I would like to urge your readers this year to include those who are alone in their celebration of this day.
- Solo in Texas
DEAR SOLO: Thank you for your letter. Readers, if you're feeling down because you don't have a special valentine, the surest cure for the blues is to do something for someone else. Call someone who's alone to say, "I'm thinking about you."
And if you love someone, tell him or her now; please don't wait until next Valentine's Day to be a sweetheart.
DEAR ABBY: I have had an embarrassing problem ever since elementary school: I bite my nails and cuticles until they bleed. If the pain is severe or I see a piece of cuticle hanging, I stop until it heals. But then I start up again. How can quit this ugly habit?
- Manic in Grandview, Mo.
DEAR MANIC: You have a problem that I'm told is shared by one in 12 adults. There is more than one solution for it, and the common denominator in all of them is motivation. Some helpful suggestions submitted by readers in years past include carrying emery boards, reminding yourself of the number of germs that get trapped underneath your nails on a daily basis, wearing gloves as much as possible and talking with a doctor about medication for obsessive behaviors.
