Anxiety, Stress, and Lip/Cheek Biting

Wow, i do the same thing...no details but tonight i was biting myself in my sleep...and i woke up and realised that i have to stop because its not normal...ONe of the ways of stopping a bad habits is to know y u have to stop...if the reason is big enough, you will stop...I realise dat am exposing myself to viruses (herpex) or STIs , fungal infections, bacteria etc my striping my skin or barrier off and its a matter of time before i catch something nasty...Could lead to cancer, my mouth cells nid to put in extra work by constantly repairing damaged cells and providing immune cells to constantly prevent infections.....thats working over time and its not normal....SO I HAVE TO STOP

OMgoodness, so glad I'm not alone.  What a habit..it's just like biting your nails.  I have tried gum to stop biting the inside of my lip but when the skin starts growing, i go right back 2 the same spot and pull it out...I also bite the inside of my cheek of course.  I went to the dermotologist and I had to tell him what I did before he thought it was "cancer".  Luckily, I did becuase he would of recommended a biopsy, no joke, exactly what he told me. He also told me that this can cause cancer, because your biting and skin is regrowing.  I tried to find a remedy as well, but came across this instead, glad I'm not alone.  I wanted to share my story. 

 

 

I just wanted to let all of you know out there that has this ugly habit, I too do, there is so far no real studies that would provide help to us sufferers. (well, as far as I know-i've looked and there are only ones dedicated to nailbiting)

I have also been doing this since maybe five years old so about 25 years now. I have the same habitual impulses as many of you. The one thing that I can add for sure is that no matter the pain or the realization of my actions, I will continue doing it all in the midst of telling myself to stop and asking God to help me end this at every taste of blood. As my skin ripps, I feel some sort of release of endorphins that pleases me and the after effect of the smoothness makes me relax. Yes, I also do this subconciously but when it becomes concious I feel that I am in too deep so why stop now.

I have also went for months without doing this and enjoyed perfectly smooth lips naturally but somehow, I find a way to begin the nightmare again. My boyfriend hates it and will not kiss me until I have stopped, and surprisingly enough that consequence motivates me long enough to get back to normal for a few weeks. It is truly embarrassing and difficult to explain to anyone who really does not understand that it is in fact an addiction or compulsive disorder.

I read somewhere in my research for help that BDD (body dysmorphic disorder) is closely related to OCD (obsessive compulsive disorder) in that a compulsive habit is formed in order to mask something that one dislikes about their appearance. In my case it may be my teeth as they are not straight and stand out to me hindering my smile so therefore I rub my lips together to hide my teeth inturn feeling any tiny fly-away and focusing on it...Although, I do believe that this habit was learned as I can remember seeing my older sister by three years doing this in front of a television set telling me to try it and it doesnt hurt; so many of my bad habits I have learned from her including pimple picking!! YUCK HOW I HATE THAT I IGNORANTLY LOOKED UP TO HER IN MY TENDER YEARS>:(

I do believe that stress also contributes to this disorder and I agree that focusing on eliminating the stressor may fix the problem. I must say that I had a good laugh at the comment containing wiring the jaws shut, but as entertaining as it was that individual was almost dead on with the fact that we have nothing to rely on but our own will to solve this problem. Some people including myself will use our hands to aid in producing those extra fly-aways for our teeth and tongue to play with.

Anyway, I have bored many by forcing those who, like me, cant help but finish what we have started in association with reading this book of mine. Well, I hope to actually use my psych degree one day to help us all in this issue but until then, keep up the hope and start by using self-help techniques including but not limited to:

gum chewing

speaking with a healthcare professional about dental dams (for those who do this in their sleep)

lip balms

replacer habits (not highly recommended)

prayer (it may help some)

support of family and friends (careful with this one; you may ruin some relationships..this doesnt help me as I get annoyed cus they dont understand a simple stop command wont do it-it's like a tormenting feeling to belittle me somehow...)

Whatever else you guys may think of...be creative! And keep lending some advise to the rest of us who are really at a loss here... Blessings to all!!

hey everybody ya i do the same thing i thought i was the only one tht does tht and i learnd to quit itys really not tht hard but i does take efort yu really just have to relax and try to not be under stress so wat i did was i found another habit to do i choses nail art i was really good at it and so when i was stressed i would just do nail art and soon i ended up forgetting it ...... and its nice not to hurt anymore :)

So refreshing to know that I am not alone in this struggle with cheek/lip biting.  I am 40 and have struggled with this from as far back as I can recall.  I had a very abusive/lonely/traumatising childhood.  I have been diagnosed post traumatic stress disorder so the lip biting Is directly reated to stress.  I am more aware now that I indulge in it during very stressful times; when I feel disappointed, rejected, stuck in a rut etc.  It is so embarrasing when I have to do it on the sly in public so as to not be noticed.  It is miserable.  Once as a teenager I went to my aunt's house for a family gathering.  I wiped a bloody finger on her white dioly she had on her chair back.  She noticed the stain and asked loudly where it could have come from, but I said nothing. No one suspected I had that habit just like they were used to being very disconnected with me and my feelings.  I noticed my mother bit a lips (she was under stress and struggling with poverty on a small island).  Lately I found out that one of my brothers do it also.  It appears mine could be a genetic reaction to stress.  I do that in addition to stuffing my stomach with food when i am very stressed.  I will keep getting counseling and pray.  Nothing is impossible.  I wish you all the best.  Your comments make me realise that our problems, issues, struggles are fundamentally similar on the planet.  Like someone said to me once, "we have a human problem, not a racial problem".

  Randy

all of you are like my mouth twins...i hate this and love this habit i remember my parents taking me to the hospital when i was a kid cause they thought i had a reaction. 18 years old now and i chew while playing varsity basketball and football i must look stupid about tpo shoot free throws and start poking my cheeks...or sticking my fingers in my helmet.

Years ago I had this problem of lip biting.  My doctor sent me to the drug store for a tube of some sort of paste to put on the bites.  It worked.  Stopped the biting.  Was a thick vasaline type salve, very gritty, like a mixture of vasoline and sand which you put on a finger and rubbed gently on the bite.  I have the problem again now but can't find that old tube to get the name of the stuff.  I think it was ora something.

I believe compulsive biting of the lip and inner cheeks is a part of a subgroup of Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder behaviours that relate to the "pruning" of one's body. Its most probably Dermatotillomania also known as Compulsive Skin Picking disorder (CSP). Related disorders are trillotomania (compulsive hair removal) and Ochillomania (compulsive nail biting).

GUM GUM GUM GUM GUM GUM GUM . I FIND THAT WHEN I'M CHEWING GUM , I DON'T DO IT AT ALL .

I've had this problem for as long as I can remember.  I found that in addition to chewing gum, wearing a retainer helps as well.  Last year I decided to get Invisilign.  After a few months I realized that I stopped bitting my cheeks.  My mouth was healed from the sores.  It doesn't stop you from having the urge to do it when you get nervous or anxious, but it makes it uncomfortable because the retainer that you are wearing doesn't allow you to bite your mouth like you usually do.  The only hard part is remembering to put the Invisilign back in your mouth after you eat.  When I take it out to eat and don't immediately put it back in after eating I find myself bitting my cheek again.  I have no idea why I do this and don't know how to eliminate it all together, but wearing the Invisilign has helped a LOT.

Hi everyone I have the same problem! I bite the insides of my cheeks mostly out of boredom or if I'm mad I don't really do it when I'm nervous. But just to help you all what I do to make it heal faster is salt water mouth rinses. I heat up a glass of water in the microwave for about 45 secs to a min. And then I add sea salt to the hot water, stir and swish about 5 times. Do not swallow the salt water! It hurts super bad at first but then gets better. Oh and I do it right before I go to bed so it has time to work it's way into the cuts as I sleep plus if I'm sleeping I'm not chewing so it works even better. But it really does help the healing process a lot. And I don't know if it's like this for any of you but it actually feels really good when I bite my cheeks but it hurts so bad the next week that I can barely eat so I try to think of how much pain I know I'll be in later to stop myself as I do it. Anyway hope that helped :) and stop chewing lol.

ive noticed that alot of people do this and none of them can really tell me how to stop. ive been biting my cheeks ever since i can remember and i really want to stop i just dont know how. i ofter rub my teeth togeather as well but i dont know if its from stress or not. i like the idea of chewing gum i think that might help me but what else can i do?

 

Wow. I'm surprised how old this thread is! I have had the same problem. Started around the time when I started primary school. I never even realized it then until my aunt scared me and told me it would scar me for life! In the living room with 3 other family members, at that age i was embarrassed more than anything and I stopped! I never even thought about doing it again until high school and noticed someone else was doing it, and it became a habit all over again :( it has even made me paranoid that I am getting coldsores when I'm actually not. What I find helps, if only temporarily is to buy toothbrushes with the tongue scrubber! I use that to smooth everything out, and if I am home when I realise I'm doing it I brush my teeth! It does help, although not always practical. I have also learnt that addictions and habits are more prevalent in women, and I have noticed that most of the replies here are from women :( But it is possible to stop. Since I have before for many years. So I wouldn't consider it a lost cause. :) this habit needs to be given the cheek!!!! Haha

It helps asking your friends to stop you when they see you do it. I asked my girlfriend to smack me on the lips... deffinetly helped cuz everytime i think about doing it i have a pain reflex/memory that someone gonna smack me on the lips. Try it!

i do the same thing,and its brought on by stress. I went to my doctor and showed her how i was getting sores in my mouth and she gave me this perscription like mouth rinse i guess you could call it.. it was an antibiotic that you swished around in your mouth for 2 minutes whenever you needed it and it also had a substance in it that numbed your mouth to so the pain of where i bit the inside of my mouth was numb for awhile. It usually cleared mine up within 2 days.