Skin picking, hair pulling and nail biting are related behaviors. These behaviors are labeled as Obsessive-Compulsive Disorders. People who bite their nails keep their hands behind their backs or in their pockets. People who bite their nails often feel shame and social embarrassment and experience out-of-control feelings at times. At times they may wonder why they are not able to stop and they often 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 thinking about what they are doing. It's often when they are involved in some other activity at the same time such as talking on the phone or watching TV, etc. For others, the deliberate picking or biting is their main activity at the time, and they will frequently interrupt other activities to engage in it.

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

When sufferers feel stressed, pulling, picking or biting has a kind of soothing effect on their nervous systems 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 have these habits find it so hard to give up these behaviors. It simply "feels good" at the time no matter no matter what the outcomes are.

Even if you suffer from more than one of these behaviors, don't give up on yourself. These compulsive 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 you are 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 make some serious progress.

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

Hypnotherapy & NLP For People Who Bite Their Nails

First off, nail biting is a nervous habit. So the first part of the hypnotherapy is to teach the biter how to be more relaxed at all times. To that end, I have found that traditional hypnosis, Ericksonian hypnosis, and Neuro-Linguistic Programming (NLP) techniques are usually effective. That's because the very essence of hypnosis is relaxation. The biter 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 teaches the biter to become aware of this unconscious habit. Suggestions are given to the subconscious mind to make the consciousness 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. For example, we can help the client to set up an "Anchor" or trigger so that he/she can momentarily disassociate. This is an excellent method that will effectively relieve the urge to bite.

The third part of the hypnotherapy is to eliminate the compulsion to bite. There are NLP methods that actually program the client with a compulsion to not bite his/her nails.

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

Second, you are fighting the fact that biting your nails feels good to do, and it provides much short-range satisfaction and either stimulation or soothing feelings. It can take time and effort to master, but I believe it is well worth it. My experience has shown a number of methods to be quite effective!