Do you bite your nails?

[smoky]

i used to bite my nails as a kid but i dont anymore. i like to have mine painted 24/7 altho i keep them super short just bc its easier to do stuff with nubs. nowadays i pick at the callouses around my fingernails and my cuticles but im trying not to. but when i dont pick at my skin i bite my cheeks and tear off the skin I CANT WIN

 

[shawo]

I used to bite my nails (I still want to.)

What helps the most is just being hyper conscious of the idea that "It's really hard to clean your nails."

So everywhere you scratch, or grab... well all that's being put into your mouth if you bite your nail.

So that helped cut the habit.

I can't stop touching my face though please help.

 

[JemAC]

I used to constantly bite my nails when growing up, started randomly when I was very young and then it just became a habit which got worse when I was in high school, probably due to stress. I'd often put the stop-and-grow varnish on my nails to stop myself biting them but it eventually got to the point that I'd still bite them too much, despite the horrible taste.

Nowadays I hardly ever bite my nails, I can't actually remember when I stopped it but I'd guess the habit just started fading away after I left school and no longer had to deal with all that pressure. Also now I'm more paranoid about cleanliness and hygiene so I make more of an effort to try and ignore any urge to bite a nail due to the germs, it doesn't always work and every now and then I will bite one before I can stop myself but luckily it's a rare occurrence now.

 

[Bobbo]

I’ve been biting my nails for as long as I can remember.

 

[slzzpz]

Nope! I did date someone who would bite her nails along with the outer edges of them as well. Her cuticles or something?

 

[Toska]

I don’t bite my nails! I don’t try to pick at them either. I guess I was lucky enough to never develop that habit, despite having other nervous habits.

 

[CylieDanny]

Not anymore, but I used too..

 

[KatieLavender]

i used to bite them sooo bad and to be honest i still do...a lot, i want my nails to grow but i play guitar so its really difficult to keep long nails and play without them snapping or getting in the wayy

 

[KimiyoCake]

as a kid i used to bite them until one time on fingernail was turning green in a corner and my doctor said it was infected and from then on i stopped biting lol

 

[nintendofan85]

I still do it, unfortunately. I've been doing it since 2006, and due to my OCD (which I'm sure already was a factor), in 2013, I began biting the skin around my nails too. I did in 2016-2017 manage to get it to happen less (and this already came with how I couldn't really bite them from 2011 to 2013 because I had braces, an that's also sort of how the skin thing started in early 2013 before I got my braces off, as the skin was different), but around mid-2017, I went back to my old habits... It's not good at all.

 

[xSuperMario64x]

I think I used to do it, but I eventually stopped cause I like to have nice, evenly cut nails and nail-biting was really bothering my OCD lol

 

[Romaki]

I used to bite my nails as a kid, not sure how it started or when. But I always hated doing that, and cutting them too short to bite helped me not do it because I couldn't. I find it that once you stop doing something, it's easier to say no to it. Like I'm always a cold turkey quitter, did the same with soda. This thread definitely triggered the urge to do it, but I have the willpower now to not do it.

Also I like painting my nails these days and I don't want to ruin it.

 

[dizzy bone]

I did when I was younger. I started around middle school and the worst of it ended a little after high school. I bit my nails too, but mostly the skin around it. It was definitely some kind of coping thing I did when I was stressed or anxious, but it got really bad. I couldn't have a nail clipper in the room or I'd be tempted to chip away at my skin with it. It made me have really low self esteem and I would always hide my fingers in my sleeves because they were all puffy and weird. I started to make a conscious effort to stop around my last year of high school because I knew I'd just suffer through college if I was constantly aware of my hands. I didn't use any of those nasty tasting liquids you paint on your nails. I basically started getting my nails done at the salon regularly with my mom at her suggestion. Something about putting money into fixing my habit somehow guilt tripped me into not biting it. Part of me didn't want to let my mom and my nail stylist down (who was my mom's friend). I'd feel too ashamed if I ruined her work (yes I know I should be doing it for myself, not for others but yeah). I know a lot of people's addictions with nail biting isn't as simple as that, but that's what worked for me. Guilt. I did bite my fingers a bit in college but it was never as bad as before. Once I got to a point where my hands looked normal, something clicked inside me where I wanted to keep it that way and not go through that again.

 

[Cirice]

I used to bite my nails when I was 11. Now I don't "bite" them anymore as I don't want to damage my teeth but I still regularly pick the skin around with my fingers from time to time - and hate myself when it happens because I can't stop.

 

[Ghost Of Mascevanje]

No, but I can bite yours if you really want me to.

 

[Dunquixote]

Nope. I don’t bite my nails.

 

[Croconaw]

Yes, I do. During school, the teachers used to make me use hand sanitizer to help prevent me from biting them. I’m actually allergic to hand sanitizer and it makes my hand break out. It’s nothing Cortizone won’t heal, but it was pretty annoying. Not to mention, the cream is pricy. The teachers would become upset every time I refused to use the sanitizer, but it is what it is... I’ve long since graduated high school. It was a screwed up situation looking back on it. The teachers were even witnessing the reactions i would get from it firsthand.

 

[bleached]

I've been biting my nails since I can remember, but recently I somehow managed to stop! Longer nails make my hands look less stumpy and short, so I think that made me suddenly want to stop :]
I recommend painting them if you can't stop, even clear gel can help!