Can my nails grow?

[lyric estuary]

I've been eating my nails since years now, so many years. I barely have any nails left. They do grow, but I can't seem to stop biting them at all. Back then i didn't care much even if people joked abt it or anything, I'd just laugh w them. But now I absolutely hate my hands so much. I want them to grow and I did try this summer, they grew a bit but this urge of biting them till they don't exist or smthing. It's become a habit I cannot let go of.

Suggest me ways to overcome this habit please? It's humiliating atp. (I'll send a photo if required to see if I can do ANYTHING abt it)

[slow swift]

Hey, I heard that you’re suffering from biting your nails to the point that they take longer to grow. I used to do that when I was younger, too. What helped me was keeping myself occupied by reading a book or playing a game. Finding something to focus on really made a difference in not biting my nails.

[lyric estuary]

They don't take any longer to grow tbh, but I just bite em off as soon as even a slight bit of my nail grows or smthing.

When I'm occupied, like studying or reading or watching smthing I automatically start biting them 😭

its like a default behaviour now, i just do it subconsciously

[slow swift]

Hmm

Put something over them

Like

To stop you from biting them

I didn't have a worse case

At biting my nails.

I bite them when I was nervous scared or bored.

[lyric estuary]

Like what? Any ideas?

I used to cover my finger tips with medical tape for a while, it helped but it came off in a few hours and I'd start biting them again 😭. Also it was super uncomfortable to study with those on, cause they'd keep coming off as soon as I'd write or smthing

[frank plank]

I had a friend who used hand sanitizer or another bitter tasting substance on her fingers to stop her from biting her nails. The taste would stop her from wanting them anywhere near her mouth

[lyric estuary]

Righttt, I'll try that out

Thanks

[slow swift]

Seems like a good idea.

I wouldn't like tasting sanitizer

[spiral stratus]

Omg I used to be such a bad nail bitter and what helped me was
1.wearing nail polish whether it was clear or colored I wore it cuz it helped me feel pretty
2.i ALWAYS had gum with me
3 always had snacks with me
4fidgets!!!!
I always kept these things with me

[lyric estuary]

Ah, thank you! I don't think I'd put on nail polish though 😭 people laugh a lot on my bare nails, what'd they say when its painted and tbh I'd just look like a thin line of colour 😭.
I do want to try it out, im just really nervous because i don't like it when people say ANYTHING abt my nails atp, it just makes me hate them sm more.

What sort of fidgets would you keep?

Snacks wouldn't be an option because i am half day in school and half day in my classes, so practically never at home and am not allowed to eat in b/w (Not even gum). And always studying/listening to lectures, so i start biting them ofc :<

[spiral stratus]

I really like acupuncture rings they are small and they look funny found a pack of 30 of them on Amazon for 5 dollars but of course there’s ones with less, you could also try wearing some type of lip balm or something that way if you try and bite your nail they will end up all sticky, it’s getting cold out so you can also try wearing gloves!

[lyric estuary]

mhm thanks

[clever mirage]

Like any habit, it's repetition to break it. Do you have a job?

If you do, then I recommend "charging yourself money" every time you bite your nails. Consciously, when you feel the urge to fidget and your hand goes towards your mouth, remember that it'll cause you to deposit another $20 into your savings, where you can't touch it until you've broken the habit.

That sort of thing

[lyric estuary]

I do not have a job, but that is a pretty good idea.

[lyric estuary]

I'll try to think of an alternative of money in the same situation ☝️

[amber marten]

I used to bite my nails until this year when I just decided one day that I wanted pretty nails. I switched to lightly biting my finger, make a hook with your index finger and basically bite around that area. It seems like TERRIBLE advice but it worked for me. Please do not bite until you bleed though.

[lyric estuary]

Mhm, I understand what you mean. I want pretty nails too. 😭

I'll see what I can do, I wouldn't want to bite anything tbh but let's see 😭

[lyric estuary]

I try these things but I end up biting them ANYWAYS

its like impossible for me to not bite it

though I stop biting as soon as I realise

since my nails are ALREADY INVISIBLE ATP, even a lil bite makes it disappear and everything goes back to ground zero 😔

[amber marten]

Try nail polish maybe

Clear nail polish if you don't want color

It helped me a lot

[true arrow]

There's a type of nail polish that is clear but has a very bitter and weird taste if u take it in ur mouth, it helped me allot..u can get it at a pharmacy I think or online.. U can also try doing ur nails like acrylics but they cover ur nails so u can't bite them

[winged grail]

so i like rejected femininity for a while as a kid and never painted or got my nails done, and i was a nail biter too. this year was my first time getting acrylics, and since then, i’ve never touched my nails and they’ve been growing. maybe acrylics isn’t for you, but painting them or using some serums that taste bad so it will remind you to not bite them

[haughty nest]

i dont know if it was posted here or not but i chewed my nails for years ( i still do) but i did stop for a couple years using clear nail polish i am a male so i prefer non colored polish the clear stuff taste horrible and really deters you from chewing and is unnoticeable but to answer the question yes they will regrow no matter how much you chew or for how long (at least in my experience they grow back just slower or maybe i chew them before i notice ) also gum keep your mouth busy chew gum as much as you can