Nail biting is a nervous habit, so the first part of hypnotherapy is to teach the patient to be more relaxed. Traditional hypnosis such as Ericksonian hypnosis, and Neuro-Linguistic Programming techniques are often quite effective for this. The reason for this is because the essence of hypnosis is relaxation. The patient can learn a number of different methods to increase their overall feeling of well-being and also their own relaxed state.

Hypnotherapy can also teach awareness of this unconscious habit. Suggestions are made to the subconscious mind to make the conscious aware that you are about to bite your nails. Then you can consciously decide whether or not you will follow through and bite them.

There are other forms of hypnosis that might be more effective for certain individuals. NLP methods for example, help the individual to set up a trigger so that he/she can mentally step outside of him/herself. This is an excellent technique for resisting the urge to bite.

Finally, the compulsion to bite must be eliminated. There are certain methods that can program the individual with a compulsion not to bite, the final step to growing long and lovely nails!

More on this story here.