Biting Your Nails

Nail biting is related to skin picking and hair pulling.   Skin picking, hair pulling and nail biting are labeled as  Obsessive-Compulsive Disorders or OCD.  Nail biters keep their hands behind their backs or in their pockets.  Nail biters often feel shame and experience out-of-control feelings at times. They often wonder why they can’t stop biting and they also question whether or not they are sane.

Nail biting usually happens when people are in one of two modes. Some do it in an automatic way, as if they are in a trance and not thinking about what they are doing. Usually they are immersed in some other activity at the same time such as reading, talking on the phone, working at the computer, watching TV, etc. For others, the deliberate picking or biting is their main activity at the time, and they will usually interrupt other activities to engage in it.

There is a strong commonality in the various purposes behind hair pulling, skin picking and nail biting. At a very basic level, they satisfy an urge. Many people report an almost uncontrollable compulsion to do them. Pulling, picking or biting also seems to deliver a pleasurable or relaxed sensation.

When sufferers feel stressed, pulling, picking or biting has a kind of soothing effect on them and reduces levels of stimulation. On the other hand, when they are bored or inactive, they seem to provide a needed level of stimulation to the nervous system.  This may account for why so many people who have these habits find it so hard to give them up. It simply “feels good” at the time no matter what the consequences.

Even if you suffer from more than one of these habits, don’t give up on yourself. These negative behaviors can be overcome if you have enough motivation. More important is learning to “de-stigmatize” yourself. You are not crazy, helpless, morally weak or totally out of control, even though you may feel like you are at times. Once you get down to realizing that you are just a person who simply happens to have a bad habit, you can make some serious progress.

Skin picking and nail biting are chronic problems, so there is not currently a “cure” but you can find a recovery if you are willing to work at it. Hypnosis for nail biting consists of three parts.

NLP & Hypnotherapy For People Who Bite Their Nails

To start with, nail biting is a stress related habit.  So the first part of the therapy is to teach the biter how to be more relaxed at all times.  To that end, I have found that traditional hypnosis, Ericksonian hypnosis, and Neuro-Linguistic Programming techniques are usually quite effective. That’s because the very essence of hypnosis is relaxation. The biter can learn to apply several different methods to increase both the relaxed state, as well as his/her overall feeling of well-being.

The second part teaches the biter awareness of this unconscious habit. Suggestions can be given to the unconscious mind to make the conscious mind aware that you are about to bite your nails. Then you get to consciously decide whether or not you are actually going to bite them.

There are also several other effective hypnosis and NLP methods. For example, we can help the client to set up an “Anchor” or trigger so that he/she can momentarily mentally step outside of him/herself. This is an effective method that will effectively relieve the urge to bite.

The third part of the therapy is to eliminate the compulsion to bite the nails.  There are hypnotic methods that actually program the client with a compulsion to not bite.

With the nail biting habit, being realistic is very important.  First, you have practiced the unwanted behavior hundreds or even thousands of times. You will need to accept that the nail biting behavior will not simply be overcome in a few weeks.

Secondly, you are fighting the fact that it feels good to do, and it offers a lot of short-term satisfaction and either stimulation or soothing feelings. It can take time and effort to master, but I believe that it is well worth it. Experience has shown a number of methods to be extremely effective!