TMI Thursday: Leave Me Alone Yahoo

To celebrate the new year, Yahoo posted a story titled 5 Habits to break in 2010. This was at the top of their list:

1.) Bad habit: Nail Biting

Stop now: Biting your nails makes for ugly hands and over time can interfere with normal nail growth, damage the outer layer of your teeth, and cause nail deformities such as split nails. Harmful bacteria such as staphylococcus also live underneath nails—and you don't want to chew on that.

Break it: Go for a professional manicure once every 2 or 3 weeks, suggests Angelica Kaner, PhD, a clinical professor at Yale University Medical School, because when your nails look pretty, you'll be less likely to snack on them. At the very least, keep your nails trimmed short—you'll have less nail to bite, and that harmful bacteria has less space to grow. Nail biting is also a nervous habit that is often an expression of some deeper anxiety. "Ask yourself why you're feeling anxious," Kaner says. You can also try substituting a new, healthy behavior—instead of biting your nails, rub in a cuticle cream or oil.

You know, perhaps I could go for a manicure. Every two or three weeks sounds reasonable. Wait a second...I'm a man (please disregard posts where I may not display my masculine qualities). Men don't get manicures and I'm not quite in the position to spend how ever much a manicure costs every 2-3 weeks right now. Oh, and my hands, when they are not extremely dry like they are right now, certainly are not ugly. Besides, my hands are small I know, but they're not yours, they are my own!

I admit it: I bite my fingernails. Sometimes, I chew my fingernails and even swallow them. Dr. Kaner thinks I should ask myself why I'm feeling anxious. Maybe I just like to bite my fingernails, Dr. Kaner, if that's your real name! A few years ago, my dentist did mention that that my nail-biting could impact the bonding that I have on several teeth. Therefore, I switched the teeth that I use to bite my fingernails.

So if you're looking for my New Year's resolution, Yahoo, it has nothing to do with biting my fingernails. I am comfortable with this habit. Now please work a little harder to make sure that my e-mail doesn't send out a spam message to everyone in my inbox with a link to buy Viagra again.

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