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Who has successfully stopped biting their nails?

13

Replies

  • Evelyn_Gorfram
    Evelyn_Gorfram Posts: 706 Member
    Honestly, thinking about how absolutely disgusting your hands look to women might make you stop. I am SOOO turned off by any man whose hands are all mangled. And I can only imagine how gross it is for men if they see mangled women hands.
    That's a very good point. One of the things that really helps inspire not to bite my nails is to imagine my hands, er, intimately caressing some intimate part of a lover's body. A rather pleasant thought if my nails are in decent shape, but cringe-worthy if they are a gawdawful ragged mess.

    And while I can't speak for all women, when I feel attracted to a man one part of that is imagining his hands giving me a reciprocally intimate caress. That makes the desirabilty of his hands figure very strongly into his overall desirabilty.
  • Mkristinek
    Mkristinek Posts: 78
    OMG. I stopped my senior year of high school, just with a lot of will power and self control, and was VERY proud of myself (since I had been a biter since I could chew). HOWEVER, 3 months ago I started again!! I went almost 5 years not biting and now I can't get myself to stop! I know it is stress from my internship, so HOPEFULLY I can kick the habit in four weeks when I graduate university! It drives me nuts!

    Oh, and thinking back (why I'm just now remembering beats me) clipping my nails once a week helped cope with the habit. It was like, a neater and healthier way to pick/bite at my nails. It was so satisfying every time I got the clippers out. Now if only I could stop chewing long enough for my nails to grow long enough to clip! Good luck!
  • robinxhope
    robinxhope Posts: 125 Member
    Since my last post in the thread I have stopped biting. I tried acrylic nails and now I go get shillac done every no and then. It seems to be working.
  • EmCarroll1990
    EmCarroll1990 Posts: 2,832 Member
    I put nail polish on them. For some reason I don't bite them when they're painted.
  • byrnet18
    byrnet18 Posts: 230 Member
    I was a bad nail biter my whole life! Then I became a nurse and working at the hospital really made me think twice about putting my fingers near my mouth. I've been a nurse for 4 years now and I still don't bite my nails. I'm cured!
  • chelseyjoan
    chelseyjoan Posts: 79 Member
    that's what gel nails are for!!
    got them in gr8 and haven't had read nails since, they're so pretty!
    oh and i'm in 4th year university now!
  • Pedal_Pusher
    Pedal_Pusher Posts: 1,166 Member
    Weird.
  • jenn_may
    jenn_may Posts: 154 Member
    The thing that made me stop is my first manicure. I didn't get fake nails, but having my hands pampered like that I think made me want to keep them nice.
  • ninerbuff
    ninerbuff Posts: 49,130 Member
    I stopped biting them, but now I consistently cut them short and file them.

    A.C.E. Certified Personal/Group FitnessTrainer
    IDEA Fitness member
    Kickboxing Certified Instructor
    Been in fitness for 28+ years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition
  • Candicimo
    Candicimo Posts: 44 Member
    I stopped biting my nails my sophomore year of high school. I had bitten them from elementary school up to high school, but I stopped because of a bet! One of my good friends was biting his nails as well and we made a bet saying that the other wouldn't be able to stop biting them. I haven't bitten them since and that was 8 years ago : ]
  • BrawlerBella
    BrawlerBella Posts: 400 Member
    I found a product for my daughter and niece call "Stop the Bite" made by Hoof.Bought it at walmart for $3.00. It works.
  • Rae6503
    Rae6503 Posts: 6,294 Member
    I did, but that's because I got crowns on my front two teeth and they aren't sharp enough.
  • srpm
    srpm Posts: 275 Member
    Chewing gum has made me stop. I tend to bite them when I'm bored or thinking so as soon as I notice I'm biting them I pop in some gum. Haven't had to in about 2 weeks now though.
  • EyeLikeTacos
    EyeLikeTacos Posts: 324 Member
    I have..I switched over to Taco Shells. Nice and crunchy...so delicious and nutritious.
  • danam82
    danam82 Posts: 30
    I went through two phases of nail biting when I was growing up. Both times, I just...quit. I don't know how, or why. I guess I decided I was done biting them lol. I remember the second time I went through it, trying to stop. I used that nasty nail polish, but it didn't work. I got used to the taste and would bite anyway. My parents offered me money at the end of each week for each nail I hadn't chewed off. You would think that would work...no it didn't. I don't remember what motivated me, I just remembered that I stopped.
    I still pick at my nails once in a while if I'm nervous, like at an interview. But now I've replaced the nail biting with teeth grinding, which is bad. It's funny how stress/nervousness always finds a way to channel itself.
  • InnerFatGirl
    InnerFatGirl Posts: 2,687 Member
    Sort of. I used to chronically bite them. Then I just stopped, cold turkey, and grew them. Now I go through cycles - I bite them sometimes, and sometimes I don't. I can't seem to stop biting the skin though. I am so ashamed of my hands and nails :(
  • ScientistStudy
    ScientistStudy Posts: 249 Member
    I stopped after my partner told me off for it.
    My sister told me at that time, if I didn't bite them for 1 week she would paint them.
    She did and I haven't bitten them since, I paint them weekly now and own a ridiculous amount of varnishes haha.
  • victoria4321
    victoria4321 Posts: 1,719 Member
    I stopped when I started painting them all the time. I love nail polish so I don't like to ruin my manicure
  • Impy84
    Impy84 Posts: 430
    i stopped when i was quite young maybe under 14yoa. Death threats from my mother i believe lol. Can't recall how or why i stopped but i know i was coerced
  • CynthiaAnnGA
    CynthiaAnnGA Posts: 95
    I'm trying now to stop biting my nails. It's a hard habit to stop. I try to file down the rough edges & also have tried a clear polish called Stop Bite or something like that. Good luck.
  • WifeNMama
    WifeNMama Posts: 2,876 Member
    I carried a nail clippers in my pocket for three months or so. Any time I got a snag or noticed a nail was uneven, etc., I would clip.every nail. So they were short all the time, but they were even and no bleeding around it.
  • mbrou28
    mbrou28 Posts: 132 Member
    I can't remember when I started biting my nails, I was very young, probably about 5 years old. But I stopped about ten years ago when I got to college. I don't know why I stopped, I think I was just tired of them hurting me - I would bite them down to the quick and they would often bleed. I picked up the habit again after I started a full time job and my boss commented one day that he had them same bad habit. I told him that I had stopped once before and I could quit bitting them agian if I wanted. He said that I couldn't, that it was impossible - I showed him!! I quit bitting them again immediately and haven't looked back since!
  • megfoulk91
    megfoulk91 Posts: 3 Member
    I did! Back when I still bit them I found that if I painted them I had no urge to bite them because they looked nice, which allowed them to grow out, but as soon as it chipped off I went right back to biting them. Recently I noticed that my nails were growing (without being painted) and I just haven't had the urge to bit them ever since. I don't really know what happened, but I'm sure glad it did!
  • gogojodee
    gogojodee Posts: 1,243 Member
    ME!

    I stopped when I started going to school online about 10 years ago. And after having fiberglass nails paid for by my aunt when I first started working. haha. My nails were SO bad, they'd split right down the middle and several of my nails needed fiberglass/acrylic "extensions" to look like the rest of my nails. The taste was horrible. Get that - with a French mani and you'll never want to bite them off due to taste and how they look. Because of this, I have a tendancy to get French manis than a plain mani. haha
  • Laura_Suzie
    Laura_Suzie Posts: 1,288 Member
    I allow myself only one nail to bite and pick at and then leave the rest alone. I try to keep them short and all the same length so I don't feel tempted.
  • takehimaway
    takehimaway Posts: 499 Member
    I've bit them my whole life, not gonna stop anytime soon; I also smoke and eat a million sunflower seeds a day.

    Still right, but dumped the sunflower seeds.
  • Kari089
    Kari089 Posts: 109 Member
    I treat the anxiety..what triggers you to bite them?

    I have long periods where I don't bite and when I do I notice it's because I'm in a very anxious situation. I stopped drinking coffee as this used to aggravate it. Think of ways to calm yourself. I have bit them to the quick, sometimes leaving them so raw they felt like they were on fire. I haven't bitten them in months now. I've had less and less episodes this last year. Maybe happened 3-4 times total. Which is amazing for me!
    Also when I feel like I am about to bite them I go get the clippers and I clip them..once there is nothing to bite off I seem to relax. I also put nail polish on them. Somehow that keeps me from biting them.
  • Pbuttercup78
    Pbuttercup78 Posts: 2
    I used to bite my nails when I was bored; watching TV, in a meeting, etc. I spent two months making wine charms while I was watching TV and that cured me (going on 4 years without biting). I did not make a conscious effort to stop biting, but since my hands were busy, I couldn't bite my nails. If I feel the urge to bite while watching TV, I work on some craft project to keep my hands busy. I also keep a nail file with me at all times to smooth rough edges, as I find that's what makes me want to bite them.
    Good luck!
  • dalgirly
    dalgirly Posts: 280 Member
    I am just like you. I cannot stop for the life of me.

    I have grown out my nails for things like my prom, and what not. But my nails are so messed up they look all flimsy when I grow them out.

    Plus, I bite my nails if I'm stressed or bored. I work a stressful job and also drive a long way to it. So if I'm just sitting in traffic, its likely I am biting my nails without even thinking about it.

    I have come to the realization I won't ever stop biting. I've done it since I was 3, and its not going to stop now. Even as a child my parents tried everything under the sun to stop me from biting them, and nothing ever worked.
  • Valleydachs
    Valleydachs Posts: 56
    While it's not as bad as when I was growing up, I do still "groom" my nails and, ashamed to say, bite the skin around my nails. Years ago when I went for fingerprints to begin a massage therapy business, the examiner questioned lines on one of my fingers. It was scarring from years of nibbling.
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