I’ve been a nail biter for longer than I can remember. When I was younger, my grandfather used to try to bribe me to stop — at first, he offered me twenty dollars if I could stop biting my nails for just a month. Before he gave up, the bribe was up to two hundred dollars for just a month of not biting my nails. And still… I couldn’t do it.
I’ve tried to stop on many occasions. But nail nibbling is a long-ingrained habit. Just wanting to stop isn’t enough for me. As soon as I stop paying attention, my fingers go right for my mouth.
Instead, I have to trick myself.
Shortly after New Year’s, I decided to make the effort once again to try to stop biting my nails. And this time, I gave myself permission to fail. By the four-week point, I had eight “good” nails — the ones I hadn’t bitten — and two “bad” nails. The good ones were long enough for a little nail polish, so I started digging out my palest colors: my favorite shimmery pink from L’Oreal and an opalescent, nearly-clear polish from OPI.
And suddenly, I was fixated on my nails in a new way. Every other day or so, I’m switching colors. As my nails grow longer, I can use darker colors. In the last few days they’ve been bronze and lavender. Today, I might go with fuchsia or green. Even my “bad” nails are getting to be long enough for a little color.
Letting my nails grow has become fun and interactive.
And I still want to bite them. But now I distract my mouth with gum (I’ve started keeping a pack in every room) or healthy snacks like light popcorn. I actually just bit one of my old “bad” nails again today. But just a little — not chewed to death like I used to. Even that is a big improvement for me.