A method to stop biting fingernails
Biting your nails (Onychophagia, which is a phobia) is a quite typical habit for alleviating stress which affects kids as well as grown-ups; the majority of nail biters stop the habit when they reach the age of around 30.
A 1995 study showed that 25-35% of kids between 7-10 are nail biters, compared to 44% teens, 19 to29% are young adults, while only 5% are older people.
Biting your nails tends to be at its highest between the ages of ten and eighteen, and, although boys and girls appear equally inclined to bite their nails in their earlier years, after the age of 10, more boys than girls are nail biters.
There are several situations in which you might bite your nails, from stress, excitement, and boredom, to a learned habit. You can be reading, on the phone, watching television, or you can feel anxious at work and bite your nails, without even realising it.
When you are stressed your hand often goes up to your mouth ready to bite, because there is an increasing sense of tension, and a sense of relief and rush of pleasure, after you have bitten them to the quick - then there is probably a stinging sensation.
One way to cease biting your nails is hypnotherapy: Through deep relaxation and easy access to the unconscious mind that governs our habits, one can painlessly stop any habit.
The condition called nail biting, is often considered to be a common reaction to stress. A child or adult uses this as a coping mechanism to relieve pent up emotions or anxiety. When it comes to nail biting it can be a reasonable subsitution for one thing for another or it also can be used for a tension reliever.
Nail biting can be due to any number of causes, such as emotional stress or a troubled family life, work environment, or school setting - or it may have no real cause and simply be a nasty habit. Nail biting may run in the family thus indicating a genetic factor, it can be due to many things.
The condition called nail biting includes biting the cuticle, and the soft skin surrounding the nail, as well as the nail itself, leaving your fingertips red and sore and your cuticles may bleed, increasing the risk of infections around your fingers and mouth. Nail biting not only harms your fingernails, but can also be the cause of dental problems and gum infections.
There are several treatments which will help you stop biting your nails:
- Hypnotherapy Plymouth has had a lot of success with helping nail biters - it is a relaxing way to change your behaviour, and stop biting your nails. Nail biting is done at an unconscious level, you do it without even noticing - by using hypnosis the urge to bite your nails disappears. It is a very safe and relaxing way to help you stop that habit.
- Cognitive behaviour therapy (CBT)
- Stimulus Control (SC) - to help you identify and then eliminate, avoid, or change the particular environmental factors, mood states, or circumstances that have become associated with that trigger, ‘picking’ or ‘biting’
You can trim your nails, keep them carefully manicured, and line them with a compound that keeps them strong. (Nail Envy by OPI is a great company) it’s similar to clear nail varnish, and it’s unisex! Matt Strengthener designed specifically for males is available, too. Making sure that your nails are appealing and tended to will make you think twice before you continue biting them.