Nail Biting Moments
When I get stressed out one of the first things I do (after eating all the junk food within a 2 mile radius) is start biting my nails. They are never safe! I am a massive fan of the program Criminal Minds and almost every week I find myself unconsciously biting on my nails during the ‘scary/exciting’ part of the program.
I recognise this is a disgusting habit but it’s something I can’t seem to stop myself from doing no matter how hard I try because for some reason it helps me to stop feeling nervous and releases tension and stress. I would actually say it’s on a par with having a good old rant about your troubles, having a good old chop on my nails does seem to help reduce my stress but what I am left with is an absolutely dire looking set of hands. Although I might point out I don’t bite my nails daily, it’s probably more of a fortnightly thing. You may know from my past blogs that I am an avid hand washer, to the point of OCD – yes, really! So I can justify my biting as not being too disgusting but I really would like to try and stop.
I know in my childhood people used to use this horrendous nail varnish that had a foul taste to try and put them off biting their nails, but I was never that bad as a child and compared to the occasional bad biting incident, painting a positively revolting solution onto your hands to stop the biting didn’t seem like such a great idea to me.
I have identified two things that stop my nail biting and I want to share them with you so if you , like me go through the occasional bad spell you can try these tips to stop yourself dead in your tracks.
The first option is if I have my nails painted I won’t be tempted to bite them, one because I don’t want to chip the paint and two because I don’t want to get nail polish in my mouth! It doesn’t matter what colour it is, it’s just the perfectionist in me can’t allow my brain to engage in any biting thoughts while I have nail polish on, strange but true I know! A much better option than the foul tasting nail biting repellent!
Secondly, whenever I had gel or acrylic nails I NEVER bit my nails. The reasons are obvious but let me explain – if you can’t get to them then you can’t destroy them. This rule applies to almost everything in life, like when I am trying to lose weight I get my husband to put all the really lovely treats in the house at a level I can’t reach. That way I can’t destroy a bag of Doritos in a moment of weakness because I can’t get to them! So I can pretty much make a standard bet on myself that within each year of my adult life I will get Gel or acrylic nails put on during a particularly stressful time in my life, because I know for me it works.
So if you are going through a nail biting time in your life why don’t you try one of my tips because as my husband pointed out to me, there is actually nothing more unattractive than watching someone bite their nails and having watched people do it on the tube – I tend to agree with him!
p.s If your nails are in need of attention then be sure to take advantage of one of the many pedicure and manicure deals available at Groupon; like this one for 90 Minute Luxury Manicure and Pedicure for £26 at Pure Essentials Health & Beauty Centre (60% Off). Keep an eye out in your city and see what other great offers are available!
Great post Melissa, I always used to bite my nails when I was a kid and one day my dad said to me “why do you bit your nails Caz, it looks awful” and that was it, I never bit them from that day forward.
Of course now I have the opposite problem, I can never be bothered to cut them!