Uncontrollable Nail/Finger Biting

[gherkin2pickle]

Hello, I'm a 14 year old girl in high school. I've always had a bit of anxiety, for I'm very self conscious of my schoolwork and grades (especially in math, my teachers in elementary and middle school were NOT any help and impacted my confidence in that field forever). Since I just started high school in September though, my anxiety has gotten a lot worse, and new habits came with it. I used to have strong, thick, beautiful nails when I was in middle school. Now, however, they're as short as can be. I bite them down daily, sometimes until they bleed. If one is ever even close to growing back to a normal length, I always seem to bite it back again. Also, the skin around my nails and fingertips is absolutely shredded. I push and tear off my cuticles, and tear the skin off of my fingertips. I've been doing it for so long that the fingerprints on my thumbs are nearly gone, with only pink, shiny callous left behind. My fingers are all scarred and bloody thanks to this new habit, and I still have three years to go in high school. And college after that. I don't want people to cringe at the sight of my fingers for years in the future like they do now, so does anyone have any advice on how I can curb this habit? I understand I do this because I put way too much pressure on myself to do good in school and be as good as my friends (ie. they all have 4.0 GPA and I have a 3.85 because of Accelerated Algebra II, and I'm always beating myself up about it), yet I'm not sure that I can stop. I'm pushing myself because I want to succeed, but still..... Does anyone have any ideas? Thank you for reading. /Gherkin

[Paxiled]

First, you're 14, and for the next couple of years, well, it's a hard time as your hormones are also going nuts.  A lot of change.  Nobody's really relaxed at that age, but things you can try are meditation and exercise.  As for your habit, try covering them with bandaids until you stop.