To ask how you stopped nail biting

[yoursworried]

I'm 33 and have severely bitten my nails for as long as I can remember. It looks horrible but I barely know I'm doing it.

Today I had to go to the doctors with a very painful infection round the nail which involved draining and now a course of antibiotics. It's been a painful and expensive lesson and I'm a bit ashamed really as it's entirely self-inflicted by a mindless habit that worsens when I'm a bit anxious (like now as about to move and start a new job)

I am prompted to try again to give up but I've failed many times. The bad tasting stuff isn't enough for me - I can mindlessly chew through that so I am searching for any tried and tested ideas from the ever experienced mumsnetters. Thanks in advance

I saw a lady with stunning long polished nails and just thought 'I want those' - then I realised it was entirely possible and I was the only person stopping me! Never looked back and now have lovely long nails that I'm often complimented on. Never bit them again.

Maybe have a daily scroll through Pinterest at the sort of nails / polishes etc you'd like to have, to motivate you? Xx

A lot of nail biters have mineral deficiencies, usually calcium but often zinc and/or magnesium too. If you didn't get a great diet in childhood, that may be what started the habit. I bit my nails for nearly 50 years before I tried calcium supplements and almost overnight just stopped wanting to.

Second gel nails - I also play the piano and it doesn't interfere (although when I've had acrylics I do like the sound of them hitting the keys ) getting gel nails really does stop me biting them.

I also used to bite my nails like that. I got acrylic nails and had the same set infilled for a few months. I had no desire to bite the fakes and when I had them removed my nails were long underneath and the habit was kicked. 10 years later I have really good, long, strong nails but sometimes do get the urge!

I'm trying to stop too and have been considering hypnotherepy as a last resort! Ordered some of the Sally strengthener mentioned on page 1 so will see how that goes.

@yoursworried mine were much worse than that. I bit them badly for 55 yrs.one day a 10yr old I was looking after wanted to do nails and hers were so lovely I vowed to stop. That was 3 yrs ago and I haven't bitten them since. I put nail polish on every day for about a year though, filing and painting them helped me stop thinking about biting them.

I'll try and add before/after pics.

My nails when bitten and just a few months later

Mine were way, way worse than yours. I bit them very low indeed and also picked all around very nail. Mine were dreadful and had been for years and years (I am 43 and have always bitten). I stopped about six weeks ago. I hope I have stopped for good. I use the sally Hansen nail strengthener and that helps but my nails are quite weak. I keep them short for this reason but I can’t tell you how much better I feel now that I don’t have to hide my hands or move them away if I think someone is looking.

I was 45 when I gave up using gel polish 3 years ago. Mine were worse than yours, so shot they bled and hurt every day.

I have to carry a nail file with me at all times as I nibble if I get a nick on my nail. If I have a stressful period i might end up with acrylics for a while. They feel weird for 48 hours but you get used to them.

At the beginning I kept them below the ends of my fingers so they didn't impact my typing, similar to your piano playing. Now can manage more than a mm longer than my fingers and they look lovely.

Good luck

@nokidshere wow those are fantastic we done! I aspire to have your self control.

Thanks so much for the support mumsnetters- since the original post I have not bitten my nails although I am finding it so hard. I have the sally Hansen stuff which I'm applying on all fingers except the currently very sore one and I plan to get some of the hard polish applied later this week.

Super appreciate all the awesome mumsnet support and really impressed with those of you have successfully kicked the habit!

Following - I'm the same age 37. The only time I ever stop is on holiday.

Interesting about stopping when on holiday. I find my nails grow loads stronger on holiday. I don’t know whether it’s the sun or the sand or a mixture of both! I have more sitting down time when on holiday so in some ways you’d think I’d bite more as I have less to do. I don’t think it’s an anxiety thing for me but who knows.

Thanks for the inspiration everyone! After reading this thread I dug out a gel manicure set I won in a raffle and put some clear gel on. Someone even said my nails look nice and they’re not at all! It’s stopped me so far. Good luck to anyone else trying to pack in the nail biting

I feel like this is going to be a quitters support thread ...

I can even chew off acrylics or gels.

Currently four weeks into another attempt (on my second infills) - but the minute one nail begins to life at the edges they’ll all be off within the hour.

I did well for a week but two got chewed on a plane yesterday - in my defence, very nervous traveller! I will get some strengthener stuff.

How about you take a photo of them at the end of every day. With the goal being that you haven’t bitten them.

I was shamed as a youngster. And my parents put plasters onto my fingertips. It didn't work.

I tried hynotherapy two years ago for it, and stopped for three months, then re-started. It didn't work.

I'm not going down the route of false nails, acrylics, shellacs, whatever they are. I don't wear any make-up, I'm not into fussing with myself in that way. The most I'll (re-)consider is something like Hard As Nails, but I've yet to find something and use it long enough to form a good habit to replace the bad one.

Being told "Oh, I stopped in my teens" really doesn't help, sorry. I'm more interested in whether somebody stopped when they were 40 / 50 / 60, i.e. comfortable in life with a really long habit of nail-biting. It's interesting what somebody said about it being a form of self-harm, I hadn't thought of it that way. I may do a little research into the psychology of that, in case there's some self-directed CBT which could help.

I think tracking every day without biting might work. I do that for exercise and I enjoy colouring in a little box at the end of the day. To change a habit you need (I've read) to make doing it difficult or unrewarding, and not doing it more rewarding. Hence things like nasty pastes and rewards of nice varnishes. Your results are a lagging measure of your habits - so you will have a hard few weeks of no biting before you have the nice result of better nails.
I wonder if having hand cream near me might give me something to "do" with my hands instead of biting them - plus I don't like the taste of the cream.

I had gel nails. put on When they were removed my own nails had grown and I loved having longer nails. This prompted me to stop biting and I have done so ever since

Gel manicure every two weeks. Appointment made a month in advance. Lady comes to house. No excuses! I was a horrible nail biter and haven’t bitten them in two years since I started taking care of them.

I have Nail extensions I haven't bitten mine since. Had them on for years

Sounds weird but I stopped one nail at a time. So I'd decide to just not bite one and I could have all the rest... and that one started to look quite nice so I'd leave another. Stopping biting the last one was tougher but with 9 decent looking nails it was motivation. Took about 6 months or so all told and I do need to be careful to neatly cut any that breaks as its pure temptation to bite if its a bit ragged.

Oh, and I was 40 when I stopped and had bitten them all my life til then!

Ok, 1 week post horrible nail infection (on other hand). Unbitten and slathered in salt Hansen strengthener. So far so good although my hands go to my mouth all the time- it's such an.m effort