I think I started biting my fingernails at about the same age. I can remember my tattle-tale little brother crying out, "Mom, he's biting his fingers again!" I also pulled my eyelashes and eyebrows out. I'll try to add more to this when time allows; my internet service is down this week, and I'm not able to access it from my usual place.

I have noticed a pecularity about myself which has helped me in overcoming my nail-biting habit: I never bit my nails when I am around other people or in public places. I bite my nails when I am alone or at home or in a place where I've been for a while when others aren't nearby. So, to help myself not bite my nails, I need to get up, get out, and get doing as much as possible.

In addition to nail biting, I have noticed in other people similar habits, such as people who pick at or clean their nails in pubic, but I myself am fortunate not to have that habit, just the nail biting part, and that only in private. Public me does not bite nails, so public me is what I need to be! ;-)

I think I've been biting my nails as long as I could chew. I've tried stopping but it seems like I ALWAYS RESTART.

Wow, I really should have taken more time to proof-read the above before hitting 'Submit Reply'. I left a couple of letters off some words - pubic was meant to be public.

Thank you for sharing! It's interesting how ashamed I've felt about my habit. I used to pick my toenails,but I was fortunate that I would paint my nails and not do it. Trying to paint my fingernails,heck I've caught myself biting my finger nails and then realizing "What the heck,yuck!" when I tasted disgusting nail polish.and realized I was just biting my nails.

It takes strength to go forward and change my habit. I've relied on this for soothing purposes,and it's going to have to take creativity to subconsiously change what I've been doing for...ummm roughly 13 years.

Thank you everyone for opening up and joining....NAIL BITERS UNITE! :-)

I have been biting my nails for as long as I can remember. I don't know how to solve this obsession.

Oops,I meant I've been biting mine for...roughly 23 years...

Beaumont-I'm the EXACT SAME WAY,I won't bite my nails in public,but WILL privately...I've had a lot of luck with growing my toe nails(used to pick them). I started putting nail polish,and even though they were really short,the nail polish colour reminded me when I would look at them(phew!)...

I too remember my siblings saying "Mom,she's biting her nails",but that was because my mom thought by calling attention to it,it would stop. LOL Nope...

Shore/Jeanne I used to feel a lot of shame about biting my nails,and hiding them from others. Now a days I've just accepted that as an unconcious habit,and have learned to love myself with or without beautiful nails. I've been good at going for a short while,then wham,there I go again(realizing after I'd already started biting my nails that I was doing it! argh!).

Thanks everyone for your honest and open replies. I really thought by starting this group,that I would just be embarrassing myself by admitting I bite my nails,and have no one who was the same. Glad to know there's others who understand,and have been there ;-)

Hugs,

I have always bit my nails since I was little. Always have had short nails and I've grown accustom to them, although I find them to be rather ugly and am embarrassed to have anyone look at my hands. I feel like a nasty boy with them and I hate it. Especially with my hair pulling and extremely short hair it adds on to how much of a boy I feel that I look like. People always tell me to not bite my nails because it's such a nasty habit but I can't help it because it does bring some relief to me. Boo.

Similar to all of you, I started young, although I don't remember when, I have always have bloody finger tips, occassionally infection and brides to stop. I do know that I learnt this nasty habit from my mother and was always scolded by my father who also in my teenage year bride me. Now that I am 29 years old, I want to quit. not that I have tried before. I told myself to quit for the past 12 years. I have tried the nasty nail polish which after the multiple application, got immune to the taste, to getting the hottest pepper and applying. Yes it hurt and burned, but was determined to stop. But after a month of lack of discipline and support, said screw it and bit without the pepper. Then one day after a bandaid fell off a finger, I was amazed, one that the band-aid stayed on for that long causing my finger to stink, but a little nail grew. I decided to continue applying band-aids to this finger and it will be my one finger with a nail. While I butched all other this pinky was separated. But one unfortunate night, the band aid was not there and poor vulnerable pinky was not spared. A few years later, I asked my wife to pinch me every time I bite. Let me tell you what a painful experience that is. But unfortunately, I still bite my nails to barely anything there and some. Although it is nasty to think about it, I have done all 20 of them to bare nothing. If it does not go one way, I go the other. I have seek professional help with proxac and other pysiolocial meds, but nothing helps. I join today on the same day I made a purchase of 7 boxes of fabric bandaids and dedicate to save my left hand first and my right as the unprotected one. Let's see what happens.

i get so ashamed of my nails if someone mentions them, I wonder why people have to say, wow whats happened to your nails ? when its obvious, that I have bitten them ! My parents made a huge deal about my nails when I was little, we had nail inspection, and I was scolded for any freshly bitten nail, so I started biting my toenails, thinking, that would stop me biting my fingernails !, it didn't !, now i'm left with tiny strips of nail less than 2mm long (1/8th) I have a few photos of them if anyone want to see cronic nailbiitng ? does anyone else bite this badly ? i'd like to see , if you do. lucyharris@123mail.org

If you are a chronic nail-biter, the worst thing is to think it is a problem or abnormality. When I was still biting my nails and toenails after college I felt immature. I only bit my toenails in private but I went barefoot and wore flip flops in warm weather. My toenails looked badly bitten but it was rare that anybody remarked -probably because it was too disgusting to think I actually bit them. But everyone seem to notice my fingernails. At least that's what I thought because I was always trying to hide them which made me uncomfortable and self-conscious. Eventually, I learned I had to live with the habit because nothing could help me stop. So I bit my nails whenever the urge came on and stopped worrying about doing it in front of other people. I actually felt better about myself that way. If you're not ashamed, nail biting is not a problem.

If you're a chronic nail-biter the worst thing to do is think of it as a problem or abnormality. I still bit my nails and toenails badly after college and felt ashamed and immature. I tried to hide it which made my very uncomfortable and self-conscious. Naturally, I only bit my toenails in private but in warm weather went barefoot and wore flip-flops. My toenails looked badly bitten but it was rare that anybody remarked - probably because the thought that I bit my toenails was too disgusting to believe. But everyone seemed to notice my bitten fingernails - at least that's what I thought because I was ashamed. One day I decided that since nothing could help me stop I had to live with the habit. I started doing it in front of other people when I got the urge. That made me feel better about myself. People occasionally remark, but it doesn't bother me because I'm not ashamed to be a nail-biter. I'm just hard-wired that way.

I have a picture of my sister and I for my birthday and I am biting my nails. I am about 3 or 4 years old and now I am 40 years old that's how long it has been. I have tried so many, many times to quit and always failed. Even my husband asked me not to do it in front of him. My mother used to bite her nails worse than me. Everytime I see a little growth I have a compulsion to tear at it. Alcoholism runs in my family and while it may not affect me this might be another manifestation of the disease or at least the trouble to control and stop it.