Nail Biting Treatments

Nail biting in children

Nail biting in children and young adults is more prevalent than in other age groups. According to one estimate, 28-33% of children from the ages of 7-10 bite their nails on a regular basis. This extends to 44% of adolescents and 19-29% of young adults and 5% of older adults. Nail biting is usually a habit people are aware of, often wondering "how can I stop biting my nails," but actually breaking the nail biting habit can be more challenging. There are several methods available that promise to help habitual nail biters stop chewing nails. Unfortunately, most methods have mixed results.

One common treatment is a clear nail polish applied to nails that has a bitter taste to discourage nail biting. Behavioral treatments are also common. These work by replacing the nail biting habit with a more constructive habit. The problem with most traditional methods used to curb or stop nail biting is that the desire to return to the behavior is still there. The most effective treatment for such behaviors tends to be something that will stop the brain from defaulting to that behavior in times of stress. Hypnosis has proven to be a successful method to stop the nail biting habit because it works on a subconscious level to stop the behavior.

Nail Biting Treatment with Hypnosis Misconceptions

One popular misconception of hypnosis is that the person being hypnotized is completely unaware of their surroundings. When in hypnosis, the subject can hear everything that is going on around them, including the suggestion that is given to them to stop the nail biting. The suggestion can be a word or phrase or other verbal prompt or can be a direction to avert a certain behavior. In the case of nail biting, this could be a direction to substitute another more acceptable behavior when the subject has the desire to bite their nails.

The subconscious mind is 88% more alert than the conscious mind. This is one of the reasons why hypnosis to change an undesirable behavior tends to be more successful than traditional treatment options. Since the mind is more alert, the subconscious mind is more likely to accept the given suggestions. As a result, the mind creates the behavioral changes upon hearing these suggestions in a conscious state. Hypnosis treatments for nail biting may be done at home with either a tape recording or by downloading an mp3 file. These work by following a simple set of instructions to place the suggestion into the subconscious.

 Aside from making nails unattractive, nail biting may cause infection and damage to the skin around the nail and the nail plate itself. Hypnosis has proven to be an effective method to combat several types of addictive behaviors. Behavior therapy has an average success rate of 72% following approximately 20-22 sessions, while hypnotherapy has an average success rate of 93% following approximately 6-8 sessions. Professional sessions tend to be more effective.

However, follow up self-sessions at home can be effective in maintaining successful nail biting treatment results.