Nail Biting
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| http://www.deltadentalidblog.com/nail-biting/ |
With the cold air and many germs surrounding us, the easiest way to get sick is by
putting your hands in your mouth. Your hands are exposed to millions of germs, and it is not possible to wash them enough, and although hand sanitizer is beneficial, it does not kill all germs. This is why I am put at high risk for getting sick, because of my addiction to biting my nails. It is a nervous habit, and I do it without thinking about it. Whenever I feel stressed about a situation or even just have a lot on my mind, my hands end up in my mouth, and that needs to change.
The
purpose for this experiment is to quit a habit that affects my health and also
to understand how difficult it is to quit an addiction. Originally, I was
unsure as to which habit I should try to quit or reduce, but I chose this one
because it will really be more beneficial than staying off of facebook or
limiting junk food. I know nail biting impacts not just myself, because my
friends and family have said that it annoys them- something about the action
and the sound. I am a 10 out of 10 being committed to making this change because of the negative results that can occur, such as damaging teeth enamel, teeth movement, increased exposure to germs, cuts, sores, and infections. Also, since it is lacrosse season, when my nails are too short, it makes holding my stick painful and uncomfortable.
Specifically,
I plan on going cold turkey by completely cutting it out of my life. I’m going to paint my
nails to try and deter me from biting. I’m also going to tell my friends that I'm stopping so
that whenever they see me with my hands in my mouth, they remind me to stop. I
will also bring gum with me to try and subside my nervous energy. We will have
to see how it goes and what changes I’ll have to make along the way.
Here is a short video showing the negative side-effects of nail biting by Dr. Schultz:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cTj5iNd-yRI
HOW'S IT GOING?!
UPDATE: 2/6
Progress?
-I made progress this week! I only bit my nails 3 times. A major contributing factor was having my nails painted. I found out that I did not want to mess them up, so I didn't bite as much.
Triggers?
-Stress is my trigger. When I'm at lacrosse or trying to do more than one thing at once, that is when I find myself biting my nails the most. I was able to overcome most of them; however I still bit 3 times.
Changes?
-I think I want to change my plan a little bit to be not only biting my nails but to eliminate my hands from my mouth completely. I found myself resorting to picking and biting around my nail which is just as bad. My support network was beneficial; my roommates constantly reminded me to not bite or even look at my nails.
Thoughts/Observations?
-I noticed that when I saw someone else biting their nails, it made me fight harder to keep my hands out of my mouth. I could have been completely fine, but once I saw someone else doing it, I felt an urge to do it as well.
HOW'S IT GOING!?
UPDATE: 2/10
Progress? Contributed success?
-I made more progress this week. I only bit my nails once and did not pick at all. I repainted my nails so that prevented me from biting. Maybe that is what I will have to do from now on, repaint them every week.
Triggers Overcome?
-Triggers were still stress but I also noticed that boredom also contributed. When I was watching television is when I slipped up this week. There is a fine line between too much work and being stressed and being bored. I overcame that this week by just thinking "I don't want to get sick; everyone is sick; If I put my hands in my mouth, I will get sick!"
Changes for Next Week?
-For next week, I will repaint my nails so that they are clean and shiny so I do not want to mess them up. I found that as soon as the nail polish starts chipping, I'm more likely to put them in my mouth, and as soon as the nail polish is off one nail, I have to get it off the rest. Also, before I paint my nails, I will trim them so I'm not temped at all to bite.
Observations?
-At fieldwork, I'm located at Lancaster General Hospital and there are no occupational therapists, nurses, or doctors that bite their nails. Their nails and hands are all clean and neat, and I feel that this is now even more important for me to quit because as a professional in the medical world, it is extremely important.
HOW'S IT GOING?!
UPDATE: 2/6
Progress?
-I made progress this week! I only bit my nails 3 times. A major contributing factor was having my nails painted. I found out that I did not want to mess them up, so I didn't bite as much.
Triggers?
-Stress is my trigger. When I'm at lacrosse or trying to do more than one thing at once, that is when I find myself biting my nails the most. I was able to overcome most of them; however I still bit 3 times.
Changes?
-I think I want to change my plan a little bit to be not only biting my nails but to eliminate my hands from my mouth completely. I found myself resorting to picking and biting around my nail which is just as bad. My support network was beneficial; my roommates constantly reminded me to not bite or even look at my nails.
Thoughts/Observations?
-I noticed that when I saw someone else biting their nails, it made me fight harder to keep my hands out of my mouth. I could have been completely fine, but once I saw someone else doing it, I felt an urge to do it as well.
HOW'S IT GOING!?
UPDATE: 2/10
Progress? Contributed success?
-I made more progress this week. I only bit my nails once and did not pick at all. I repainted my nails so that prevented me from biting. Maybe that is what I will have to do from now on, repaint them every week.
Triggers Overcome?
-Triggers were still stress but I also noticed that boredom also contributed. When I was watching television is when I slipped up this week. There is a fine line between too much work and being stressed and being bored. I overcame that this week by just thinking "I don't want to get sick; everyone is sick; If I put my hands in my mouth, I will get sick!"
Changes for Next Week?
-For next week, I will repaint my nails so that they are clean and shiny so I do not want to mess them up. I found that as soon as the nail polish starts chipping, I'm more likely to put them in my mouth, and as soon as the nail polish is off one nail, I have to get it off the rest. Also, before I paint my nails, I will trim them so I'm not temped at all to bite.
Observations?
-At fieldwork, I'm located at Lancaster General Hospital and there are no occupational therapists, nurses, or doctors that bite their nails. Their nails and hands are all clean and neat, and I feel that this is now even more important for me to quit because as a professional in the medical world, it is extremely important.
HOW'S IT GOING!?
UPDATE: 2/17
Progress? Contributed success?
-I made no progress this week. I was so busy, stressed, and anxious. I was unable to repaint my nails so I do not know if my technique will work or not. I'll focus on completing my plans for this week. Hopefully it will work!
Triggers Overcome?
-No triggers were overcome, and I lost it this week. I bit my nails probably 8 times this week and made my fingers bleed. I was just too anxious about upcoming events.
Changes for Next Week?
-For next week I am actually going to follow through with my nail painting plan. I hope it works! Nails get painted every Sunday from now on!
Observations?
-I bit my nails while I was watching television, sitting on the bus, at practice, and while I was doing homework at my computer. I need to control my self better, but I just couldn't stop this week. Next week is a new week and I have high hopes that I will control my nail biting.
HOW'S IT GOING!?
UPDATE: 2/24
Progress? Contributed success?
-I made good progress this week! I kept up with painting my nails once a week and did not bite them. I was also so busy that I did not have time to think about biting. I'm feeling pretty good about it!
Triggers Overcome?
-I nibbled a few times, but stopped myself because I thought how bad it will hurt if I make my fingers bleed. Also, with lacrosse games, my nails need to be longer, otherwise it makes it hard to hold my stick.
Changes for Next Week?
-For next week, I am going to follow through with my nail painting plan again and see if it remains successful.
Observations?
-I used my will power and nail painting and don't bite my nails! I'll try my best to keep it up.
HOW'S IT GOING!?
UPDATE: OVER SPRING BREAK
Keeping my nails painted helps me not bite my nails for the most part; however, something I've realized is that the temptation is too much when I'm watching television or bored. For example, this past week I spent 20 hours on a bus to Myrtle Beach. I had to occupy myself with something other than movies and homework, otherwise I would have bitten my nails, so I started making a friendship bracelet. This kept my hands occupied and I was able to do it and kept my hands out of my mouth the whole ride. Finally, it is working for me!
HOW'S IT GOING!?
UPDATE: MID MARCH CHECK IN
This was a set back week. I was so busy that I did not have time to paint my nails at all so I resulted in biting them. I made three fingers hurt and bleed and I haven't done that in a long time, and I feel really bad about myself. I'm going to use this week coming up as a fresh start. My nails are already painted; I just need to remember how mad I am at my self now to motivate me. Here is to a fresh week with some freshly painted nails!
HOW'S IT GOING?
UPDATE: OVER EASTER BREAK
This was definitely a positive week. I did not bite my nails because I got a new nail polish that does not chip as easily so I do not pick or bite at my nails. I'm going to keep going and hopefully this new nail polish will do the trick.
HOW'S IT GOING?!
UPDATE: 4/2
My nails are comfortably long and painted. I've been so busy that I have not bit them. Having to go to fieldwork appeared to be another motivator for me this week because all of the employees in the hospital have longer nails and not one person bites them. Avoiding the germs seems to be key for me!
HOW'S IT GOING?!
UPDATE: 4/9
So far so good. Nothing has changed and I'm really happy with myself because my fingers don't hurt.
HOW'S IT GOING?!
UPDATE: 4/17
I have kept my nails painted every week and it has shown improvement. Also, this week was stress-free so I was able to just enjoy the days. Something else I have noticed is that keeping a positive attitude really does help keep my hands out of my mouth!
HOW'S IT GOING!?
UPDATE: OVER SPRING BREAK
Keeping my nails painted helps me not bite my nails for the most part; however, something I've realized is that the temptation is too much when I'm watching television or bored. For example, this past week I spent 20 hours on a bus to Myrtle Beach. I had to occupy myself with something other than movies and homework, otherwise I would have bitten my nails, so I started making a friendship bracelet. This kept my hands occupied and I was able to do it and kept my hands out of my mouth the whole ride. Finally, it is working for me!
HOW'S IT GOING!?
UPDATE: MID MARCH CHECK IN
This was a set back week. I was so busy that I did not have time to paint my nails at all so I resulted in biting them. I made three fingers hurt and bleed and I haven't done that in a long time, and I feel really bad about myself. I'm going to use this week coming up as a fresh start. My nails are already painted; I just need to remember how mad I am at my self now to motivate me. Here is to a fresh week with some freshly painted nails!
HOW'S IT GOING?
UPDATE: OVER EASTER BREAK
This was definitely a positive week. I did not bite my nails because I got a new nail polish that does not chip as easily so I do not pick or bite at my nails. I'm going to keep going and hopefully this new nail polish will do the trick.
HOW'S IT GOING?!
UPDATE: 4/2
My nails are comfortably long and painted. I've been so busy that I have not bit them. Having to go to fieldwork appeared to be another motivator for me this week because all of the employees in the hospital have longer nails and not one person bites them. Avoiding the germs seems to be key for me!
HOW'S IT GOING?!
UPDATE: 4/9
So far so good. Nothing has changed and I'm really happy with myself because my fingers don't hurt.
HOW'S IT GOING?!
UPDATE: 4/17
I have kept my nails painted every week and it has shown improvement. Also, this week was stress-free so I was able to just enjoy the days. Something else I have noticed is that keeping a positive attitude really does help keep my hands out of my mouth!
Sounds like you're committed to this goal! Good luck!
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