why do people bite their nails, is it insecurity?

Answer 1

It is a displacement activity at times of high anxiety. People who bit their nails are often anxious all the time and insecure.

Answer 2

Well the reason i bite my nails is because sometimes i get bored and i have nothing else to do! I'm definately not insecure and i don't bite my nails because im nervous! I started out when i was small! I used to really look up to my uncle and he would bite his nails, so one day i just started biting mine! I haven't been able to get rid of the habit! It's not like i can't let my nails grow, because i can! but after awhile ill just start biting them again! Like when im watching movies, i usually always take something to eat(like popcorn, candy, or gum) cuz if i don't, ill start biting my nails! no matter what movie it is! I just do it! its just a bad habit!

Answer 3

It's the worst of both worlds. An oral fixation with a need to self-harm.
I know when i started, i know why i started. I stop biting for weeks. Then i will chew as if i've not been fed for weeks.
Over the years it's become a comfort, a release, a restraint. I'll bit my nails as you sip your glass of wine.
It's a 'you leave me no other option than to retreat in myself' solution. Not that children have the faintest idea. I started biting at six. Now i'm nearly 42 and still bite. Tried all sorts to stop to no avail. I've given up trying for now ...

Answer 4

Freud says that your stuck at the oral (psycho sexual stage). He claims that you were over or under stimulated in that area when you were a baby.

I do it, i cant help it, i think its just insecurity and nerves getting the better.

To stop this you can put nail varnish stuff on, and when you go to bite them it tastes disgusting, and it doesn't go for a long time. After tasting it a few times you think twice about putting your nails near your tongue lol. Put forward by the behaviourists, in psychology.

Answer 5

Not insecurity, It's a habit which I can't break but I especially find myself doing it when I'm stressed, nervous, anxious or just emotional like when I'm reading a good book or watching a dramatic movie.

Answer 6

Heck no it isn't... I'm one of the most secure people I know but I still catch myself biting them sometimes. I don't know if it's learned or what, but my father bit his nails for his entire life.

I usually catch myself doing it when I'm under some type of pressure, stress or when things aren't going well... Kind of like a nervous tic I guess.

Answer 7

no, it is not insecurity. Since I bite my nails, I know. It is usualy the urge to chew on things because it makes your teeth feel good.

Answer 8

I bite my nails...I don't usually tend to do wit when i am counsciously nervous but unconsciously..if that makes any sense...it's just a really bad and hard habit to get away from..i think to stop you need to either love how your nails look when they are long, your pick up another bad habit to replace it! ha.

Answer 9

It could be from a security mechanism from when they are children, or if you want to take the traditional psychological approach, as Freud would say they have an oral fixation which means that they never successfully completed psychological growth as a young child.

Answer 10

What a load of rubbish...its not because we are insecure at all, poppycock, its a habit. im 43 and have bitten my nails as long as i can remember. i dont smoke, i hardly drink, its not a terrible thing u know! i m quite happy in my own skin, i do it cos its a habit i cant break. im not nervous...im me!!!