I have been a life-long nail biter. I can’t remember a time when I didn’t bite my nails. This made it all the more difficult to quit. Fortunately, I found a way to kick the habit four months ago and I’ve never looked back.
Here are 3 easy steps to follow to quit biting your nails.
Identify an upcoming event
I chose my family reunion. I talk with my hands and I didn’t want my aunts, uncles, cousins etc. to see my gross fingernails. I had a month until the event and I decided to stop biting my nails so they would look semi-normal when I saw everyone. Every time I was tempted to bite I would remind myself of the upcoming reunion and how embarrassed I would be if my nails were a mess for it.
Acknowledge your weaknesses
I most frequently bit my nails while watching TV in the evening. I would be thinking about the next day, what I was nervous or stressed about and I would just go to town on my nails. I knew I needed something else to help my evening stress so I bought a fidget spinner. I soon realized that I just needed to keep my hands busy and as long as my fingers never touched my mouth, I was able to make it through the evening.
Keep your nails painted
I hated to wear nail colorful nail polish on my fingers because it made my bitten nails look SO OBVIOUS (see old photo of my bitten, painted nails to the right). Instead, I started to put a clear coat of nail polish on them. They looked so shiny and beautiful and I wasn’t nearly as tempted to bite them off as I usually was. I also kept them filed and trimmed because another one of my weaknesses was uneven nails, if my nails felt uneven I would try to even them out by biting them.
Kicking a lifelong bad habit is hard. If you need additional support, ask a family member or friend to remind you of your goal when they catch you biting.
Give these 3 easy steps a try and see if they work out for you. I’m thrilled with the results!
