What You Need To Know About Nail Biting And How To Use Hypnotherapy To Break The Habit
Skin picking, hair pulling and nail biting are related behaviors. These behaviors are labeled as Obsessive-Compulsive Disorders or OCD. People who bite their nails often keep their hands hidden behind their backs. People who bite their nails often feel shame and social embarrassment and experience out-of-control feelings at times. Sometimes they wonder why they cannot stop and they also question whether or not they are crazy.
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 thinking about what they are doing. It is often when they are immersed in some other activity at the same time such as reading or talking, etc. For others, the deliberate picking or biting is their main activity at the time, and they will often interrupt other activities to engage in it.
There is also a strong commonality in the various purposes behind these three problems (nail biting, skin picking and hair pulling). At the most basic level, they 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 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 probably accounts for why so many people who dislike doing them find it so hard to give them up. It simply "feels good" at the time no matter what.
Even if you have more than one of these problems, don’t despair. These behaviors can be overcome if you have a sufficient amount of 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 get down to realizing 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 is not currently a "cure" but you can find relief if you are willing to work at it. Hypnosis for nail biting consists of three parts.
Therapy For People Who Bite Their Nails
First off, nail biting is a stress related habit. So the first part of the therapy is to teach the biter how to be more relaxed at all times. To that end, I believe that traditional hypnosis, Ericksonian hypnosis, and NLP techniques are usually quite effective. That’s because the very essence of hypnosis is relaxation. The nail biter can learn to apply several different methods to increase both the relaxed state, as well as his/her overall feeling of well-being.
The second part teaches the individual awareness of this unconscious habit. Suggestions can be given to the unconscious mind to make the conscious mind aware that you are about to bite your nails. Then you get to consciously decide whether or not you are actually going to bite them.
There are several other much more effective hypnosis and NLP methods. For 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 method that will effectively relieve the compulsion.
The third part of the 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 biting compulsion, being realistic is very important. In the first place, you have probably practiced the unwanted habit hundreds or even thousands of times. You’ll need to accept that the compulsion to bite your nails will not simply be overcome in a few days or weeks.
Secondly, you are fighting the fact that biting your nails feels good, and it offers short-term satisfaction and either stimulation or soothing feelings. It can take time to overcome, but it will be well worth it. Experience has shown a number of methods to be very effective!
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Alan B. Densky, CH is a certified hypnotist specializing in stress related symptoms. He offers Hypnosis CDs which abolish the nail biting compulsion. Reach him at the Neuro-VISION Hypnosis self help site. Visit his FREE hypnosis article library, or download his MP3s. www.neuro-vision.us/Hypnosis-Article-Index.html
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