Breaking gross finger picking habit

[walkie]

Have been doing this for YEARS (started when I was 10, instead of biting nails), it is a really disgusting habit, painful, unsightly and sometimes leads to bleeding and is getting worse. Wanted to stop before I was 20, then 30 and do not want to be doing when I am 40!

Have tried hypnotherapy, nasty tasting paint - DH even bought me lovely ring! Thinking of acupuncture - any other ideas?

Don't know lovey, is it the skin round the nail and nailbed?

do you mean the bits down the side of your nails?
No advice but ouch - I do this sometimes and it bleeds loads and really hurts!

I do this too, also started when i stopped biting my nails. I've no idea how to stop, but would love to as i have nice nails but my fingers look awful because of this. I can't believe how far down my finger i've gone sometimes. My dp thinks i'm mad and is always telling me to stop eating myself!!

I do this too! What's promting me to stop is DD, age 2, has started doing it too. Not good.

i do it, it's lovely and i enjoy it - so there

Another one with this habit. Don't know why I do it, have done for years. It's something to play with. My ex used to call it 'picking the wick'. Gosh I'm a bit now. Let me know if you find out a way of breaking the habit.

I don't bite though.

I do a combo of biting & picking (looks divine )

Sarted biting at about 10 - used to bite toenails too, yuck, not flexible enough now luckily - stopped briefly at 18-20ish & have bitten/picked ever since.

I enjoy it too, sea! And I like scraping them along eg knitted nylon & picking up tiny threads.

Is this weird or what???

I do it.

I bite, then chew

I have no shame.

Goddammit, I'm 32, I don't WANT to do this!

I'd never bite [smug emotion]. Just love picking. Then love it when I have a long piece of dead skin to play with. OMG I think its a comfort thing.

Can anyone else come up with a theory.

Wow - can't believe how many people do this! My theory is it's "tidying up", although it ALWAYS make things worse. I tried hypnotherapy, and it worked for a while. You can download from the net for about a fiver, and keep forever on ipod! Think I will try again with the hypnotherapy, but it's nice to know I am not the only one knowing how gross it is, wanting to stop but can't.

Think it's also a bit to do with anxiety, so the acupuncture might help?

Oh, and the only time I ever stopped, was when I smoked for a while at Uni - I don't recommend this as a sensible cure!

I do it too and I need to stop!!

I used to it but it was hypnotherapy that worked for me.
I had suggestive therapy to start with and that worked for a while but didn't last and then i had regression therapy and that has worked.
Very occasionally I will find myself picking just one area (when I am particularly stressed or anxious) but i can usually just stop again. I also found constant applications of hand cream helpful.

Just to let you know I have been successful in stopping finger picking for over 4 weeks with the "excess handcream method" (and a bit of willpower, together with nice round milestone of Christmas!). Handcream applied after washing hands, before going out etc etc (I have about 7 tubes of handcream around the house!)

Thank you so much for all of your advice - really inspired me (and I have a reward of lovely hands again)

Get regular manicures (or give them to yourself) so your hands look nice. You won't want to pick.