[FallenIntoDarkness]

My father always bit his nails. When I mean bite, I mean bite it to the point where they're almost unrecognisable and sometimes to the point where they would bleed.

Apologies if it seemed a bit gross for some of you, but I have a similar issue. I'm not sure if it's intertwined with my anxiety and a mixture of "monkey see, monkey do", but it's been a problem I've been struggling with for many many years.

There's been periods of time where I have been able to control it. Those haven't been long lasting though (only a month tops). I've always found myself biting them more and more when I have felt like I lost control of a situation or when I'm feeling overwhelmed.

Does anyone have any tips on how to start battling this problem?

I did watch a video where he uses the idea of before you start putting the fingers in your mouth, simply say "No." "You're weak." "You're stronger than this." Or some variation thereof, to get the point across that it's not necessary. He posted a video afterwards suggesting that behaviour that precedes it, such as flicking your nails, etc should be stopped too (where you should straighten your fingers if you notice yourself doing it).

[Skeezyks]

Hello FallenIntoDarkness: I bit my nails as a child & teenager, many years ago now. When I became a young adult I wanted to stop. What I did was I always carried a fingernail clipper with me in my pocket. I kept my nails cut very short. And anytime I noticed a break or a rough spot I immediately trimmed it & smoothed it over. This worked for me. Over time I stopped biting my nails & I still don't.

[Loial]

I used to bite my fingernails a lot when I was younger into my teens, although not to your extent. I guess I was just fortunate to "grow out of it".

I believe you can get a sort of transparent nail varnish that is meant to dissuade nail biting.

I have no idea whether such things work, but it's probably worth a shot.

I definitely agree with Skeezyks that having a nail clipper to hand is a good plan too.

[Perna]

I bit my nails too often until I was into my 50's! Good therapy for my anxieties helped me not need to. But what I like the most is just acknowledging and allowing myself to bite my nails (Who cares? There's other things in life much more important) and try to shift my focus to something else (or stop and look at what was making me anxious when I caught myself biting my nails excessively) helped.

[fishin fool]

I bite my nails fairly often.
It was not to bad for most of my life but the last couple of years
it has gotten much worse. I really need to stop but I do think
it's an anxiety thing.

[Purple80]

Hiya, I used to bite my nails really badly but then I cut my finger and had to wear a band aid on it for a few days and didn't even try to bit that nail so I tried putting one on each finger. It sounds a bit silly but it worked, I think it just broke the habit and whiloe I do still bite them every so often I don't do it to the extent I used to. Obviously this isn't getting to the root of the anxiety but it helped break the cycle.
I tried the clear nail varnish but used to just bite it off, it tasted gross but the feeling of biting my nails was better, lol.

[cheshiregrins]

I always used to bite my nails. I just keep nail polish on them now and that keeps me from biting them.

I used the nail polish designed to help stop nail biting. It tastes awful but helped me recognize when I was putting my fingers in my mouth. It takes some time to break the habit but that polish helped me to stop. BTW it's clear so men can use it too.