Hey i was just wondering how to break a bad habit.... Since i was about 7 i have been bighting and picking on my fingers and scabs on my hands...i have adhd and i have noticed that many people that have it (like my dad and friends) do the same thing...i would like to know how i can break this habit it and also if this is a side effect of ritalin,aderol,stratera...or if it is just because there is a strong urge to fidget...
206257
Go into the garrage and get an electric saw and saw off your fingers and then there won't any to bite, you can start biting the sinuse of skin of your knockles instead.\n\nOr you can also put your foot in your mouth and start biting your toe-nails.\n\nAsk a psychologist about how to stop.
138897
Just wash your walls once after about a year that will help you with the idea to quit I also liked the answer by varakei, makes some sense. I sure wish you luck, I haven't had much luck at it, but who knows with time you just never know what can be done. One habit broken, then another. You know how it works. One step at a time I guess. Good Luck to you....Just dont do it  right before the end of April baddddd timing
33406
HMMMM some very interesting answers here that I like....Such as the rubber band idea. I would recomend that idea and see if that helps. If not....\n\nFirst of all as a former thumb sucker and smoker I understand oral fixations (I quit the thumb thing a 12 started smoking at 13 and just quit that at 22, about two months ago). Even now you will usually catch me with a touthpick, rubber band, bottle lid, pencils, or other item in my mouth. I have seriously cut back the habbit and consiously have to make efforts not to do it. \n\nHere are some suggestions. First of all peppers contain volitale oils that can chemically burn skin so avoid those. Purchase some alum powder and mix the powder with a few drops of water (Enough to make a slightly runny paste.) and soak your fingers in it. Alum is very, unpleasantly bitter and will immediately make your mouth pucker. Some people like lemon juice or tobasco so using those items usually doesn't work because the taste isn't very strong. \n\nNext put up sticky notes at the places you are most like to do this. Repeating to yourself that this is bad trains your mind to avoid doing it subconsciously. If you are like me you also put your hand on your face (or chin in hand, whatever). You can curb this action as well by improving your posture. Freeze yourself the next time you catch yourself doing this (or finger chewing) and analyze how you are sitting. Usually slumped with your elbow on the table or with your elbow semi supported by your stomach or chest. If you start improving your posture then you will become less inclined to hold your arm up unsupported for very long. I am using an exercise ball for a computer chair right now to retrain my posture. My doctor recomended it and I highly agree, I've already noticed a difference.\n\nCheer up though. Some studies say that finger chewing, nail biting, and other oral fixations are all signs of higher intelligence. It is believed that the brain in these cases works so fast that it actually gets bored or is somehow unstimulated. By controlling physical movement while mental processes such as reading or talking occur your brain is exercising itself and making you smarter and faster by training itself to multitask.\n\nOh and a side note. Many people often notice that they chew nails/fingers in response to nervousness. The sucking/chewing motion is deeply ingrained in our most primitive side as being calming. When we are babies and we recieve food (suckle) subconciously we are aware of being protected by our mothers. The sucking/chewing motion along with full belly releases seratonin in the child inducing pleasure and happiness. In response to certain stresses adults will ocassionally do the same thing for the chemical calm it can induce, without even thinking about it. I tend to do this in the store especially when I can't find something. I feel lost and confused and tend to stick the tip of one or more finger in my mouth while looking.
477988
Go to the dollar store or walmart or any drug store and get yourself some nail polish remover. Dip your hands in that every now and then through out the day. When you go to bite your nails the taste from the remover will be so horrible! It's cheap and effective. No messy creams, just stick your finger in the polish remover and that's it. It works, I know from experience. I use to pick at my nails all the time. After you stop biting them, go to a beauty supply store. I know what you're thinking but trust me on this. Go to a beauty supply store and talk to a sales person about a good product for nail restoration. Believe me, if you really want to stop biting your nails, trust me on this!
316985
One way is to take up playing the guitar.  Most all avid guitar players I know have calluses on their fingers.
535162
It's great you're asking for help but you need to get help from someone in "3-D" - like a counselor or a doctor.  There are online support groups and information sites, but you're right - you can't "just stop" - this isn't like a bad habit.  It's a very serious medical condition that needs to be treated.  Don't feel bad that you didn't get the help you needed when you asked.  I'm glad you kept asking!  Lots of people have been where you are, and they have been able to stop forever, so don't give up hope.
333910
I think you definitely have a problem here. I saw a special on TV, I think it was on intervention where a girl did this too. I can't remember that name of the disease but she definitely had a chemical imbalance. I really think you should see a doctor and don't worry....your not the only one!!!
190297
It can't help it any. Make sure you see a doctor about it and stop picking!!!
638263
This is a good question. One that I am glad someone asked. I have some bad habits that I would like to shed. No need to cover them all here. So, I'll answer your  two questions, even though I'll only get two points.\nNothing that I do that runs a health risk, is worth my health. Except that I seem to create excuses why I don't stop doing them. Some of these excuses are:  1)I tell myself                      that I will stop soon (soon always is put off). 2) Habitual bad habits are challenging to break. 3)I tell myself that I've already ceased enough bad habits ( I have ). 4) I make excuses why the health risk isn't risky enough. 5) When I am tired of hearing these, I postpone the quit time till New Years.\nAll of these reasons are easy for me to fall prey to because I live alone. This makes it more difficult to arouse my attention. I think though that after this question is resolved I'm going to copy it and post it on my wall. Thank you for asking this question and making things more aware for me. I wish I could give you ten points.
164556
Oh man. I know it's so hard. Look at these sites, they have a lot of good ideas. I've always tried to comb that area, I heard it breaks up the broken blood vessels. Hopefully you don't have to visit your family soon!
216676
Sally Hanson nail biting formula.  It tastes really bad and help to break the habit.  It sounds like a nervous habit if he has them down to nothing.  Give him suger free gum or those little packs of baby carrots.  The nail stuff should work.
105005
If you haven't broken that habit, it would occur mostly when you're nervous and sometimes stress. But it can also occur as an automatic random impulse, whether you're bored or waiting for something (or both). It's the exact same thing as unconciously fidgeting your fingers and, to most girls who have/had braces, puffing up your cheeks.\n\nIt's simply a brain impulse while it's busy thinking of other stuff and ignores all other habitory, well, habits.
51518
I feel your pain, and share your view in general on medications. I have a daughter, now 8 years old who has ADHD. They told me when she was six that she needed to be medicated and I absolutely refused to consider it. I thought that medication was being used way too often and I was not about to put her on it. Well, things continued to get worse for her, me our family as we tried to control her behaviors without meds. She started losing her friends, doing poorly in school, and her brothers started to resent her for the behaviors she would act out and ruin our family outings. I finally agreed about 6 months ago  to try her on the lowest dose possible to try to make things a little better. Now, I regret not doing it sooner. She is by no means perfectly behaved or on task, but she is now able to do her school work with minimum redirecting, sustain friendships, and has control over her behaviors. This medication has not altered her pesonality or put her in to a dazed state like I thought it would. It really has just helped her to be able to live a more normal life. She still has her times when she doesn't want to listen, do homework and pouts or cries, but it is now within reasonable limits. I agree that medication should not just be handed out like candy, but sometimes the child really does need it. With proper monitoring and dosage your son should be fine. The only side effect my daughter has had is a little weight loss, but even that tapered off after the first 2 months. She is a much happier child now, and it is a much more peaceful house. I wish you luck with your son, and in making this decision, as I know it is a hard one to make. I fought it for 1 1/2 years. Good Luck.
499387
watch out for any bad habits dude and cut it immediately\n\nsearch in for anxiety and how to control it\na simple diet and excercise wud do\nkeep control of yourself on your habits\ntake care
182866
OCD..lol..there are so many people on this site with that.\nYou can tell who they are because they complain constantly about spelling, they report people for using ALL CAPS.\n\nSeriously, people who constantly wash their hands have OCD, or if they have a habit of arranging things in order just for fun this is OCD. I dont know of any meds though
494014
There is something you can buy to stop you biting your nails, it is a bit like nail varnish but not quite, it tastes absolutely disgusting so you stop biting. As for picking scabs, will power. Say something like, right if i don't pick them for a week i'll buy something like a CD or something like that. incentives usually do the trick.
576802
I use to do the same thing...It comes in waves for me. Like for a few months straight I'll do it for any reason imaginable. Then, when my arms and legs would be a mess with scabs and scars, I'd stop for a few months to let them clear up. Then I'd start again. I started in the seventh grade...You need to tell your parents so that you can go see a psychiatrist if you aren't seeing one already. How THEY react will NOT be your fault so don't blame yourself. What's the worst that could happen? They get mad or scared or confused and you end up getting the help you need? Just don't think to hard about telling them, just DO it...If you take to long thinking about it, the harder it'll be to do it. Good luck, hun.