Habit Summary

Habit Summary

The habit I chose to change in the beginning of the semester was nail biting. This is a horrid habit that has been a part of my life for as long as I can remember. Time and time again I tried to stop biting my nails but I was never successful in the long run. I would stop for a week or two and then cave in. The longest I had ever gone was probably a month. When we were presented with the challenge of changing a behavior in this class nail biting was the first thing that came to my mind. I had other options to choose from such as eating junk food, but nail biting was the only one I really wanted to change. In the beginning it was pretty easy to stop the habit. I had done it before for a couple of weeks so I knew I could do that again. The hard part came when I got to about a month. I would notice myself picking at my nails a lot or friends would catch me as I was about to start biting my nails. So far I had a few techniques for changing the behavior. I used a lot of nail polish and this stuff called NO BITE that tastes really bad. One of my roommates put sticky notes all over our room saying “stop biting your nails” and they both did their best to keep an eye out for the nail biting.

Having the support of my friends and family definitely helped. One of my biggest problems was that I rarely ever noticed when I was biting my nails. I have been doing it for so long and I didn't even think about it. Having my friends point out when they saw me doing it was a huge help. After the first month I was able to notice it a little more since I had gone so long without doing it but that was also the most difficult time so it was harder to stop myself. In accepting this challenge and attempting to change a behavior, I learned a lot about myself. I have the dedication and determination needed to stop a habit. The biggest problem is the motivation to start. Nail biting is something I have always wanted to stop so the motivation to try was there. However, if I had chosen to give up eating junk food I would not have been even slightly successful. It is not something I want to give up even though I know it is bad for me so the motivation to stat would not have been present.

While going through this process there were many ways in which I was able to connect my habit to an addiction based on what we learned in class. In order to treat an addiction the person must know they have a problem and be willing to make a change. I was able to connect to this because nail biting was something I have always wanted to stop. To make it possible to quit an addiction you must have a support group. This could be people in a 12 step meeting, a sponsor, friends, or family members. In my case it was friends. Without them I would not have been nearly as successful as I was. The most difficult part to overcome was the triggers. The worst one for me was more along the line of feelings than people, places, or things.  I was most tempted to bite my nails when I was nervous, anxious, or frustrated. In class we learned that the best way to handle these things is to avoid them; find new people to hang out with, don’t go to the places that remind you of it, and don’t do the things that trigger the addiction.

Getting past this part of the behavior change was difficult because I can’t avoid feelings or the things that cause them. The stress, anxiety, and frustration mostly came from school or soccer. These are not things that I can just stop. I can now understand how difficult it could be for someone who can’t afford to move away from the problem, or can’t get away from their bad group of friends easily. In my opinion habits can definitely be broken; however, I don’t think that addictions can be cured. If you work on it long enough a behavior can be changed, almost like forming a new habit of not doing whatever the bad habit was before. Depending on the habit or behavior it may take a very long time but I believe it can be done. On the other hand I do not believe that an addiction can be cured. It can be treated on a day by day basis but it will never fully go away. There is a reason that 12 step meetings require you to introduce yourself as an addict every time you join the discussion. The addiction never goes away, it will always be there but it can be treated one day at a time.