You're Not Alone

Julie C - I've been biting my nails down to stubs since I can remember (the other day I saw a picture of me at 6 months old with normal nails and it made me laugh--it's probably the only one), and I'm now 31 and have just given up on trying to stop. I notice that when I occasionally stop biting the nails, I'll chew up my cuticles instead and that is way grosser looking than just REALLY short nails, so we'll stick to the lesser evil, I guess. I appreciate the guy who said he's attracted to bitten nails... don't think any of my past boyfriends would say that exactly, but none of them were ever hung up on making me quit. My ex-husband and several of my good friends also bite their nails, and we've all agreed that when we do force ourselves to stop, SOMETHING DEFINITELY FEELS WRONG. So we're like a little club. Some creepo said to me once, "You know Julie, when you bite your nails like that, it's like you're letting people know they can GET TO YOU." Well, yeah, and obviously CERTAIN creeps like to take advantage of that. But I generally don't associate with people who look for your emotional bruises and then poke them. Hopefully the guy who's attracted to bitten nails isn't that kind of sadist. Anyway, I haven't noticed that my career or love life has suffered due to my habit, so it's actually become a dead issue, aside from when I go home and my mom clucks at me. I agree that there are awkward moments: showing off a ring or having a guy kiss my hand, or pointing out a picture in a book is mortifying. But having someone kiss the tips of your fingers because they love you is pretty great. So chew on. It beats cigarettes and SSRIs, is cheaper, and at least for me, it tastes good too.