Yes, I have a New Year's resolution...how novel. As cliched as New Year's resolutions are, if a person truly commits to changing something negative about themselves rather than making empty promises, I'm totally supportive. And, so, I find myself striving to achieve something that I've struggled with for the first 23 years of my life...nail biting.Here's Wikipedia's definition of the problem...
[Nail biting is the habit of biting one's fingernails or toenails during periods of nervousness, stress, hunger, or boredom. It can also be a sign of mental or emotional disorder. The clinical name for nail biting is chronic onychophagia.]
First of all, from now on I will be telling people that my New Year's resolution is to "cure my chronic onychophagia". Secondly, I want to set the record straight: I've never, ever, EVER bitten my toenails. Lastly, I'm not so sure that nail biting and hunger have a lot to do with one another, but if you do find yourself planning your meal schedule in conjunction with biting your nails, consult a physician immediately. Aside from these points, the definition is right on. I bite my fingernails when I'm nervous about something, stressed out about something, or bored doing something.
However, one important point is overlooked: about 80% of the time, the decision to bite my nails is an unconscious decision. In other words, I don't realize I'm biting my nails until it's well underway or finished (much like sleepwalking, I assume). So, how exactly do you quit doing something you don't even know you're doing!? That's a good question that I would very much like the answer to (other than answers that involve hypnotic therapy or wearing gloves 24/7). Quite honestly, I'm not even sure if nails that have been routinely bitten down to less than half an inch for the past 23 years will even grow back to any state of normalcy...I'll let you know.
For now, I'm just paying extra attention at times when I know I'm most likely to start biting (driving in the car, watching TV, etc.), and so far it's working. Of course, I've done this many times before, and I usually don't make it more than a couple of weeks before I break down...BUT, this time will be different and it's all thanks to my dad (a nail biter of more than fifty years). Somewhere about ten years ago, I distinctly remember my dad seeing me bite my nails one idle day, and saying something along the lines of "you know, if you keep biting your nails like this, your hands are going to look very bad for the wedding pictures of you and your wife's hands wearing wedding rings." For a 13-year-old deeply engrossed in the world of some random Super Nintendo video game, I really didn't care about my dad's crazy talk...for a 23-year-old fiance a little over a year away from his wedding, the message is received loud and clear.
However, one important point is overlooked: about 80% of the time, the decision to bite my nails is an unconscious decision. In other words, I don't realize I'm biting my nails until it's well underway or finished (much like sleepwalking, I assume). So, how exactly do you quit doing something you don't even know you're doing!? That's a good question that I would very much like the answer to (other than answers that involve hypnotic therapy or wearing gloves 24/7). Quite honestly, I'm not even sure if nails that have been routinely bitten down to less than half an inch for the past 23 years will even grow back to any state of normalcy...I'll let you know.
For now, I'm just paying extra attention at times when I know I'm most likely to start biting (driving in the car, watching TV, etc.), and so far it's working. Of course, I've done this many times before, and I usually don't make it more than a couple of weeks before I break down...BUT, this time will be different and it's all thanks to my dad (a nail biter of more than fifty years). Somewhere about ten years ago, I distinctly remember my dad seeing me bite my nails one idle day, and saying something along the lines of "you know, if you keep biting your nails like this, your hands are going to look very bad for the wedding pictures of you and your wife's hands wearing wedding rings." For a 13-year-old deeply engrossed in the world of some random Super Nintendo video game, I really didn't care about my dad's crazy talk...for a 23-year-old fiance a little over a year away from his wedding, the message is received loud and clear.
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