Nail Biting and Skin Picking are Multi-Faceted Habits

Book Clips from It's Time to Stop Nail Biting...4 Steps to Success
An Innovative Program for Adults & Children by Elizabeth Bohorquez, RN, C.Ht & Joseph Bohorquez, M.D., Originators of Interactive Awareness & Interactive Self-Hypnosis

We talk about our habits or problems "as if" they were simply one thing, but they are not. I'm sure you've noticed this when I discussed my own habit with you, and certainly when you answered the questions in the last chapter. Habits have many parts and here sits the reason for failure for most of us. The crux of failure is that we have a tendency to rush into solutions without first studying the parts in detail, as well as assessing our own strengths or weakenesses. So, if you begin climbing the solution steps without everything you need to succeed, you might fail. This book will help you to see what it is that you need to know. Keep in mind that each of us is different. What you need, may not be the same as what another reader needs. Keep your journal handy as you move through these pages. Your own subconscious mind will find your own personal connections and present them to you. Then, you will be ready to actively work with them. Here are some examples shared by my patients, as well as some mind-opening teaching:

Meet Jana: I'm 33 years old. I've bitten my nails and picked my cuticles for so long that I can't remember not doing it. How can I stop?

It will help Jana to understand that we begin to curtail nail biting and picking by collecting facets or awareness moments. It's like taking a puzzle apara and truly paying attention to those parts. This is a special kind of focus. Perhaps you have never spent time looking and studying your hands and fingers, nor the behaviors that are involved in their destruction. That will end here as you read this book. Some aspects of your habit and behaviors may appear very small, perhaps insignificant, but they are not. Each forms an important clue to your special brand of nail biting and picking and it is absolutely necessary to get to know them well.

From now on forward, you and Jana will begin a finite study of your hands, nails, cuticles and finger-skin. They tell a story about you and what you are about. They form a very external story based on inside details and in a way, a very honest story. There are plenty of destructive habits that may not be so obvious, such as alcoholism and binge eating, but the destruction from nail biting and picking is right ouththere for everyone to see. Be willing to truly look at them now and really see them, finger by finger, nail by nail, finger-skin by finger-skin. By observing your hands and fingers, it is abundantly clear that you have a problem and it is time to fully acknowledge it.

Just like an alcoholic must admit to his or her alcohol addiction, so must a nail biter or skin picker. And, while you are doing this, also admit to your lack of self-care in this area, as well as to acknowledge how you manage your stress. If you choose to be successful in managing this habit, it is key to own it completely. Only then will you have the power you need, so go ahead right now and do this for yourself.

2006 - Copyrighted. No part of this information may be copied or reproduced in any format without written permission by the authors.