HealthLifestyle

How Mindfulness Can Help You Stop Compulsive Habits Like Eating Your Boogers

“Nose candy” is a slang term that is often used to refer to cocaine, a highly addictive and illegal stimulant drug. Cocaine is typically snorted through the nose, which can lead to a range of negative health effects, including damage to the nasal passages and septum, increased risk of infection, and addiction. The use of cocaine can also have serious social and legal consequences, as it is a controlled substance that is illegal in most countries. While the effects of cocaine use may be pleasurable in the short term, the long-term consequences can be devastating. It’s important to seek professional help if you or someone you know is struggling with addiction to cocaine or any other substance.

However, nose candy can also be a term for your boogers! Boogers — otherwise known as snot or nasal mucus — are a natural bodily secretion that play an important role in keeping our respiratory systems healthy. Mucus is produced by the body’s mucous membranes, which line the nose and other parts of the respiratory system. It acts as a protective barrier that can trap dirt, dust, and other potentially harmful particles. Boogers can also help to prevent infections, as they contain antibodies that can fight off harmful bacteria and viruses. While the presence of boogers is normal, picking your nose and eating your boogers can be a nasty, socially unacceptable habit — no matter how good it may be for you.

That’s why it’s important to practice mindfulness when you want to stop picking your nose and eating your boogers. Mindfulness can be an effective technique for helping you by increasing your awareness of your thoughts, feelings, and behaviors related to nose-picking and booger-eating. By practicing mindfulness, you can become more present and attentive to the sensations and urges that lead you to pick your nose, and learn to recognize and manage those urges in a more constructive way.

Here are 3 ways that mindfulness can help you stop picking your nose and eating your boogers:

Increased self-awareness about why you eat boogers!

Why do you pick your nose and eat the boogers? Anxiety? Boredom? Stress? Mindfulness involves paying attention to your thoughts and feelings without judgment. By becoming more self-aware of your urges to pick your nose and eat those juicy delicious boogers, you can develop a better understanding of the reasons behind the behavior and identify triggers that may lead you to pick your nose. The next time you’re tasting your boogers, take stock of your environment and surroundings and see if you can discover any commonalities among your nose-picking, booger-eating times so you can better anticipate them. Is there a pattern? Are you often in the same setting or experiencing similar feelings? To help you stay aware and break this habit, consider keeping a habit tracker or journal where you can jot down when and where these urges occur. This way, you’ll be more prepared to anticipate and manage them in the future.

Click on the picture to buy your own journal for mindfulness!

A woman is writing in a journal, expressing confusion over whether her anxiety causes her to pick her nose and eat boogers or if her nose-picking habit makes her anxious. The journal reassures her that she can confide anything in it, and she enthusiastically decides to recommend the journal to friends, encouraging them to buy their own for self-reflection. The image also features cute illustrations of notebooks and people talking.
Image by picjumbo from Pixabay

Improved impulse control when it comes to eating your boogers!

Mindfulness practices like deep breathing or meditation can help you develop greater impulse control over your disgusting compulsive habits, like sticking your finger(s) in your nose(s) and then subsequently eating the booger that comes out. By learning to sit with the urge to pick your nose and eat your boogers — without actually acting on that impulse — you can build the mental muscle needed to resist the behavior. Just think of how strong you’ll be if you can train your brain to not eat boogers! Instead, consider replacing that urge with a healthier alternative, like keeping a stress ball handy to occupy your hands. In our country and with our healthcare system, a stress ball may be the best treatment for your compulsive habits and compulsive behaviors, but as far as mindfulness techniques for breaking habits, it might be better than nothing!

Click on the stress ball to buy your own stress ball!

A hand is squeezing a small stress ball shaped like the Earth. The text above reads, "omg i want to pick my nose sooooo bad i could crush teh earth," while the text below says, "click here to buy your own earth stress balls." The image humorously combines a strong urge with the visual of crushing a tiny Earth, creating a playful and lighthearted tone.
by Lewis Ronald via Wikimedia

 

Reduced stress and anxiety about your nose-picking habits!

Serious nose-picking — which is called rhinotillexomania — and other compulsive habits are sometimes linked to stress and anxiety. Maybe you’re picking your nose because you’re stressing over how you’ll come up with the money to pay the doctor you need to see for the bloody noses you’re encountering and actually get treatment for your compulsive behaviors because you have anxiety about your hours being cut at your shitty job. It happens! Try not to let that get the best of you. Practicing mindfulness techniques for breaking habits can help reduce your overall stress level and help you manage anxiety more effectively — which in turn can help reduce the urge to dig your nose for gold and eat your snot. Consider exploring mindfulness practices through a well-regarded resource like The Miracle of Mindfulness by Thich Nhat Hanh, which provides simple yet powerful techniques to help you stay present, reduce stress, and gain better control over your impulses.

Click on the person meditating to buy The Miracle of Mindfulness by Thich Nhat Hanh!

A man is peacefully meditating outdoors under a tree. Next to him is the cover of the book "The Miracle of Mindfulness" by Thich Nhat Hanh. Text bubbles express how he stopped picking his nose after reading the book and encourage others to buy it to experience similar benefits. The background includes a smiling brain character and a "Be Kind to Your Mind" sticker.
Image by vined mind from Pixabay

Final thoughts about mindfulness and booger-eating

Overall, mindfulness is a valuable tool for anyone looking to stop the gross and compulsive habit of nose-picking. By practicing mindfulness techniques for breaking habits like nose-picking, you can gain greater self-awareness, improve your impulse control, and reduce your stress and anxiety — all of which can help you break that oh-so-vicious cycle of vigorous gold-digging. We at Content Bash wish you luck in your attempts to stop picking your nose and eating your boogers.

 

Image Credit: vined mind from Pixabay

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