Hey everyone, recently I've started the process of coming out and it's inspired me to turn a few other areas of my life around as well. One change I'm hoping to bring about is to become a healthier person, and I think that getting rid of some bad habits and addictions will help this. Specifically I'm trying to drop caffeine, stop biting my nails, and bring a disgusting habit of mine (picking at myself) to a stop. I understand that a good number of people have experience with the first two and if they have any pointers or things to look out for, I'd love to hear them. As for the third one, I can see myself being a rare case. Has anyone ever dealt with this?
I tried everything to stop biting my nails - polish, wearing gloves, using that foul-tasting stuff you paint onto them, and nothing worked. The time just came when I stopped, without even thinking about it. So I guess I didn't exactly quit, the habit just kind of faded once I decided I wanted it to.
Congrats on beginning to come out I have recently started to try and drop some bad habits too. Mostly mine seem to be procrastinating, bad eating habits, drinking habits and biting my nails. I gave up all pop (sodas) over a year ago, that wasn't so easy, but I did it. I slowly started withdrawing from drinking them and it made it easier. I guess the way to stop bad habits is take it slow..I just realized that all of this was completely pointless, but good luck!
Thank you both! In the past, the closest I ever came to stopping the biting was when I got my hands on one of my mom's emery boards and had all my nails super spiffed up. Lol, when I found myself biting my nails, I could tell that something was different because they felt different. At that point I remembered I had spent time making them look nice and couldn't bring myself to bite em. All it took to come over that though was a particularly stressful moment, or a scratch and my nails were done for. I'm certain that the problem stems from an oral fixation (lots of childhood proof), so I don't know if that's something that I should consider... Congrats you two though for being able to overcome your habits! I fully understand the weight of the achievement.
I just remembered, my best friend is like a nail biting nazi. Every time she sees me with my hands in my mouth she grabs them and puts them down by my side, that makes me sound like a 5th grader, but it works for the most part. I spend a lot of time with her and so it has helped me cut back a lot. You could tell someone to keep an eye out for you, but idk if that would be weird for you.
Ello. I used to bite my nails, mostly out of nervous habit. But there came a point where I just found it disgusting and I longed for longer nails. (exuse the pun) So, I went pretty much cold turkey. It's really hard at first, like breaking any habit is. The thing is you have to be AWARE! Big idea. Be aware of where you're putting your hands and what you're doing with them; if you find yourself about to bite your nails, say outloud: "I won't bite my nails." and then play with some silly putty or do something with your hands as long as they're not near your mouth. Also, while at home, try putting on some gloves, that might help too. But be aware, thats what helped me. And once you stop biting, at least for me, I can't go back to biting. When I break a nail now, it just feels so weird and I hate it. I was a nail bitter since I was a young kid, but I haven't bite my nails in about 2 years! It's doable! I do know a bit about the skin picking. It's called dermatillomania, and it is a medical condition thats closely linked with OCD. This is something that is much much harder to stop doing. Usually therapy is used and sometimes medications that treat OCD are prescribed. Depending on the severity, it can take anywhere from a few months to a year for effective treatment. It's really difficult, I know. Send me a PM or wall post anytime, you're more than welcome to. Good luck. (*hug*)
Thank you for being able to identify this SilhouetteDream, it sounds spot on for what my habit is. I would say my case isn't as bad as the one on wiki, but still it's noticeable to me and to other people. Being that it's considered link to a disorder, is it best for me to go and talk to a counselor about trying to drop it? What can I expect if I tried to drop it without seeking help?
I'm not proud of it... but I used to pick and pull my skin too. The cuticle and skin folds on all sides of the nail? Yea I used to rip that off (sometimes it blead..) >.o I'm glad I stopped doing it. Honestly what helped was exercise, eating healthy and tyring to focus on getting rid of excess anxiety. Coming out and being honest in my life also helped get rid of anxiety (and worrying what people think).
I think it would depend on the severity. If it's over a wide part of your body, and if you're doing it subconsciously, if it's something that's interfering with your life, I would go seek a therapist. And see the thing is, it's not as easy as "dropping it", even with the help of a therapist. Instead of just talking about the person's problems and emotions, the therapist would work with you to teach you how to stop the compulsive skin picking. He/She might teach you techniques and give you exercises to do in order to stop the picking. It teaches you how to stop, rather than just talk about emotions and such, which is what one would think would happen with a therapist. So I would think it's much, much more effective than trying to stop on your own. Not to say it's impossible to stop without seeking help. Like RaeofLite said, she was able to quit picking the skin around her nails. But that's a much more confined area, and not something that might be as severe and harder to stop as skin on the legs, arms, etc. It doesn't hurt to try, but if it doesn't seem to be working (and you will know if it's not) I highly suggest seeking professional help.
