Skin picking, hair pulling and nail biting are all related behaviors. Skin picking, hair pulling and nail biting are labeled as Obsessive-Compulsive Disorders. Nail biters often keep their hands behind their backs or in their pockets. Nail biters often feel social embarrassment and shame and experience out-of-control feelings at times. At times they may wonder why they cannot stop and they may question whether or not they are crazy.

Nail biting generally happens when nail biters are in one of two modes. Some do it in an automatic way, as if they are in a trance and not really thinking about what they are doing. Usually they are involved in some other activity at the same time such as reading or talking, etc. For others, their main activity at the time is the actual picking or biting, and they will usually interrupt other activities to engage in it.

There is also a strong commonality seen in the various purposes behind hair pulling, skin picking and nail biting. At a very basic level, these symptoms satisfy an urge. Many people report an uncontrollable urge to do them. Biting, picking or pulling also seems to deliver a pleasurable or relaxed sensation.

When sufferers feel stressed, doing these things has a kind of soothing effect on them and reduces levels of stimulation. On the other hand, when they are bored or inactive, they seem to provide a needed level of stimulation to the nervous system. This may account for why so many people who suffer from these habits find it so hard to stop. It simply "feels good" at the time no matter no matter what the outcomes are.

Even if you have more than one of these problems, don't give up on yourself. These behaviors can be overcome if you have the motivation. More important is learning to "de-stigmatize" yourself. You are not crazy, helpless, morally weak or totally out of control, even though you may feel like some or all of these things at times. Once you become aware of the fact that you are just a person who simply happens to have a bad habit, you can start to make some serious progress.

Skin picking and nail biting are chronic problems, so there is not currently a "cure" but you can find a relief if you are willing to work at it. Hypnosis for nail biting consists of three parts.

Therapy For Nail Biting

To start with, nail biting is a stress related habit. So the first part of the therapy is to teach the nail biter how to be more relaxed at all times. To that end, I have found that traditional hypnosis, Ericksonian hypnosis, and NLP techniques can be quite effective. That's because the very essence of hypnosis is relaxation. The individual can learn to apply several different methods to enhance both the relaxed state, as well as his/her overall feeling of well-being.

The second part of the therapy teaches the individual to become aware of this unconscious habit. Post-hypnotic suggestions can be given to the subconscious mind to make the conscious mind aware that you are bringing your hand towards your mouth. Then you get to consciously decide whether or not you are actually going to bite them.

There are several other effective methods. As an example, we can help the client to set up an "Anchor" or trigger so that he/she can momentarily disassociate. This is an effective technique that will effectively relieve the compulsion.

The third part of the hypnotic therapy is to eliminate the compulsion to bite the nails. There are hypnotic methods that actually program the client with a compulsion to reject biting his/her nails.

With the nail biting behavior, being realistic is very important. In the first place, you have practiced the unwanted behavior hundreds or even thousands of times. It is important to accept that the nail biting behavior will not be overcome in a few weeks.

Secondly, you are fighting the fact that biting your nails feels good to do, and it offers a lot of short term satisfaction and either stimulation or soothing feelings. It can take a little time to overcome, but I believe that it is well worth the effort. Experience has shown a number of methods to be very effective!