniques which you can then to stop finger nail biting during times of heightened stress. Some of these techniques include using a stress ball. When you are feeling stressed, you should take out your stress ball and gently squeeze it, you are trying to focus all of your stress into the ball. Another technique is to tap your fingers on your desktop when you are feeling stressed and you want to start biting your nails.
If you are trying to find how to stop nail biting, maybe a nail polish will work for you. There are plenty of anti nail biting polishes to help you stop finger nail biting. You can purchase these from many different places in your local town, or over the Internet. These nail biting polishes are applied to your fingernails once every two or three days. When you put your fingers into your mouth you will get a bitter taste which will act as a warning and remind you to stop biting your nails. These nail polishes can also be used to prevent thumb sucking.
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For me, I have found that the biggest problem I have is that I can’t stand it when there is even the slightest imperfection – a rough part of the nail, the tiniest knick that can be barely felt, or the skin is peeling or rough (even in the slightest). Then once I pick, it makes it worse and even as it heals it can offer a little layer that is easy to pick at.
For me, the only thing that helped, was to take the advice to keep them well manicured. I bought a ton of nail files — but I had to have the ones that have buffer to smooth out completely any roughness. I also carried around lotion and neosporin to deal with rough and healing skin. The nail files and lotions have to be with me all the time – in my pocket, in my purse, on the coffee table, in the bathroom, in the car- wherever I may be hanging out and messing with my fingers and nails.
That has been the biggest help so far.
OH…and if you area “peeler’ type of picker, stay away from nail polish and shiny coatings as they chip and peel, and can get you right back into the picking habit. Stick with nail creams until you beat the picking habit.
I know EXACTLY what you mean about being a perfectionist when it comes to fingernails. Thanks for the tips.