How do you kick a bad habit?

1. 59

   iiimusicfreak27posted 11 years ago

   How do you kick a bad habit?
   
   I personally have a terrible habit of biting my nails -- yeah, eeeck -- and I can't stop ... which is why it's called a habit.
   Do you or anyone you know have a bad habit? Have you tried to stop it? Have you been able to?
   What are some of your suggestions to breaking a habit?
   
   *Thanks in advance!

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2. 61

   Ashantinaposted 11 years ago

   I bite my nails too! Have done since I was 7 years old when my dad used to cut my nails with a razor-blade (: My way around it, I wear acrylics when I can and when they grow, they look too good to eat. Get fake nails hun ):

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3. 59

   premsinghposted 11 years ago

   You have to get over any bad habit developing strong will power. You have to understand that your problem is not a big one. Biting nails does not do any harm except the reason that it's not hygienic and may cause health related problem in future. Get rid of your nervousness. People usually bite nails when they feel very nervous. Try to keep yourself busy doing things or indulging in acts you like most.

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4. 74

   donnaisabellaposted 11 years ago

   I think we all have bad habits and they are so difficult to break. I used to have a bad habit of sucking my breath for whatever reason. One day I just told myself that I would stop doing it. For as long as I did not think about it, I did not do it. Whenever I thought of it, I began being tempted to do it. Even now as I write, I am tempted to do it but it is no longer as pleasant as it used to be then so it is just a stupid meaningless habit that bound me so hard. The good thing is that we have control over our bodies and we are the only ones who have the power to stop it no matter how much advice we receive. Good luck!

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5. 57

   medicinefutureposted 11 years ago

   your obsession with nail biting  is a window to lessen y our anxiety and   deep sense of  insecurity , that is hidden deep in your unconscious mind.  Nail biting is  nothing but disguised form of your anxitey. you need some psychologist to make you aware of your anxiety and its original form , that you have totally forgotten.

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6. 86

   Laura Schneiderposted 11 years ago

   There is some over-the-counter product you can paint your nails with that makes them taste bad. It works really well, but the name escapes me. It's sort of like Bitter Apple for dogs, but it's something else for people. Describe your problem to your pharmacist and s/he will be able to direct you to the right product.
   
   Otherwise, acrylic nails or the press-on nails you can get at the drug store sound like a fantastic idea to me! Maybe both ideas can be done at the same time!

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7. 61

   ALURposted 11 years ago

   Im in the process of kicking a habit and an addiction: Smoking. I found changing little things and routine helps make me conscious of what I'm doing and easier to force myself out of the routine. When I notice I want that stick of cancer that gives temporary relief in my mind during a stressful day I walk or I write.
   
   Now don't get me wrong. I haven't reached Nirvana of officially quitting but knowing what I'm doing helps achieve the goal of avoiding it.

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8. 75

   BlissfulWriterposted 11 years ago

   Replace the bad habit with a good habit.  Have a bag of carrots, whenever you feel the urge to bit nail, bite on the carrots instead.  It could be nuts or other healthy snack.
   
   If the urge to bite nail is excessive, it might be a sign of a deeper anxiety or an early symptom of Obsessive Compulsive Behavior.  I wrote a hub about it once and you can Google "OCD".  A good book on the subject is "Brain Lock: Free Yourself from Obsessive Compulsive Behavior" which recommends resisting the urge as much as possible and with the use of mindfulness awareness training.

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9. 72

   cleaner3posted 11 years ago

   Obsessive compulsive behavior takes many forms, In any course, to know yourself is to learn how to combat it . The best way to  deal with this behavior is to change the elements that cause it. I battled a addiction with narcotics which was destoying my creative nature to write , but you have to take baby steps before you can actually make a giant leap. This is something that you must battle in a day to day basis , just fight it day to day and use your will power to overcome it for one day then the next day, baby steps must be taken in any addiction. A  legendary  pool player that I met  told of a way to learn how to play pool. A baby must learn how to crawl before he learns how to walk, before he learns how to run. Take baby steps and soon you will develop the will power in your own mind to overcome your bad habits.

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10. 73

    soconfidentposted 11 years ago

    The best way to kick a bad habit would be to replace with a good habit

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11. 66

    xethonxqposted 11 years ago

    Strong intestinal fortitude, internal motivation, and a support system to help you when you're ready to relent.

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12. 66

    urmilashukla23posted 11 years ago

    Once you have built any habit it is hard to get rid off but nothing is impossible. Nail biting is a sign of insecurity and can be improved by putting band aid or cover with clean clothes. Come on you can do it!

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    1. 86

       Laura Schneiderposted 10 years agoin reply to this

       Exactly! We're all rooting for you!
       
       Urmilashukla23's comment about band aids gave me the idea of wearing well-fitting gloves: maybe that would help.

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13. 73

    BeccaWoodposted 11 years ago

    Let me help you out. My sister has the same habit and she got kidney stones from it. How this happens is when you bite your nails, littles pieces of your nails fling back into your mouth and get in your digestive system. Your digestive system cannot break this down. You will only get kidney stones if the bits of nails make it to your kidneys. If not then they went through your intestines and could also do some damage by scraping the intestinal walls. My sister got kidney stones so big they had to do surgery on her to get it out. Now if that doesn't make you quit I don't know what will.

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    1. 86

       Laura Schneiderposted 10 years agoin reply to this

       Yikes!

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14. 0

    Emer420posted 11 years ago

    Do it the good old fashioned American way, replace it with another..

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15. 59

    iiimusicfreak27posted 10 years ago

    Very late, but thank you very much for your answers everyone!

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    1. 86

       Laura Schneiderposted 10 years agoin reply to this

       Did any of our comments help you quit biting your nails? Would you be willing to give us an update on your condition and what did/didn't work for you? I really hope you can kick this habit because you'll also learn how to kick future bad habits! :-)

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    2. 59

       iiimusicfreak27posted 10 years agoin reply to this

       Laura, the answers were helpful in the sense that I tried, but sadly I have not kicked the habit
       I went a bit without doing it but I started doing it subconsciously again. If I could become a vegan, I'd have thought I could kick this, haha

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    3. 86

       Laura Schneiderposted 10 years agoin reply to this

       I'm so sorry to hear this. Don't give up trying, though! I bit my nails for 3.5 decades and finally stopped when I started wearing nail polish and stopped playing piano. Now I just need to stop the new habits that prevent me from playing piano :-|

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