Fingernails are great. Why did no one tell me this? I’ve bitten my nails since I’ve had them. I can’t remember not biting them and I bite them bad, right down until they bleed and then some more and if I can’t bite the nail I bite the cuticle and if I can’t do that I bite the skin. As soon as I can get the tiniest bit of nail between my teeth, I rip them off. I’ve wanted to stop, but not enough to ever actually do something about it.
A few weeks ago I notice that one of my nails was “long” and by long I mean not a bleeding stump on the end of my finger. I don’t know how this one slipped through my fingers (pun totally intended) The cuticle was not bleeding and, although raged, I liked the look. It was then I decided to my a concerted effort to not bite my nails. After just a few days I could actually feel them growing.
It’s hard to explain, but I was very aware of nails growing out of the end of my fingers. I could almost hear the creak of growth and had to fight to not nibble on them. After a few more days I could see white growing on the end. This was unheard of. I don’t think I’ve ever seen white growing from my nails. 40+ years of abuse had made them weak and the ends were ragged and broken, but I fought the urge to bite them clean off. My sister, in her failed attempt to get me to stop, had bought me a nail set. I dug it out from the cupboard it had been hiding in and pulled out the file and actually filed a nail!
It’s now at least two weeks and although I have caught myself with a nail between my teeth, I haven’t bitten one off. I’m finding them very useful. No longer do I have to scratch an itch with whatever is laying around and I actually picked up a coin from the floor. And as for removing labels from old books, it’s now a hobby of mine rather than a source of frustration. It’s an odd feeling. My fingers actually feel longer. I am aware of my nails scraping along things and reaching places before my fingers. Not to mention the psychological aspects, I used to think I bit my nails because I was a nervous person, but now I feel calmer and confident and think that biting my nails was the cause of my nerves.
I wish I’d had the forethought to photograph my nails when they were bad. To a non biter, these probably look nothing special, but to me, they are amazing.
To my fellow biters, I can’t give you any advice. I really don’t know what has stopped me biting other than will power. I would suggest you try one day with a real effort to not bite. If you can go a day, go two then a week then two. Beyond that I don’t know since I’m not there.