Nail biting

I think this fits into anxiety, maybe, maybe not...

I bite my nails really bad, I hate it! My fingers look terrible. So much that they bleed and have started to grow deformed... I even chew the skin around them and sometimes use a knife to cut bits away. Have tried "bitter-bite", that stuff that makes them taste really bad, in my mind, the desire to bite is greater than the bitter taste....

Does anyone know of some way I can stop... People often make comments about them, making me more conscious about them.

Is this a form of self-harm? Or just pure anxiety?

I know what you mean about biting. I don't bite my nails, though, I bite the insides of my mouth and my lips. I do this constantly. I don't know why I do it, but apparently I really like it being that I do it so much.
I used to be a nail biter, but I don't remember how I stopped. I think I just tried to keep them polished.
Don't know if it is anxiety or not, but my husband would say it is self harm.
Tracy

I do a similar thing... but I pick my nails. I have the shortest nails of anyone I know. Like you, I often pick them until they blled and I pick the skin around them too. I've done it for as long as I can remember and I have never been able to stop it for more than a month. I don't know if it is related to anxiety or not. My aunt does it though, though nowhere near as bad as me, and I blame it on her that I started it, lol. I don't know if that's the case though. She has anxiety and that is maybe why she does it, but for me, I'm not sure if it is anything more than a learned habit.

i bite my nails too. have since i was 8 and i'm 26 now. how do i stop!!!??? anyone have any advice?

I used to bite my nails when I was a teenager, but now i do what tracy33 does & bite inside of mouth. I think for youngsters in their 20s nail biting can be just a habit, but when you start chewing mouth, lips etc. that is definitely an anxiety symptom. I would`nt classify either as Self Harming behaviour in the clinical sense.

I used to bite my nails when I was a teenager, but now i do what tracy33 does & bite inside of mouth. I think for youngsters in their 20s nail biting can be just a habit, but when you start chewing mouth, lips etc. that is definitely an anxiety symptom. I would`nt classify either as Self Harming behaviour in the clinical sense.

</div></font></blockquote><font class="post"> Beyond a wholesome discipline, be gentle with yourself

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I don't suffer from anxiety, but I have bitten my nails in the past. Well, I guess if what you feel from bipolar disorder and ADHD can be called anxiety then I do. Now I have this twisted obsession with popping my nuckles. I even have a routine for doing it and I have to get at least 20 pops. If I don't then the routine starts over until I get the correct number. More than 20 is ok but not less. Stupid, huh? I also bite the inside of my lip. I'm not sure how I quit biting my nails. I do keep them trimmed very close and and rough skin gets neatly trimmed off with the clippers. I don't know if it's anxiety or ADHD restlessness...like tapping your toes.

ryan

it's a symptom of OCD. i'm not saying all nail-biters have OCD. however, serotonin is involved with complusions. i found that when i was on a SSRI (zoloft), after a few months my nails were no being chewed on by me. when i quit that drug, i resumed biting my nails.

interesting. I wonder if that would work for my nuckle popping and my lip biting. Are all SSRI's antidepresants? Cause that might be out of the question for me.

ryan

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I wonder if that would work for my nuckle popping and my lip biting. Are all SSRI's antidepresants?

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i think all SSRI's are considered antidepressants (newer generation).
Ryan, can you not take antidepressants? if so, why?

Well, I have bipolar disorder. From what my pdoc has told me and from everything I've read, giving someone who is bipolar an AD can send them into a severe manic state that's nearly impossible to get out of. My pdoc said that AD's have to be VERY carefully mixed with mood stabilizers to prevent this if an AD is needed.

ryan

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Well, I have bipolar disorder. From what my pdoc has told me and from everything I've read, giving someone who is bipolar an AD can send them into a severe manic state that's nearly impossible to get out of. My pdoc said that AD's have to be VERY carefully mixed with mood stabilizers to prevent this if an AD is needed.

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pdoc said "very carefully mixed" which means SSRI's are still an option.

Current literature on bipolar and SSRI's are changing the trend of avoiding SSRI's (for bipolar disorder) to using SSRI's as a first line med when a bipolar person is in depression. Check out Psychiatry News article `Switching' Risks Minimal In Bipolar Treatment by Jim Rosack

Lexapro is a SSRI that bipolars can take. ask your pdoc what he thinks about that drug (for you).

Thanks for the info Jennie. We talked about all the different meds and how they "should" affect me. My doc mentioned the careful mix of AD's because of my PTSD. Lovely mix of dx's, huh? He feels that my depression goes far beyond the normal bipolar issues and that even when the lamictal is in full effect (I'm only up to 75 mg's and shooting for 150 for right now) that an AD might be necessary in the mix to help out with the PTSD stuffs.

Ryan

i've got PTSD and am bipolar I, too. the amazing part about adding a SSRI to other meds, is that you may only need the smallest dose of SSRI to help you. if you feel irritable, then the SSRI needs to be decreased or stopped. irritability was my first sign i was getting manic from SSRI. good communication with your doc can help you find the right balance for you.

Yeah, I'm learning about that communication thing. It's kinda hard right now cause I've just started the help thing and the fact that the illness had almost completely taken over my life makes it hard to know which end is up. Pdoc said that's normal at first... especially when you've waited as long as I have to do something about it. Thanks for all the advise. I really appreciate it. And may I say that bipolar SUX!! LOL

Ryan

I noticed awhile ago on my health insurance website that they listed nailbiting as SIB. My nailbiting would definitely fit. When I run out of nails i work on skin. I let my nails grow a few times, but always had bad dreams and gave it up after a month or so.

Ryan, we should talk. I can't remember why right now (ADD here as well as a long list of other diagnosis). But I will remember some day. It was you, with out your knowledge or effort, that led me to this thread. TY

I used to hold the record of the shortest nails on earth. I dont even think I had nails, just a nail bed. It was awful. I tried the bitter nail and anything else I could get my hands on. It actually felt good to bite my nails. I loved it. It's almost as if it was a nice big juicy steak and I couldn't get enough. I know that sounds dumb but it is the truth.
I remember exactly when I quit biting my nails. It was May of 2000. The reason being was ..........my Wedding. My wedding date was September 23, 2000. I didn't want to wear aycrlic nails so I made a concious effort not to bit them. It took every ounce of will power in me not to bite those suckers. I would literally stare at them and drool for them, but I made a commitment to myself and I wanted to keep it. Low and behold, I did it. I actually grew my own nails for my wedding. I was so proud. I had never done that before. I have been biting my nails since I was 9 I think. I was 26 when I got married. After the wedding, I thought I could resume the biting. But I didn't. I thought, WHY? I have gone this long so why start up again? I have not bitten my nails since. Now they grow so fast and strong that I have to cut them back every 3 weeks. It's unreal. I don't even have the urge to bite anymore. I always think about where my hands have been or what have I touched (at work) and that pretty much detours my mind away from biting. I don't know any magic words for you to help you stop.
Maybe you could hold a contest with yourself. See just how long you can go with out biting them. When you get the urge, look away. Put a lolly pop in your mouth. Chew gum. Drink some tea. Do something else. That is the only advice I have to offer.
I'm sorry I could not be of better help to you.

Keep us posted.

<font color="blue"> I've chewed my nails for as long as I can remember--and not just fingernails. Toenails, too. I know that sounds gross, but at least my feet are always clean--I have the OCD superclean obsession. When I don't have anynails to work on, I go for the skin around them. Seriously, it's not safe to have clippers around me, I'd probably end up skinning myself alive.

I tend to chew my lips too, all the time. When I was younger I would chew on the ends of my hair, but I broke that habit when I decided to cut my hair super-short. I'm actually trying to regrow my hair long again, but plan to keep it tied back when unstyled, so as not to be tempted to nibble on it again.

Yar. Isn't anxiety fun?!?

~Storm</font>

I quit biting my nails awhile ago, only still bite the skin around then. I don't think for me it is a Self Injury thing more OCD/Anxiety.

I had never really even realized my biting my lip only I think I do only do not even believe I am aware of doing so. I do know I have my left side of the bottom of my lip that is always sore and 'split'. I find myself constantly putting ointments and balms on my lips because of the bottom left being sore and huting only do not understand why I do not 'catch' myself doing it.

I have newly dx OCD always have had ADHD. BiPolar Type 1 with Mixed states (Moderate), PTSD, Polysubstance Dependance.

Anyway I think maybe my lip biting may be a side effect of a med. I had a Pdoc also telll me he could not control my Major Depressive
part of my Bipolar with Anitdepressants, then He lost his work permit for awhile and I started seeing a Different Pdoc for about 3 months who Left the Lithium the Same only increased my single daily dose of Effexor XR from 37.5mg to 375mg single daily dose (2-red 150mg and one Peach 75mg) it has helped only still have bad depression only do not know if Effexor XR is an SSRI or not.