So, you need to know how to stop biting nails and are probably a habitual nail biter. You may not want really long nails, but just want a decent set that are not bitten to the wick. Thankfully, there are a few things you can try to help you stop.
Medications to help stop biting nails
Strangely, some anti-depressants have proven quite effective in helping to stop biting nails. These medications include fluoxetine, clomipramine, paroxetine, sertraline, fluvoxamine, escitalopram, citalopram, nefazodone and venlafaxine. Anti-depressant medications are often used in conjunction with small amounts of anti-psychotics or the B vitamin inositol which increases serotonin levels in the brain to help stop nail biting habits.
Therapies to help stop biting nails
Behavioural therapy may also be worth trying, in particular, Habit Reversal Training (HRT) which includes four parts and aims to make you stop biting nails and hopefully, make you learn a better constructive habit. Then you would undertake Stimulus Control therapy which is used to recognize and remove any stimulus that leads to nail biting.
Neuro-Linguistic Programming (NLP)
We form our view of the world in conjunction with our personal experience, values, beliefs and assumptions. We act dependent on our own perceptions rather than the real world itself. NLP behavioural modelling allows the discovery of how we think, feel and behave and often utilises the use of visualisation techniques. So, if you find someone excelling in some particular field you can observe it to learn what actually makes them tick and that could be imbibed. NLP uses many techniques such as hypnosis, which is considered as an effective way to change the thinking and learning communication skills of a person.
There is one simple and effective technique in NLP called anchoring. For example, suppose something made you very happy in the past. You would then visualise that image and try and expand on it by bringing the sounds, feelings and smells back making the image sharper and more focused and it is certain to bring smile to your face.
This could well be used to kick bad habits like nail biting. If you need to stop nail biting you need to concentrate hard by using NLP techniques. It could allow you to change the way you see the world and that would change your behaviour which in turn would help you stop nail biting.
Other therapies
There are various aversion therapies that exist to help stop biting nails such as coating the nails with unpleasant tasting special nail polish. Some suggest wearing a rubber band on the wrist and to snap it when you find yourself biting nails. Chewing gum has also helped some to stop nail biting and if you keep a record of when you bite your nails you may reveal the reason for it as well. I hope the above has given you some ideas on how to stop biting nails.
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