How To Quit Biting Your Nails

If quitting nail biting was an easy task, I wouldn’t have put this website together and you wouldn’t have bothered checking it out. Thanks for checking it out by the way. Do visit often as I constantly add info so we can both quit our nail biting once and for all.

We’ve already discussed my personal reasons for biting my nails and it’d be helpful if you could identify yours as well. That way you might be able to get to the root of the problem and either eliminate it or at least figure out in advance when the problem might arise which will lead to more nail biting.

Until that time however, here are a list of ways that you may consider to quit biting your nails.

Determine Your Triggers

Figure out what triggers your nail biting to begin with. For me, it has become such an ingrained habit that I do it as a matter of course to keep my hands busy when I’m taking a break for doing something that would otherwise prevent me from biting my nails. Like working on my laptop or phone for example. Hard to bite your nails when typing. But once I stop typing for a few seconds…

If you can determine your nail biting triggers, you may be able to avoid some, manage others and get help for the rest of them.

Keep Nails Trimmed Short

Not sure this will help me but it might help you. I already keep my nails short as it is by biting and picking them. That’s kind of why I’m doing this website. But if you really like to go to town on long nails, keeping them cut short may help to dissuade you from biting them and making them shorter.

Don’t Go Cold Turkey

This is a big problem for me and perhaps for you too: You try to quit nail biting all at once cold turkey but then after a day or three, bite one nail, then a second nail, and then you’re biting all of them and feel like you failed. Instead, try to not bite one finger to start with. Work your way up to one hand. Then keep going until you’re not biting any nails. By accomplishing progress in stages, you might find it’s easier than stopping all at once.

Learn Your Nail Biting Pattern If Any

For me, I’m mostly right-handed but also use my left hand for some tasks – particularly precision things like using a screwdriver or hammer, throwing a dart, etc – so perhaps that’s why my left hand is left (no pun intended) unscathed and my right hand is the one I tend to bite and pick more often. 100% of the time, my left hand fingernails are longer than my right hand. I’ve never spent on much time biting the nails on my left hand as much as on the right. Perhaps you notice a pattern too?

For me, it should be easier for me to quit biting and picking nails on my left hand because I actually don’t do it that much to begin with.

Try A Bitter Nail Polish

You’ve probably heard about the bitter clear nail polish that anyone – men or women – can apply to stop nail biting. They tend to have a bitter but harmless taste that when applied to your nails, cause you to avoid putting your fingers in your mouth for any reason including for biting your nails.

I have not used this product and don’t plan to if only for the reason that I tend to pick my nails with the other hand as mentioned above more than anything. If you’re strictly a nail biter though, it might help you.

Try A Stress Ball

I remember going to a work conference many years ago in a large room with about 40 of my colleagues. I was one of the first to arrive and the host of the event had rows of chairs set up and every second or third chair had a small blue rubber stress ball on it. I asked her what they were for as I’d not actually seen a stress ball before or used one. She commented that in her experience people learn, listen and tune in/out differently so she put the stress balls on some seats so people could take advantage and play with them while listening to her speak.

As I sat down, she told me I could take a ball if I wanted. That was great because I was planning on doing exactly that anyways, before my colleagues arrived as there weren’t enough for everyone. I found myself holding and squeezing that damn thing throughout the conference. She let us take it home when the conference was done, which I also did.

I’ve still got that stressball 20+ years later in my drawer at home.

Instead of biting your nails, reach for a stressball when you need something to occupy your hands. Or your cellphone or a golf ball or Play-Doh or something that will otherwise keep you busy and away from your nails.

Keep A Journal

Even though I’ve been biting my nails for decades, I really had to think about when I bite them, where I am when I bite them and even why I bite my nails to begin with. I had to consciously think of each instance, place and reason before I really started to understand how prevalent it is for me. It had gotten to the point where my nail biting just happened so quickly and naturally, it wasn’t even conscious anymore.

Perhaps it’s the same for you. Or different. You may not know unless you keep a written record of the details to help you understand how frequently you bite your nails and what you can do to stop it.