Do you bite your nails?

[mocha.]

Just wondering how many users on TBT are cursed with nail biting!
I never used to bite my nails until around 10 y.o when I idolised my friend at the time (I wanted to be just like her and she bit her nails so I started and haven’t really stopped since )

I go through phases of biting them and growing them back and I think it’s tied to my anxiety or when I’m concentrating, as I always bite my nails if I’m doing work or if I’m nervous about something. It makes me really self conscious because I’ve pretty much ruined my nail beds and I feel like I don’t have “pretty” hands as a result of nail biting.

Some Qs:
when did you start biting your nails and why?

If you’ve successfully broken the habit, how did you do it?

 

[Mick]

I used to! I think until maybe 18-ish? As for the reason, it was probably just an urge for destruction, haha.

I didn't make a conscious decision to stop, I just kinda... did. But come to think of it, maybe it had something to do with me moving out and not having to deal with the massive amounts of stress and frustration my parents caused me anymore.

 

[Holla]

I used to that’s for sure. From as young as I could remember until a teenager at some point maybe 13 or 14?

I stopped by just keeping my nails cut short. Any little bit of length bothers me but as long as I cut them off with clippers on a regular basis I don’t have the urge to bite them anymore.

 

[Croconaw]

I do it. I’m guilty of biting my toenails too when I cannot find nail clippers. My nails are extremely short anyway. I can’t stand having long nails or any sort of polish on them either. Yes, I’m flexible enough to be able to do that second thing I mentioned, although it’s kind of gross.

 

[Disneyfangirl23]

I used to bite my nails but then I stopped because I have a spa day coming up and a wedding

 

[Violet Witch]

I used to when I was a kid and then I just started growing out of the habit. I remember using clear nail varnish as a way to deter myself from biting because of the bitter taste and realising I had bits of nail varnish in my mouth. The only time I'll bite my nails now is if one is broken and I can't find a nail file to solve the problem.

 

[xlisapisa]

It use to be a very bad habit of mine when I was younger. I did it when I was stress or anxious. I no longer bite my nails. I guess realizing how dirty nails actually are the older I got and painting my nails did help kick the habit. Nail polish left a very gross taste in my mouth so anytime I had it on my nails I would avoid my mouth at all cost!

 

[corncob]

i used to, yes i thankfully managed to break the habit in either high school or college. for me it seemed like it was an issue of hating the feeling of anything uneven about them at all, and sometimes i still have the urge to chew it off if there's a jagged edge or a hangnail. i'm really glad i managed to stop because it's honestly such a gross habit; i can't believe there's anyone on earth that washes their hands and scrubs under their nails enough for it not to be a potential hazard (especially with the pandemic and all).

i don't really remember how i kicked it. mostly i just refused to do it and kept a nail clipper handy whenever i could.

 

[-Lumi-]

I bit my nails for a really long time. I remember biting them ever since I was little and we'd try all sorts of thing to get me to stop. My mum would paint my nails fun colours, or use that polish that tastes gross, etc. but nothing worked. I feel terrible because I gave my habit to one of my friends, too! She said she never used to bite her nails but noticed me doing it a lot so she started doing it too I even had fake nails once and they didn't even stop me.

The only thing that really helped me stop biting my nails was getting my job with kids. For some reason it didn't bother me to bite my nails in my high school which I'm sure was gross and full of germs but as soon as I started working with kids I was done. I knew that when I started my job I was likely going to get sick (it's common that your first few months/even year of childcare you'll get whatever the kids get) so I was trying my absolute best to avoid that. I wouldn't eat in the classroom with my kids or touch my face so naturally I stopped biting my nails too. I was definitely an anxious nail biter and I've basically just replaced the habit. My fear of getting sick outweighed my need to bite my nails. I just fiddle with my hair, tug on my ear, etc. and biting my lip is a big replacement habit that I've been trying to break.

I will say though if you go the route of painting your nails to try and break the habit, invest in gel polishes! I used regular polishes at the start and it was a bit useless for me. I find painting my nails with normal nail polish to be really cumbersome - I'm not very good at it and regular nail polish is less forgiving in terms of mistakes and it takes ages to dry. Plus once it starts to chip it's basically game over for me. I was very much like, "well they're ruined anyway so!" but gel nail polish is a lot more sturdy. It is more expensive - the light to cure the polish is the biggest investment and honestly the polishes themselves do tend to be more expensive than regular ones and (at least in my local stores) the colour selection is a lot smaller. I only ever really paint my nails pink, purple, or red though so it wasn't a huge difference for me. Gel nail polishes last a lot longer which would dissuade me from biting because the polish still looked perfect. It's different if it chipped from doing the dishes or trying to pry apart lego, lol. I didn't want to be the direct cause of the chipping so it might be worth looking into!

 

[Antonio]

I don't bite my nails but I do peel them off, not sure which is worse.

 

[Alienfish]

I dunno, I've basically always done it. I've tried growing them out and using nail polish or stuff but doesn't work. Though I can't really have long nails at work so yeah I don't really care much other than not trying to do it because rona.

 

[_Rainy_]

I don’t bite mine, and I try not to pick at them. I haven’t been playing much recently, but I keep my left hand shorter than my right. If I picked at my right hand it makes the nails too weak to play music with and I have to cut them off.

 

[Princess Mipha]

When did you start biting your nails and why?
I don't remember when it exactly started, because I feel like I'm doing it all my life.
So I guess as soon as I had teeth I started doing it, lol. As for why.. I'm never really relaxed,
I just don't know how it feels to be relaxed, I'm constantly stressed and I guess that's why I started.

If you’ve successfully broken the habit, how did you do it?
I did actually successfully break it for about 3 months. I didn't do anything specific, I just tried
my best to not do it and everytime I noticed myself wanting to do it I took a straw to bite on it instead!

 

[Mattician]

Yes. Always have. I'm about to be 29 and it's just a normal, daily thing.

I'm past the point of trying to stop lol.

 

[mocha.]

Yes. Always have. I'm about to be 29 and it's just a normal, daily thing.

I'm past the point of trying to stop lol.

I’m 26 and still biting mine, honestly have no idea why it’s so addictive!

I go through a period of a couple of weeks where I don’t bite them and I like how they look, and then one will snap and I’ll just be like welp. It’s like I hate the feeling of a broken/bitten nail and just need it to feel “right” haha

 

[Mattician]

I’m 26 and still biting mine, honestly have no idea why it’s so addictive!

I go through a period of a couple of weeks where I don’t bite them and I like how they look, and then one will snap and I’ll just be like welp. It’s like I hate the feeling of a broken/bitten nail and just need it to feel “right” haha

Haha. I'd like to think if I ever have a significant other, that I would try to stop. But maybe she'll just not care.

 

[Midoriya]

Nope, I don’t bite my nails and never did.

 

[LadyDestani]

Yes, I bite my nails. I actually started off biting the skin around my nails when I was about 10 or so. Then, I progressed to biting my nails, but I still bite the skin too. I think I prefer biting the skin because it's easier on my teeth, but when I've bitten off too much of it I bleed, so then I move on to the nails until the skin has time to heal and regrow.

I'm pretty sure stress and anxiety are the reasons why I do it. Anytime I'm in a stressful situation, I've noticed my hand immediately goes to my mouth. I try to stop it at work because I don't want people to think I'm gross, but meetings are some of my most stressful situations so it's hard. I'll do it a lot of times without realizing it.

Nothing seems to successfully keep me from biting my nails. I don't like to grow my nails out so I keep them short anyway, but I can still find some imperfection to bite at. I don't like to paint my nails, but I did try that back in high school. It didn't work because I'd still just bite the skin, that would chip the paint, then I'd peel the chipped paint off and bite my nails too.

 

[Pop-tart]

I didn't just bite them, I ate them cos I was nasty af. I stopped sometime when I was a kid because I really liked the look of long nails and forced myself to stop out of sheer ambition to have pretty nails.

 

[GreatUsername]

man i know i shouldn't but it's just a habit at this point, been doing it for years