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Why do I bite my nails?

Hey, Matt:

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I have this really gross habit of biting not only my fingernails but the skin around them. I've been doing this since I was a little kid and have been told it's a "nervous habit." But I'm not really a nervous person. I just enjoy doing it. Why am I doing this? Is it common? I know bout that stuff parents put on kids' fingers to get them to stop, but it'll never work with me. I'll just get used to the taste.

-- Chewy, the net

By now you're in a pretty exclusive club, Chewy. Surveys say only about 5% of adults bite their nails. Virtually all of them started as little tads; 28 to 33% of kids bite their nails at some time. Adolescents 44%. And 20% to 30% of young adults. You may not be "nervous," but from what's known about the activity, it likely started as a tension-reducer and now has mutated into a full-blown habit. It may serve no calming purpose now, but it did at one time. (Although nail-biting certainly calms you down when you have the uncontrollable urge to bite your nails.) It's an activity like lip chewing or knuckle cracking, or hair twisting. They're sometimes called "control patterns" because they can stop or reduce the tension caused by bad feelings. Do you come from a family of nail-biters? It can be a learned habit.

As for getting rid of it, how about willpower? You may bite your nails unconsciously, so try to catch yourself before you do and stop the habit pattern. Substitute a good habit for that bad habit (toothpick, gum, something mouth satisfying). Carry nail clippers and a file to keep your nails neat. And, hey, I'll bet anything there's a 12-step Nail Biters Anonymous out there somewhere.

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Hey, Matt:

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I have this really gross habit of biting not only my fingernails but the skin around them. I've been doing this since I was a little kid and have been told it's a "nervous habit." But I'm not really a nervous person. I just enjoy doing it. Why am I doing this? Is it common? I know bout that stuff parents put on kids' fingers to get them to stop, but it'll never work with me. I'll just get used to the taste.

-- Chewy, the net

By now you're in a pretty exclusive club, Chewy. Surveys say only about 5% of adults bite their nails. Virtually all of them started as little tads; 28 to 33% of kids bite their nails at some time. Adolescents 44%. And 20% to 30% of young adults. You may not be "nervous," but from what's known about the activity, it likely started as a tension-reducer and now has mutated into a full-blown habit. It may serve no calming purpose now, but it did at one time. (Although nail-biting certainly calms you down when you have the uncontrollable urge to bite your nails.) It's an activity like lip chewing or knuckle cracking, or hair twisting. They're sometimes called "control patterns" because they can stop or reduce the tension caused by bad feelings. Do you come from a family of nail-biters? It can be a learned habit.

As for getting rid of it, how about willpower? You may bite your nails unconsciously, so try to catch yourself before you do and stop the habit pattern. Substitute a good habit for that bad habit (toothpick, gum, something mouth satisfying). Carry nail clippers and a file to keep your nails neat. And, hey, I'll bet anything there's a 12-step Nail Biters Anonymous out there somewhere.

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4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs
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