Why Hypnosis for Nail Biting Works
Are you feeling embarrassed about how your finger nails look and that you have no control over your nail biting? You've tried to stop by using terrible tasting ointments and bandaids but you've gotten to the point where you realize you need some professional help.
Are you ready to stop nail biting once and for all? You desperately want to stop but it feels almost impossible. This is because nail biting is a habit that is rooted in the subconscious mind and our subconscious mind is 88% if our mind power! Your conscious brain is only 12% of your mind power. If these two go up in battle against each other guess who is going to win? So even though you consciously WANT to quit, your subconscious mind has been biting for years and isn't getting the DM that this relationship is OVER!
In this post, I break down everything you need to know about nail biting and explain how hypnotherapy can help you achieve your goal to stop nail biting.
Understanding the “why” behind nail biting
Could hypnosis for nail biting be the key to achieving your goal?
Nail biting is a habit that is rooted in the subconscious mind. The root cause will be different for each individual. As a certified hypnotherapist, I listen to my clients history to really unlock the WHY behind this bad habit. Sometimes it is rooted in anxiety, nervousness, pressure, excitement, happiness, an attempt for control or even to self inflict pain. You want to examine what was happening in you life when the habit began. The brain has created a strong association that ties this feeling or emotion with nail biting. For example, "when I’m stressed... I bite my nails for comfort”. Once this programming is established, it just keeps being reinforced, every time you bite your nails. After a while, you just automatically go in to bite your nails for comfort when you are feeling stressed, anxious, overwhelmed etc.
Why it’s important to stop biting your nails
While everyone has their own motivation to stop nail biting I'd like to share my own personal story and what I've heard from many of my clients about why it's was important for them to stop nail biting.
The problem with nail biting is that it can really become painful especially if the skin around the nails is also being targeted. Many of my clients don’t just stop with biting the nail but are constantly biting or skin picking around the nail also. The damage can lead to infections because you are ultimately opening up a wound where bacteria can enter. I once had to go to the ER for an in-grown toe nail that got infected because I was biting at it so much.
Nail biting can have a negative impact on your health. Think about it. Every time you bite your nails, you are introducing bacteria and potentially viruses into your body. Most people are biting their nails completely subconsciously without even thinking about it, so it is unlikely they are washing their hands first. Nail biting can also increase your risk of getting an infection in the skin around the nail. I can speak from personal experience you do not want to end up in the ER from biting your nails!
The longer this habit goes on the stronger it takes hold in the subconscious mind, and becomes very difficult to stop nail biting on your own.
How hypnotherapy for nail biting can help
Hypnotherapy is an effective treatment to help you stop nail biting. In just a few sessions focused on positive suggestions in the deeper mind, we can free a person from this behavior once and for all. Here are some of the ways we can use hypnosis to stop biting nails.
Uncover the Root Cause
Sometimes some healing needs to happen from the time when the nail biting began. Together you can uncover the cause, and begin the healing and reprogramming to be free of nail biting totally and completely.
Find a Healthy Replacement
If you take away the brain’s “comfort” or the habit of biting the nails, it will automatically grab onto another “comfort”. When you do hypnotherapy, you get to choose what that new “comfort” will be. Maybe it is a sip of water, a deep breath, or a walk outside for some fresh air. It is best if you can come up with a healthy replacement to really meet the need the mind thinks it's satisfying every time you bite your nails.
Desensitize Your Triggers
When does your nail biting get worse? Sometimes there are triggers that make the urge to bite more intense. You will talk to your therapist to make you more aware of when you notice the urge to bite. Is it boredom? Maybe stress, or anxiety? Self doubt? What feelings come up right before you bite your nails? In session your hypnotherapist will find ways to calm the mind on the unconscious level so you can come out of therapy feeling less sensitive to the things that brought up the desire to bite in the first place.
Lower Stress
Your hypnotherapy session will leave you feeling much more calm. Each time you come in we will work through the core beliefs that are causing you stress and help you to build up your self esteem & confidence. Through deep breathing and conscious awareness of your programming, you can feel so much more trust in yourself and allow stress to move through you without struggling so much. Hypnotherapy is very relaxing and calming to your nervous system and mental health.
NLP (Neuro-linguistic programming)
Where your focus goes your energy flows. We can use the power NLP to help guide our thoughts, feelings, emotions and behaviors. We have the client see him or herself right as the hand is about to reach the mouth and then freeze the image and turn it black and white. We then have the client visualize him or herself with beautiful, healthy nails and their favorite nail polish and see that image of themselves with their goal achieved. Their fingers are clean and their nails are beautiful and we turn this image into 3D and in color. As you step into this image of your future self, you have a sense or positive energy and pride being free of this old habit. This process is a powerful treatment for those who want to break the urge to bite their nails.
Real success stories about how nail biting hypnosis has helped my clients
One of my very first clients wanted to stop biting her nails. She was embarrassed about how her fingers looked. She had tried different treatment options in the past but this felt like an obsessive compulsive disorder that wasn't getting any better no matter what she did.
She had been struggling with this problem her entire life. I listened to her story of when it all began. We brought what might have started this habit to the conscious awareness. Once we unlocked the root cause we were able to tap into the unconscious part of her mind to break the habit and free her of the uncomfortable feelings tied to it.
We made an audio session that she could listen to at home to reinforce the work we were doing in her therapy sessions. After just a few sessions and doing self hypnosis she became a person who no longer bit her nails but developed new behaviors like taking walks, exercising and eating healthier. Her confidence grew, she was able to focus on the positive and she loved her new healthy habits!
Get the support you need to finally break your nail biting habit.
If you want to stop biting your nails I'd love to work with you! Together we will come up with a treatment that feels very doable and deeply empowering! I'd love to be the person who helps you to finally free yourself of this habit once and for all. Schedule a complimentary consultation. I will listen to your concerns and happily answer any questions you might have. This is a process that works best as a team. I am here for you every step of the way and will ask you questions you've probably never been asked before. We will go deeper than you've ever gone in regular therapy and that's because our subconscious minds are 88% of our mind power. It is here where all our habits, beliefs, emotions and behaviors are programmed. The good news is that we can reprogram your subconscious mind to be aligned with your conscious goals of being free of nail biting!