Do you bite your nails?

[Mattician]

It's really hard to open anything or like peel off a sticker with how short my nails are. I have to find something with a pointy or flat edge.

For example. Swapping out my switch video game cartridges. I have to get something else just to open the slot.

 

[nintendofan85]

Yes, been doing it since I was 6...

 

[~Kilza~]

No, I've never bitten my nails as I've never felt the need to do so, and haven't liked the idea of biting them myself. That said, I've never been all that grossed out by other people doing it.

 

[Xara]

i was an avid nail biter up until around 9th grade (2016). i don’t remember when it started or even why but it was likely something that i used to cope with my anxiety; that and picking at my lip which i still do :/ were my main coping mechanisms for quite a long time lol. i don’t really remember how i stopped, either; i know that i started painting my nails that year so i think that might’ve been what put a stop to it. to be honest, i didn’t think that quitting was even possible for me but 5 years later, i don’t even know how i did it since not having long nails makes me feel gross now. >_<

 

[mocha.]

It's really hard to open anything or like peel off a sticker with how short my nails are. I have to find something with a pointy or flat edge.

For example. Swapping out my switch video game cartridges. I have to get something else just to open the slot.

Sometimes I bite my nails so short that it’s painful to open things so I feel your pain! I struggled to open a can last night because my finger tips were hurting.
I’ve seen a lot of people mention nail polish which has helped stop them biting their nails, I actually used to work in a salon and did gel nails for a while and my nails were always in lovely condition and I never bit them during that period! The job I work in now I can’t have any nail polish on so I really struggle because I’m like “so what if I bite my nails, they don’t need to look pretty” lol. I really need to stop, i think I’m going to consciously stop myself anytime I want to bite my nails/skin around them and will give it another bash.

 

[Bluebellie]

me

I used to bite them a lot when I was very small. Then when I got to 8th grade I completely stopped. The lasted all the way until college. Right now the habit seems to have come back.
I noticed I pick at them when I’m super stressed or nervous. Anyways I’ve been putting on fake nails for the last month to try and stop my habit. Once they are long again, my habit stops. However if I see one short, I just keep picking at them all.

I’ve been super stressed the the last two months. A good type of stress, but still stress.

 

[JellyBeans]

i used to bite them allll the time, but ever since a few years ago i've gotten a little bit better and can now go extended periods of time without biting or picking at my nails. i've almost entirely stopped now, but every now and then if i'm really stressed (looking at my recent exam period) then i definitely find myself doing it more. whenever my nails are painted i tend to leave them alone so hopefully now that i'm not in school i can form a more solid habit of leaving my nails alone

 

[Maymeows16]

I bite them often even though I like them a bit long, but they grow back pretty fast so it's not really that much of a regretful thing for me to do

 

[Foreverfox]

I only bite mine if they break and I'm trying to even out the snag when I don't have a nail file handy. Now cracking my knuckles on the otherhand...started in a similar way. My best friend in 1st grade cracked her knuckles and I remember being shocked that my body could make a cool pop noise. So, ever since... I've tried to stop, but my fingers actually hurt now if I DON'T cracked them. And my husband has noticed that i cracked them more if I'm anxious about something. I won't even realize that I'm doing it more and he'll notice and ask me if I'm okay because he noticed it.

 

[WaileaNoRei]

I bite my nails and the skin around them. I have gone through phases where I have stopped, but I do generally start again before too long, especially since I no longer take fluoxetine (which I took for several years primarily to treat some depression issues - but the doctor said it would also help with my ‘ocd traits’). For me it is a compulsive behavior, which the medication helped to reduce. Various skin picking and biting compulsions can occur as excoriation disorder or part of ocd and other compulsive disorders.

So yeah, I view it more now as something to manage but not something that will totally go away for me. And you can generally get some insights into my general mental health by observing the state of my hands in particular. Also I have to buy too many bandaids…

 

[mocha.]

I bite my nails and the skin around them. I have gone through phases where I have stopped, but I do generally start again before too long, especially since I no longer take fluoxetine (which I took for several years primarily to treat some depression issues - but the doctor said it would also help with my ‘ocd traits’). For me it is a compulsive behavior, which the medication helped to reduce. Various skin picking and biting compulsions can occur as excoriation disorder or part of ocd and other compulsive disorders.

So yeah, I view it more now as something to manage but not something that will totally go away for me. And you can generally get some insights into my general mental health by observing the state of my hands in particular. Also I have to buy too many bandaids…

I hope you don’t mind me asking, but how soon after taking fluoxetine did you stop biting your nails? That’s the medication I’m currently on and I have a few OCD traits and think that may be a factor in it. I’ve been taking the meds for a few months now but haven’t seen a difference in any of the ocd traits.

 

[Khaelis]

when did you start biting your nails and why?

Probably too young to remember, likely in my early years of school. And probably due to the constant stress of school work, bullies, etc.

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

Honestly, I just stopped after a while as I grew up. Some habits you just quite literally grow out of, I guess? I definitely cut my nails with clippers too much, so there's not really anything left to bite, anyways.

 

[WaileaNoRei]

I hope you don’t mind me asking, but how soon after taking fluoxetine did you stop biting your nails? That’s the medication I’m currently on and I have a few OCD traits and think that may be a factor in it. I’ve been taking the meds for a few months now but haven’t seen a difference in any of the ocd traits.

it did not really end my compulsion, but I generally found it easier to not bite for longer stretches of time and I bit my nails less while on the medication than I do off of it. It still too a concerted effort to stop and maintain stopping.

to be honest I don’t know if I noticed the lessening of my compulsions as much on the medication as much as I noticed how much worse they were once I went off of the medication.

sorry for the very unsatisfactory answer to your reasonable question. I did have some success with trying to replace the behavior, I tried knitting, and painting my nails specifically so I could chip off the nail polish, and snacking on things like sunflower seeds. To be honest none of them really satisfy the compulsion, but it can help keep your hands and mouth busy with something besides biting.

 

[mocha.]

it did not really end my compulsion, but I generally found it easier to not bite for longer stretches of time and I bit my nails less while on the medication than I do off of it. It still too a concerted effort to stop and maintain stopping.

to be honest I don’t know if I noticed the lessening of my compulsions as much on the medication as much as I noticed how much worse they were once I went off of the medication.

sorry for the very unsatisfactory answer to your reasonable question. I did have some success with trying to replace the behavior, I tried knitting, and painting my nails specifically so I could chip off the nail polish, and snacking on things like sunflower seeds. To be honest none of them really satisfy the compulsion, but it can help keep your hands and mouth busy with something besides biting.

Your answer was still really helpful, I appreciate that!! I’ve been trying to make a conscious effort not to bite my nails but I’ve been doing it for so long that I don’t even realise I’m biting them until it’s too late. Compulsions are so weird aren’t they! You’d think we’d be able to stop if we wanted to

 

[Roxxy]

Yes and no I did bite my nails when I was younger and kinda still do. I know it sounds strange but I have trained myself to only bite my thumb nails. Easier to hide

 

[Mairmalade]

This is something I’ve been doing since I started high school, I believe? Not sure why it started, but I often find myself biting my nails if I’m just talking to someone online or doing idle tasks. I’ve tried fidget cubes and poking at other things - nothing is quite the same. Plus there’s a part of it that feels rewarding.

I’ve never successfully broken the habit completely, but it has moved to more ripping at the sides of my nails rather than biting at the nails themselves. Given my variety of other unsightly scars, I have more motivation now to try and catch myself before I do it. One less thing to be self-conscious over and more hygienic!

 

[sleepydreepy]

no im a hardcore germaphobe so when I am out and about I never put anything in my mouth.

unrelated maybe but I do peel the skin surrounding the cuticles on my nails a lot. It was generally harmless until a few years ago I started picking the skin around my right thumb nail so often that I would constantly make myself bleed and now have a layer of really thick skin/scar tissue on the side of my thumb that is super dry and hard. Its something I still struggle with today and no matter how hard I try I can't stop. I only do it on my right thumb though so I guess its good that I've limited myself not to do it on my other fingers.

 

[Stella-Io]

I would make my tongue bleed before I successfully bit my nail off, my nails grow in naturally sharp and hard, esp with the harsh angled corners.

I do wonder thou for people who bit their nails, are your nails softer or hard?

 

[LadyDestani]

I do wonder thou for people who bit their nails, are your nails softer or hard?

I think my nails are on the softer side, but even so I don't go straight to biting them because my teeth are sensitive. I bite the skin first or nibble around the edges of the nail and by the time I'm done with that my nails have usually softened up from being in my mouth.

 

[a potato]

I used to for the longest time (like 15+ years), but then I stopped after something happened. I’m a total germaphobe now, so it totally grosses me out. I also hate imagining the feeling on my teeth.

I still like to trim them pretty short, though. They’re longer than they were, but having them barely ring my fingertip is even too long for me.