The one meals I like unconditionally is buffalo hen wings. However consuming buffalo hen leaves me in a state of ache and discomfort, due to my lifelong behavior of biting my nails. Each chew of buffalo hen is an opportunity for the lava-hot sauce to enter my nail beds, inflicting them to erupt with scorching scorching ache.
I have been biting my nails for so long as I can keep in mind. My mother bit her nails, my dad bit his nails, and my brothers bit their nails. I look again fondly on the nights after we’d all be on the sofa collectively watching TV, absentmindedly chewing on our nails in unison. It was an exquisite sight to behold.
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My fingernails have all the time been there and I’ve all the time loved biting them, so there’s by no means been a motive to not do it. In truth, I can’t consider a time in my life when sticking my fingers in my mouth wasn’t a viable answer for boredom or nerves. I am not the one one that would not see something fallacious with biting my nails, both. In truth, my “bad” behavior was not too long ago defended by a latest research, which concluded nail-biting can really profit youngsters by exposing them to allergens early in life.
That stated, nail-biting could be a signal of a extra troubling habits. Indra Cidambi, M.D., the medical director on the Heart for Community Remedy in New Jersey and a pioneer of dependancy medication, advised me that nail-biting has been categorised as a symptom of obsessive-compulsive dysfunction (OCD), however it could possibly principally be attributed to 2 components: organic and environmental (so should you affiliate nail-biting with stress and anxiousness, you will probably begin doing it if you get burdened and anxious). “It’s an addiction,” she says: for the long-time nail biter, it turns into a type of stimulation that you just ultimately crave.
That is partly why I not too long ago determined that it was excessive time for me to kick the behavior. I felt disgusting after sticking my fingers in my mouth after a protracted journey dwelling on the practice; plus, my girlfriend was getting bored with discovering bits of fingernails everywhere in the residence.
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Lured by the promise of a greater life with longer fingernails, I discovered 5 totally different strategies of quitting and tried every of them for one week. Finally, there was just one that (type of) labored — however the course of main as much as it was whole agony.
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Table of Contents
Day 1: Quitting Chilly Turkey
I kicked off my experiment with the only however arguably most tough technique: quitting chilly turkey. Earlier than I even obtained away from bed within the morning, I discovered it powerful to kick the behavior. In truth, weaning myself off cigarettes three years in the past proved to be simpler than telling myself to not put my fingers in my mouth.
The issue wasn’t that I wished to chew my nails. It was that my muscle reminiscence took over with out me realizing it, to the purpose that I discovered myself mindlessly chewing on my nails all through the day. By the tip of the day, I spotted that quitting chilly turkey was simply not going to work. (I additionally realized that I most likely should not attempt any laborious medicine, like, ever.)
Day 2: Chewing Gum
The parents at Wikihow, bless their souls, listed a number of useful methods to kick the behavior of nail-biting. One of many extra apparent strategies concerned merely holding one’s mouth busy by chewing gum, so I made a decision to provide it a shot. With a journey pack of peppermint Trident in my pocket, I spent the entire day answering each single urge to chew my nails with a recent piece of gum. Whereas the fixed chewing did actually hold me from specializing in my nails, I did understand that I used to be in the end substituting one dangerous behavior for one more. Ultimately, it was my gag reflex that obtained one of the best of me (there may be, apparently, such a factor as overdosing on gum). After I completed my final piece, I ended up going proper again to my nails, like a moth drawn to a hip moth get together.
Day 3: Trim Your Nails
I’ll be frank: I knew from expertise that this technique wouldn’t work (actual nail-biters aren’t deterred by much less materials to chew on), and to cite Jeff Goldblum from Jurassic Park, “Boy, do I hate being right all the time!” Switching from my enamel to nail clippers did nothing however exacerbate the sorry state of my nails. Not solely was I nonetheless biting my nails, however tying my sneakers or peeling stickers off issues grew to become excruciatingly painful. It was clear by the tip of the day that there was extra to my nail-biting than routine.
Day 4: Apply Bandaids
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This technique is everywhere in the web, however I do not suggest it. I spent 10 minutes with the bandages on the ideas of my fingers earlier than tearing them off and utilizing the remainder of the day making an attempt to get all of the extreme adhesive off my fingernails. Nevertheless, the adhesive doubles as an important deterrent because it tastes like plastic vomit.
Day 5: Brush on Gross-Tasting Polish
Nail-biting is frequent sufficient that there are particular merchandise available on the market that declare that can assist you kick the behavior. One in every of these merchandise is Chew No Extra, an anti-nail-biting polish you are supposed to place in your nails. It is fairly simple to explain the style of Chew No Extra: It tastes like a battery exploded in your mouth, and it lingers for a couple of minutes even after you’re taking your fingers out of your mouth. The mere odor of the chemical compounds within the product (together with isopropyl alcohol, butyl acetate, and nitrocellulose) made me dry heave at my desk.
For some time, Chew No Extra labored. However after a full week of utilizing the acrid answer, I discovered that whereas I definitely did not benefit from the style of Chew No Extra, it not disgusted me. I had basically turn out to be accustomed to it (I blame my love of whiskey and black espresso — clearly, I am predisposed to turning into used to objectively dangerous tastes.)
Finally, I needed to ask myself: why did I take pleasure in biting my nails a lot within the first place? I spotted that I felt unusually good about myself after a nail-biting session. I’d have a look at my freshly “groomed” nails and get a rush of endorphins, type of like if you lastly do your taxes or completely clear your inbox. Maybe, this was what it was all about for me — not simply the sensation of the biting itself, however the reward, too. On the finish of the day, I needed to ask myself if I used to be prepared to surrender this good feeling for more healthy nails—and actually, I wasn’t.
On the finish of the day, I wasn’t in a position to kick the nail-biting behavior, however for these whose oral fixation is not as sturdy as mine, I recommend going with a nail-biting deterrent like Chew No Extra. Although I ultimately obtained used to the acrid style, general it appears to be the best technique.
Ultimately, it is as much as you: should you really feel like biting your nails is getting in the way of life a cheerful life, then stop it. But when your largest gripe is that it renders you unable to eat scorching hen wings (which, except you make them at dwelling, you most likely should not be consuming anyway), then you definately most likely have extra vital issues to fret about.
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