“If you correct the mind, the rest of your life will fall into place." – Lao Tzu
Nail biting, like any habit, can be hard to break (that’s an unintentional nail pun if we’ve ever heard one).
People do it to fight stress but sometimes it’s just an unconscious response. Your hands may even go in your mouth every time there is stillness.
This is where meditation can help.
Nail biting won’t stop if you won’t treat the underlying cause or if you don’t stop long enough to understand why you fidget in this particular way.
It is possible to practice presence every moment of your life, but you can start with when you get the desire to bite your nails (or if you catch yourself with a hand already in your mouth).
At that moment, stop and question how you feel inside.
Is there frustration or anxiety? Is your heartbeat slow or fast? How about your breathing? You don’t need too much time to scan, but make sure you are being thorough and honest.
Try to feel whatever you are feeling without masking it.
If you are feeling nothing but the desire to bite your nails, the addiction is speaking through you. Try to find the real you underneath it.
After you have taken the time you need to be and to feel what you need to feel, return to what you are doing.
When you are first breaking this habit, you may need to do this 30 times a day. Eventually it will become less and less.
You will eventually have healthy nails and a healthy commitment to presence.
