Who has successfully stopped biting their nails?

I stopped biting them when I started taking care of them. Manicures, painting them - making my cuticles look nice.

^This. Also, most of my compulsive-type behaviors calm down when I meditate for a while (several days/weeks in a row, not long individual meditation sessions ).

I did, FINALLY! I've bitten my nails since I could remember, and it was seriously a chronic addiction. I'd gnaw them down to absolutely nothing, and then keep going. Really, it still is an addiction, I'm just better at not giving in, haha.

My main thing was that I would bite them whenever I had any sort of snag, hangnail, or uneven nail surface. It was ridiculous, because if I just tried to let them grow, they were really brittle, would split, and I would bit them to even them out, and then I'd just keep going. So I bought one of those four-sided boards, that smooth, even out, and then buff the nails. When they were even, they didn't snag, or develop uneven surface, and just stayed REALLY religious with keeping them buffed. I also put on clear nail polish, because it didn't show up or bring attention to the nails (since I didn't want people noticing my gnawed hands), but usually kept me from biting them directly, because then I'd be spitting out polish. And it kept them less brittle, because the polish protected them.

Now that they're completely grown out, I always keep them polished, and always have nail clipper and a file with me to catch anything that breaks or splits, because I've found if I don't, they still split now and then, I don't want to relapse, haha. It's kinda nice having nails. Though I will say that ever since I stopped biting the nails themselves, I'll gnaw on the cuticles or skin around them, especially when I'm watching a tense movie or reading a book that I get really into, haha. Or I'll gnaw my lips, which is even worse.. Now I have to polish my nails, and keep Carmex with me all the time. Stupid habit addictions..

This is the one habit I've yet to succeed at breaking.

Smoking? Quit after I left the Navy in 2000.
Bad eating? More or less under control these days, although we do treat ourselves now and again.
Nail biting? Ever since I was a kid and still can't stop. :ohwell:

I did for over 20 years! Very sorry you are struggling with it. So hard to stop but you can.

Some ideas for you--

manicure - even guys can get one.
nail polish clear or colors
stop thumb sucking gel - for babies but hey if it works use it!
bandaids - cut them small if you need to
scotch tape it's clear and can go just on the nail
toothpicks!
sunflower seeds
in an emergency- paperclips cause you know they are germ filled
gloves! yep next to the remote! cause watching tv was nail time as though it was a standard appointment. Wherever you need them. even in car. Everywhere put gloves. Be sure to get large cotton ones so you don't have to take off bandaids.
brush your teeth cause sometimes it helps with the mouth wanting nails
gum...lots of gum!
hard candy
nuts cause they are crunchy and help a lot

put notes up about swine flu or other contagious diseases.
When they itch put noesporin or vaseline on them then a bandaid or soak in warm water
reward yourself with small items

you get the idea.....get creative.... whatever works.

remind yourself you can do it! It took me a year to stop and was really hard but worth it! just never give up!!!!
GOOD LUCK!!!

More nail polish could create a new problem. Be careful.

I bit my nails for so long then i got an acrylic nail job that i had for 5 months and when they were romoved i hadent bitten my nails for so long i stopped. i tap them on stuff though

yes. i have bitten my nails as long as i can remember. i tried stopping more times than i can remember. I stopped the day me and my bf of 2 1/2 years broke up. Not entirely sure why. it was just a low point and i was like eff this. stopped chewing my nails, dropped 20 pounds, got my hair did, and got a facial piercing. yep.

that was like 6 months ago. now people ask if my nails are real or fake.

I bit them for pretty much my whole but managed to stop... I don't even remember when. Sometimes I have relapses, like an alcoholic... one bite and I know that could start it up again. But it's been under control for several years. I did it in a multi-step process:

-fake nails -they worked really well when ALL of the nails were bit down, but were kind of a problem because they would fall off and I'd always have to have the glue and replacements around. That method was awesome to just STOP the practice. it's like nail biting boot camp. If you're a guy maybe you could buy a set and trim them to look more like guys' nails.

-band aids for individual problem nails -totally worked, except they'd get wet and feel gross whenever I washed my hands. So again I had a huge stash that I carried with me wherever I went. And I was very religious about replacing the wet band aid. These worked really well to get some nail growing again.

-water and herbal tea drinking! I think MFP really helped because now I always have something to drink if I feel antsy and I never take out the fidgetiness on my nails anymore.

-carrying around file to sand down any hangnails literally the second they happen

-just having to take the subway to work kind of put a definitive end to it; I see people biting their nails and it seems like such a disgusting thing to be doing in public transportation. No one around me used to bite nails before, so getting the observer's perspective really made me see the light.

That said, I do think it would be easy to revert to old habits if the setting were right.

Good luck!

I used to be a really bad nail biter when I was younger up to high school. I had braces on for 2 years & I couldn't reach my nails when I tried to bite them. I eventually just quit, although it did take a while to get used to. And I'm pretty sure I looked kind of funny struggling to reach my nail.:laugh:

Started working with kids! I'm still a work in progress, but I find myself keeping my fingers out of my mouth and most of my nails are now to the tip of my fingers. Apparently, I wasn't perfect though, because I picked up strep throat last week!