Nail Biting - An Annoying Compulsion You Can Break With Self-hypnosis

Skin picking, hair pulling and nail biting are related. Skin picking, hair pulling and nail biting are labeled as Obsessive-Compulsive Disorders. Nail biters often keep their hands hidden in their pockets. Nail biters often feel shame and social embarrassment and experience out-of-control feelings at times. At times they may wonder why they are not able to stop biting their nails and they often question whether or not they are crazy.

Nail biting often happens when people are in one of two modes. Some nail biters do it in an automatic way, as if they are in some kind of a trance and not thinking about what they are doing. It's often when they are engrossed in some other activity at the same time such as talking on the phone or watching TV, etc. For others, their main activity at the time is the actual picking or biting, and they will frequently interrupt their other activities to engage in it.

There is a strong commonality in the various purposes behind nail biting, skin picking and hair pulling. At the most basic level, they satisfy an urge. Many people report an almost uncontrollable compulsion to do them. Pulling, picking or biting also seems to deliver a pleasurable or relaxed sensation.

When sufferers feel stressed, pulling, picking or biting has a kind of soothing effect on their nervous systems and reduces levels of stimulation. On the other hand, when they are bored or inactive, they seem to provide a needed level of stimulation to the nervous system. This probably accounts for why so many people who suffer from these habits find it so hard to break these habits. It simply "feels good" at the time no matter what.

Even if you suffer from more than one of these behaviors, do not give up on yourself. These negative behaviors can be overcome if you have enough motivation. More important is learning to "de-stigmatize" yourself. You are not crazy, helpless, morally weak or totally out of control, even though you may feel like it at times. Once you get down to realizing that you are just a person who simply happens to have a problem, you can make some serious progress.

Skin picking and nail biting are chronic problems, so there currently isn't a "cure" but you can find relief if you are willing to work at it. Hypnosis for nail biting consists of three parts.

Therapy For Nail Biting

First off, nail biting is a nervous habit. So the first part of the hypnotic therapy is to teach the nail biter how to be more relaxed at all times. To that end, I have found that traditional hypnosis, Ericksonian hypnosis, and Neuro-Linguistic Programming techniques are very often effective. That's because the very essence of hypnosis is relaxation. The person can learn to apply several different methods to increase both the relaxed state, as well as his/her overall feeling of relaxation and well-being.

The second part of the therapy teaches the individual awareness of this unconscious habit. Post-hypnotic suggestions are generally given to the unconscious to make the consciousness aware that you are bringing your hand towards your mouth for the purpose of biting your nails. Then you get to consciously decide whether or not you are actually going to bite them.

There are also several other effective hypnosis and NLP techniques. For example, we can help the client to set up an "Anchor" or trigger so that he/she can momentarily mentally step outside of him/herself. This is an effective method that will effectively relieve the urge.

The third part of the hypnotic therapy is to eliminate the compulsion to nail bite. There are hypnotic and NLP techniques that actually program the client with a compulsion to not bite his/her nails.

With the nail biting habit, being realistic is very important. First off, you have rehearsed the unwanted habit thousands of times. It is important to accept that the compulsion to bite your nails will not simply be overcome in a few days or weeks.

Second, you are fighting the fact that biting your nails feels good, and it offers short-term satisfaction and either stimulation or soothing feelings. It can take time and effort to master, but I believe that it is well worth it. My experience has shown a number of techniques to be very effective!

Alan B. Densky, CH is a certified hypnotherapist specializing in stress related behaviors. He offers Hypnotherapy CDs which eliminate the nail biting compulsion. Contact him at his Neuro-VISION Self Hypnosis site. Visit his FREE hypnosis article index, or download his MP3s.