Powerful Addiction

I really appreciate all the comments people have. Diversity is great! I'm a terrible nail biter and am embarassed of my nails. I have to make an effort to ensure that no one sees my hands close up. It's quite a pain. But sometimes I am able to quit- for a while. I was able to quit for two or three years once, and was surprised to discover I had lovely hands and nails. But that doesn't help me now as motivation to quit again. How I quit on earlier occasions was with an fairly snug elastic band around my wrist. I would give it a snap on the inside of my wrist every time I put my hand to my mouth, but would allow myself to keep biting. But soon enough- within a week or so- the desire to put my hand to my mouth was overcome by the desire to not have red, painful welts on the inside of my wrist. I suppose it's a bit of Pavlov's theory. So, this method works for me, with a bit of concious effort at the beginning. But it also seems to require reinforcement as soon as I notice I am putting my hands to my mouth again, and that is the tricky part! An interesting note- I was able to quit smoking cold turkey, and have never ever thought of having another smoke again, yet I cannot quit biting my nails. For me it is the more powerful addiction. ~ A. N