Picking, biting and chewing on skin and nails.

Post Reply New Topic

I bite my nails and the skin around them, but not to the point where they're chewed down to the quick or painful.
I chew the inside of my cheeks too.

Yes, I chew and shred the skin around my fingers until they bleed. One time my sister pointed out to me that I did this in front of her. "You're bleeding," she said, looking shocked. Yet, I felt accused, like it's something I shouldn't be doing. Hell, I was nervous. It was a tense situation. (My sister and I don't get along -- she is scary and I get tense around her. She's nuts.)

When I met became friends with my now-husband, he really didn't like me doing this to myself. And of course I don't like some of his habits, either. If it gets infected it is gross. If it's extensive or in an area that doesn't get washed as often as hands (like back, etc) then it's going to be harder to clear up.

The most important thing I realized is that I do it when nervous. I am still poor at knowing my feelings, so if I start to shred, I know some feelings are under the surface and need attention. It's very hard for me to get a comfortable flow with feelings -- partly because the world makes so many things uncomfortable for me that most feelings are uncomfortable ones anyway. It's hard for me to know my own feelings, most of the time. So I'm working on emotional skills using NVC. (Nonviolent communication -- google Marshall Rosenberg or NVC for more info).

Yes, but I've gotten better - I don't rip off my cuticles anymore.

Biting nails and cuticles or tearing them off to maximum extent - often until they start bleeding, biting interior cheeks and exterior lips, sometimes biting horny skin areas on hands. It is there all time - I do not take notice of it anymore, unless I get reminded by someone of fellow man. It is quite embarrassing, especially in public. I can not stop and am literally used to plunging my teeth into the nailbeds.

Also often touching and scratching facial parts.

Well, I have been doing so all time. I can not stop anymore.

I have a quazi solution.

First off. I find that the state of my nails is like a cheat sheet for knowing my mental state. The worse my mental state the worse my nails. If I can't handle the stress (or even if I go to a scary movie) I bite till I bleed and I bite back into the nail beds sometimes half way back by the end of a day. Painful and embarrassing...especially when I find that I've been unconsciously biting in front of people.

My solution (quazi because if I can't handle the stress I'll break back into biting) is to replace biting with filing. I keep nail files around the house and on my person at all times and every time i feel a little roughness, I file. Or every time I feel a little stress, I'll file. In a way, filing (or even better buffing) my nails becomes a new calming stim.

The bonus is that the nails grow back faster with mild filing and they look better. I even file my nails right after I bite them just to get into the habit again.

I most certainty bite my nails a lot, I kinda enjoy it.

However, I sometimes bite them too low causing to be sore, my right thumb is sore right now lol.

I chew on my fingernails and the skin around them compulsively. I usually do it when I'm anxious or when I'm driving or sitting somewhere where I can't get up and move around. I played softball when a child, and I chewed right through the fingers of my batting glove while waiting on base.

Friends and family have had me try aloe, fingernail polish, fake nails, etc to stop me from biting on my nails, and nothing works. I did successfully avoid biting for about a month in the 9th grade, as I would sit on my hands if they weren't in use. I suddenly broke down in class one day and bit all of the nails off in quick succession, though. Oops.