Biting your nails doesn’t bring you anything but looking extremely unfeminine and loading yourself with bacteria. Stop this awful habit with these awesome tricks!
Biting your nails is a fairly common habit, but unfortunately very harmful. According to some studies, it is a habit more common in perfectionists, but also of those who are very hard and demanding with themselves. In fact, it is considered a disorder to the point such that it has its own name: onicofagia. In general, it is related to emotional problems, such as anxiety or fear.
At the same time, this bad habit can bring many health problems. On the one hand, it makes the fingers look abnormal and discolored, and the surrounding skin can become red and painful.
You may also end up with breathing problems if a fingernail is aspirated and passes into the lungs or gets stuck in the larynx. The same can bring stomach problems by swallowing and passing into the stomach.
For all that, it is important to eradicate the habit of biting your nails. As with any habit we want to replace, you have to know that it is a process that takes time. So the first thing you need to do is to be determined.
But with these tricks, if you have already made the decision, surely it will be easier.
Tricks to stop biting your nails
Discover at what time of the day you eat your nails
To eliminate a habit it is important to rationalize it, and stop doing it automatically. Every time you find yourself biting your nails, ask yourself: What’s going on right now that got me to do this?
You may find that you always go to the habit when you are bored, when you are working, or when something causes you anxiety.
When you know better what it takes to eat your nails, it will be easier to be prepared in those moments and change the habit for another.
Replace the habit
If you have already discovered the times when you become weak and fall into the temptation to eat your nails, you can try replacing the habit for something else.
So if, for example, you bite your nails when you’re anxious, you can try getting a ball to squeeze with your hands. Or you can think of using a spinner when you’re bored.
You can also change the habit by eating healthy snacks, to quench the urge to chew: sticks of celery, carrot. Never substitute for other unhealthy snacks as it can be counterproductive.
Take care of your nails
Believe it or not, paying more attention to your hands and nails in particular will help you give up the habit of biting them.
It is that having them beautiful and arranged takes time and effort. However, when you see them that way you probably will not want to ruin them.
Put something bitter or spicy on your nails
It’s an old grandmother trick, but it does not mean it does not work. Putting something with bitter or spicy taste on the nails can make you stop biting them; not so much because you cannot tolerate the taste, but because to feel it will remind you that you should not continue with the habit.
As this bad habit is so widespread, enamels have been created that have an unpleasant taste. However, using them constantly involves exposing the body to everything that happens when you put the nail polish.
An excellent alternative is to choose tea tree essential oils or neem oil. You can also apply other more domestic products: lemon, garlic, or hot peppers.
Use nail protection
In winter, you can try wearing gloves. In addition to protecting you from the cold, they will prevent you from eating your nails.
You can also choose to use false nails. It is a good way to put an obstacle when it comes to falling into the temptation to bite.
In summer, it may be a drastic solution, but if the habit is too serious a problem, you may be able to use nail polish in the times of the day when you bite your nails more.
In conclusion, repeat the same thing at the beginning. These are just ideas that can help you if you are really determined. But keep in mind that you can have moments of weakness, and fall back into the habit.
That does not matter. With the strength of will and these ideas, one day you will realize that you have ended forever with onicophagy. Just take the first step!
Further info: How To Make Nails Grow Fast And Strong Naturally?
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