What You Need To Know About Nail Biting And How To Use Hypnotherapy To Eliminate The Compulsion

Nail biting is related to skin picking and hair pulling.  Skin picking, hair pulling and nail biting are labeled as  Obsessive-Compulsive Disorders or OCD. People who bite their nails often keep their hands behind their backs or in their pockets. People who bite their nails often feel social embarrassment and experience out-of-control feelings at times.  Sometimes they wonder why they cannot stop and they often question whether or not they are crazy.

 Nail biting often happens when nail biters are in one of two modes. Some people do it in an automatic way, as if they are in some kind of altered state and not really thinking about what they are doing. It's often when they are involved in some other activity at the same time such as watching TV or working on the computer, etc. For others, the deliberate picking or biting is their main activity at the time, and they will often interrupt other activities who engage in it.

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

 When sufferers feel stressed, pulling, picking or biting 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 probably accounts for why so many people who have these habits find it so hard to break these habits. It simply "feels good" at the time no matter what the consequences. 

 Even if you have more than one of these habits, don't despair. They can be overcome if you have enough 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 get down to realizing that you are just a person who simply happens to have a problem, 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 relief if you are willing to work at it. Self-hypnosis for nail biting consists of three parts.
 

 NLP & Hypnotherapy For People Who Bite Their Nails

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

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

 There are also several other much more effective hypnosis and NLP techniques more effective hypnosis and NLP techniques. As an example, we can help the client to set up an "Anchor" or trigger so that he/she can momentarily mentally step outside of him/herself. This is a powerful technique that will effectively relieve the compulsion.

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

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

 Second, 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 it. Experience has shown a number of techniques to be very effective!

Alan B. Densky, CH is a certified hypnotist specializing in stress related symptoms. He offers  Hypnosis CDs that eradicate the nail biting compulsion CDs that eradicate the nail biting compulsion</a>. Contact him at the <a href="Neuro-VISION Hypnosis site Hypnosis site. Visit his FREE hypnosis article index, or download his MP3s