Addiction Not Disappearing After Meditation

[Afonso]

I've always had a biting nail problem. I used to bite my nails till my fingers started bleeding. But recently, I have "shifted" this habit and changed the process. Now, I "twist" my nose. I want to stop this. I've been meditating for more than a month and I can't get rid of it!

I feel I do it in a low-consciousness state, because when I'm fully present I don't do it. However, I want to eliminate this once and for all!

Any suggestions?

[123456789]

I can relate, I had this problem in the past. After I raised my base level of mindfulness it stopped, awareness is curative in itself. Be patient and keep meditating.

[Joel3102]

Yeah I have the same problem, I'm prone to addictions and always bite my nails. Basically 30 minutes a day probably won't cut it. Try keep life as simple as possible, meditate more and implement mindfulness throughout the day as much as you can.

[YaNanNallari]

I wouldn't call this an addiction, although I guess it's similiar. Anyway just know that every time you're resisting the urge you're making progress. Have you meditated using long determination sitting? (if that was what it's called). It's introduced in a Leo's video, in the list above do nothing technique called boost meditation or sth. I think that could help with this especially.

[Arman]

Patience, time. It may have roots in deep emotional tension. One month of meditation is not going to resolve all our bad habits and neurotic behaviors, but that is ok because you are making lots of gains. In fact sometimes things get a lot worse before they get better.

Brother I suggest you be kinder to yourself about it. When we are so attached to needing something to heal, then we block the natural unfolding of it. Think of the aspect of you that is doing the behavior like an innocent child inside of you. Every time you judge the action you are turning to him and saying "god, why do you do that? you're making life hard." but he cannot help it because that's who he is. Imagine going to the doctor with the child (which is you) and saying "There's something wrong with him... I've tried to make him better but he is still doing the same embarrassing, uncomfortable things. How do I make him stop? He is a real problem in my life" Imagine how that would make that child feel. That is what you are doing to yourself. 

Like yelling at a child who has a stuttering problem, the stuttering isn't going to go away. 

In this way, you need to accept your habit like a parent should unconditionally accept a child's imperfections. When you are fully OK whether it stays or goes, paradoxically it will relieve itself. 

Edited December 6, 2016 by Arman

[Leo Gura]

@Afonso Sounds like your body energy is twisted up.

I would suggest doing some daily practice where you consciously relax your hands and arms and get acclimated to that "empty" feeling of being fully relaxed. Open up your body and try to attain perfect symmetry. It will feel uncomfortable at first, but over time, you should adjust to it.

Focus your mindfulness on muscle tension in your body. There's probably a lot of it there that will take some work to notice.

Also, try to contemplate the root source of this behavior. WHY are you doing it? What role it is serving? How are you using it to avoiding facing some kind of emotion?

[Afonso]

6 hours ago, Leo Gura said:

@Afonso Sounds like your body energy is twisted up.

I would suggest doing some daily practice where you consciously relax your hands and arms and get acclimated to that "empty" feeling of being fully relaxed. Open up your body and try to attain perfect symmetry. It will feel uncomfortable at first, but over time, you should adjust to it.

Focus your mindfulness on muscle tension in your body. There's probably a lot of it there that will take some work to notice.

Also, try to contemplate the root source of this behavior. WHY are you doing it? What role it is serving? How are you using it to avoiding facing some kind of emotion?

Thanks! I'll be doing this from now on. I'll post here my results next month.

Edited December 7, 2016 by Afonso

[Pallero]

Yes, this is very common. It will take time, but don't worry, you can master it! Just let it happen for now, accept it while you continue your meditation and other practices. Don't fight it or it will get worse. Let it become obsolete as you focus on your own well-being.

[Wouter]

On 7-12-2016 at 10:53 AM, Leo Gura said:

@Afonso Sounds like your body energy is twisted up.

 Open up your body and try to attain perfect symmetry.

I find this symmetry thing interesting, Martin Ball also told about it in your episode. A

Are there some good resources if we want to gain knowledge on this?

[Afonso]

@Leo Gura Hey, here's my progress:

I have now been meditating for 4 months and the habit persists. In my meditation sessions, I focus on tensions in the body and they usually dissolve. I've even boosted the time of the sessions to 40 minutes (was previously doing 30 minutes).

What I notice again, is that whenever I'm bored or thinking about stuff, I put my hand in my nose and twist it.

I can recall one meditation session where my arm literally lifted automatically and I put it back down just before it touched my nose.

This same thing happened again, some days later, just after the session was over.

The sensation gives some sort of pleasure which is hard to describe. It both feels good and uncomfortable. I do it over and over and over again. When I notice I'm doing it, I stop it. Sometimes I pussy out and do it a little longer because it gives me "spikes" of pleasure.

I'm still stuck...

[Ape]

20 hours ago, Afonso said:

@Leo Gura Hey, here's my progress:

I have now been meditating for 4 months and the habit persists. In my meditation sessions, I focus on tensions in the body and they usually dissolve. I've even boosted the time of the sessions to 40 minutes (was previously doing 30 minutes).

What I notice again, is that whenever I'm bored or thinking about stuff, I put my hand in my nose and twist it.

I can recall one meditation session where my arm literally lifted automatically and I put it back down just before it touched my nose.

This same thing happened again, some days later, just after the session was over.

The sensation gives some sort of pleasure which is hard to describe. It both feels good and uncomfortable. I do it over and over and over again. When I notice I'm doing it, I stop it. Sometimes I pussy out and do it a little longer because it gives me "spikes" of pleasure.

I'm still stuck...

I had something similar with taking deep breaths and getting some kind of satisfaction from it. I started doing it unconsciously and sometimes very excessively. What helped me to stop this behaviour was to always, without exception, to not do it as soon as I get conscious of it and to try to keep that consciousness about it for as long as possible. Sounds simple enough but mind is amazing in finding excuses. After some time of doing this it just stopped. I stopped biting my nails in the same way.

Try to not judge yourself when you catch yourself doing it! 

Edited February 19, 2017 by Ape

[Elena]

Nail biting is common in children and it is a big problem in dentistry because it leads to orthodontic problems. Bitter and chilly invisible nail polish is sold and you can use it. That won't change the core issue but it would help with the habit.

[Elton]

@Afonso meditation is just being in the present moment. Its not a cure for anything you just will become more aware of the internal world and external world.