Sheila attended a workshop in Hong Kong in September, 2003. Her profile was very similar to many habitual nail biters. According to her, she had started biting when she was roughly 5 years old. The habit had simply never gone away, and had tormented her for many, many years. She had tried many times to stop, and had spent much money on other "cures" including a bad tasting lotion.

Technically, Sheila was not a "biter" but a "picker." She did not really bite so much, but she did pick and destroy the skin around the nails. Obviously then, bad tasting lotion would not help her condition. She engaged in the habit most during quiet times, including in the taxi on her way to a news event.

She was highly frustrated, and distraught with her condition. Her friends and family constantly derided her, and often would slap her hands when they saw her engaging the habit. In her own words, "I used to cry sometimes when I would look down and see how ugly my hands were."

Although I did not consider her case any more serious than others, I did immediately notice that she was suffering deeply inside as a result of the habit. I assured her that we would vanquish this demon quite soon, but I could tell that she was highly skeptical; when asked on a scale of 1-10 how badly she wanted to quit though, she remarked her reply would be off the chart.

Sheila attended the workshop, and started the technique on June 10th, 2003. I contacted her about 3 weeks later, and her reply was encouraging: "for the most part, I have stopped biting and picking my fingers with the exception of the thumbs." I probed her behavior a bit, and re-asserted the technique's method. She admitted to having slacked off a bit, but would resume with more energy as she felt that she was close and did not want any rollback.

About 6 weeks later, Sheila called me. This time, she was a different person altogether. She mentioned to me that she had quit entirely (even her troublesome thumbs) almost immediately after my follow up call. Apparently, my call had solidified the treatment and given her just enough momentum to get over that final hurdle. She was very ecstatic, and very, very pleased with herself. Her family could not believe the results, and two of Sheila's friends called me seeking help soon after. Today, Sheila has not resumed her habit at all and is completely habit free.