Dear Lola,
I have a terrible habit of biting my nails when I am feeling stressed. I have tried many things to stop myself from doing this, but none of them have worked. There was this liquid you swipe on your nails to make them taste bitter, which didn’t stop the biting. Then I tried acrylic nails so that I could preserve my real nails. It ‘worked’ in a sense, but I was paying for pricey fake nails to bite until they looked mangled. Do you have any solutions to this problem?
Sincerely,
Nail Nibbler
Dear Nail Nibbler,
Stress reactions, most humans have them. Unfortunately, you have a habit that is quite difficult to cover up. In addition to showing off ragged nails every time you step out of your home, you probably also tend to bite your fingernails when in the presence of other people and not realize it. This can be an off-putting habit for the people around you, especially those who are germ conscientious.
Unlike the animal kingdom, humans are encouraged to do their grooming when alone.
Since you’ve already tried the traditional solutions for your problem, we’ll need to think outside the box to fix this. My first thought is to have you wrap the tips of all your fingers in bandages, to prevent you from nibbling on them when life becomes hectic. However, I worry this may lead your fellow humans to excessively question what odd accident rendered you injured on the tips of all your fingers.
You could make up a great story, but the stress of the lie could cause a regression.
Another solution would be to wear driving gloves at all times. Nice leather ones would not only feel luxurious, but you could get them in a variety of colors to complement any outfit. You may initially get odd looks from people when the summer heat is in full effect and you are still wearing your gloves, but you can take comfort that at least you’re not getting odd looks from people due to biting your nails.
I’m guessing that solution is too out of the box for you.
My final recommendation would be to walk around with a huge bag of snacks. Every time you raise your fingers to bite a nail, shove a piece of candy in your mouth. Hard candy that takes time to dissolve would work rather well. Sharing your candy with friends and family would be an added perk – they would completely forget all those times they caught you chewing on your hand.
If none of these solutions solve your nail-biting problem, you’ll have only one recourse left to you. Embrace your inner zombie and chew to your heart’s content.
♥Lola♥
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Snacks is always the answer to any problem 🙂
#GlobalBlogging
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Definitely so!
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A great thought provoking post #,globalblogging@_karendennis
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The huge bag of snacks solution may create another issue of course 🤣
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Well, life’s never going to be perfect – there may as well be snacks 😆
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I think you nailed it, Lola! #GlobalBlogging
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Thank you! Lola loves to problem solve.
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She sure does. It’s a gift😀
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Snacks are the answer to all life’s problems! And if they aren’t they were worth a shot #globalblogging
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Exactly!
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This is a tough one, Lola, but you handled it with your usual diplomacy–and devotion to snacking.
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Thank you, she tries so hard to come up with solutions for all!
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Mhm you could make the snacks healthy snacks, like toasted kale or something – after all fingernails don’t taste of paprika flavoured crisps either… #globalblogging
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That’s a great suggestion!
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I think you nailed it with snack solution Lola! As long as they remember to brush their teeth regularly there shouldn’t be any problems and no weird looks from people.
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Good point about the teeth brushing, it’s critical.
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There isn’t a problem that snacks cannot solve! Nailed it again, Lola 🙂 #GlobalBlogging
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Thank you!
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Just the thought of nail-biting makes my toes curl! Ewww… you have to find a way to stop, Nail Nibbler!
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I agree, it’s a very bad habit that makes others cringe.
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I am going with the snack solution. Oh Lola, you are always so wise!
#GlobalBlogging
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Thank you, she loves the snack solution!
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Excellent tips, Lola. I particularly like the constant snacking approach, because when Nail Nibbler eventually reaches circus freak size, no one will be able to see the bitten down nails underneath the chub rolls. #GlobalBlogging
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Let’s hope it doesn’t get that far…. maybe she should start with gum.
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This is an ingenious solution. I think it could catch on! #globalblogging
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Ha ha this is so funny! I only noticed yesterday when in my sister’s house that my nine year old niece has chewed her nails away so much that her fingers look like little stumps. Honesty I was trying not to stare but I got a bit of a shock. I’ve never seen her do it but she obviously chews them all the time. Neither of my daughters do this so I have no idea how to curb it. Excellent suggestions though Lola, given a choice my niece would probably opt to walk around with the big bag of snacks no doubt! #globalblogging
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Kids would love snacks, though gum might be better choice.
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I was warned as a child not to keep biting my nails. I did not listen and a nail is missing almost entirely now probably never to return but at least if I am murdered I would be easy to idenitify #GlobalBlogging
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I didn’t even know that losing a nail was a possible outcome, that’s unfortunate. But yay for being easily identifiable should you win amok of a bad guy.
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I was thinking that Lola would have this nail biter being walked more regularly by his/her pet, so that they can drag their nails along the sidewalk to maintain them. But no, LOLA strikes again – and she NAILED it! #globalblogging xoxo
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Lola does seem to think snacks could solve a lot of the humans’ problems.
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She would know.
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Ooh nail biting can turn into a bad habit – Lola I like your last suggestion of carrying a large bag of snacks. No harm in snacking away #globalblogging
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Lola you do have some funny tips! Nail biting is something I find comes and goes with stress. It can be a hard habbit to break #DreamTeam
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Revisiting via #DreamTeam and quietly amused by endaroo’s comment #DreamTeam
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Love the snack idea think I will be using that one #dreamteam
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Hope it works!
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Snacks are a lifesaver X #dreamteam
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They are! I need snacks or I get hangry.
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I still agree with the snack idea but the nail biting really does need to stop, it’s gross. #DreamTeam
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coming through via #dreamteam again…
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Great problem solving Lola! SNACKSSSSSSSSS!!
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If I had to choose between biting my nails and looking ragged, and eating all the candy, I’d have to go with the nails. lol
#dreamteam
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Haha, I am another nail nibbler. I am hoping I can kick the habit, without resorting to snacking. 🙂 x #dreamteam
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Good luck!!
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Back at you and Lola, from #dreamteam xoxoxo
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Popping back from #dreamteam
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Lola you always make me think of food! We used to have that nasty tasting nail paint on our nails when younger and that did the job! #dreamteam
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I was a thumb sucker as a kid and that nasty tasting stuff never worked for me.
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I bite my nails and it drives me crazy!!! It is odd as sometimes I will go for years without doing it and then…. #DreamTeam
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That’s the bad thing about habits, they return even when not welcome!
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Oh yes! Love the idea of chomping on candy instead of biting nails. Yum!! What a great distraction 😊 #DreamTeam xx
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Snacks are definitely the answer! They’re always the answer aren’t they? well apart from here in th UK where they come second to a cup of tea which is is always the answer too. #DreamTeam
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