I bite my nails. I always have, for as long as I can remember. Most stories of nail-biting have some sort of anxious element to it. I always just… did it. I sometimes have already bitten my nail to the point of bleeding before I notice what I’ve done, even if I’m just watching TV. When I was a kid, no one really noticed, least of all me. As I got older, it became evident that they were a little short and a little odd-looking. This was around the time that many girls started painting their nails. I tried to paint mine as well, and then I would just end up biting the nails and the polish the moment it chipped even a little bit. I would pick off or scrape off the nail polish, just for something to do. Then, I would bite them off, which is gross, and painful.
I tried gel nails in high school, and it worked until it was time to use acetone to take them off. I skipped that step, of course, and just peeled them off, destroying the nails underneath. I gave up for a while, and as I got older the biting got better. It didn’t go away, but I was less prone to absolutely destroying them than biting them to bleed when I wasn’t paying attention.
A few months ago, I was in a store and saw a set of gel nails. They’re stickers that harden under UV light. I don’t have to go into the nail salon to get them done (which I hate), and when they start to peel and I kind of rip them off, the layers of my nails stay where they are. As long as my nails are covered, I won’t bite them. When I get to pick pretty colors, I wear them. New solutions to nails are redefining my relationship with them. I still know it’s an issue, but if I’m being proactive about keeping them done, I have stronger, healthier nails that don’t always hurt. I am always aware of my nails, but I hope that through this process, I’ll be aware of them in a more positive way.