Anxiety, Stress, and Lip/Cheek Biting

always have gum trust me it helps alot 4 me at least

Wow there are a lot of people out there who do this. I've done it since I was 12. I do it more when I'm stressed, and sometimes when I've been drinking, but sometimes it's just out of boredom. There's something so satisfying about getting in a good chomp and smoothing out that cheek.

For me the pain of biting is not that bad. It's almost pleasant in a strange way. The thing that bothers me is that my jaws ache for days after an intense cheek-biting session. I grind my teeth when I'm stressed, and the cheek-biting just compounds the jaw tension and pain. I also feel like I must look silly when I poke my tongue out all around my cheek, trying to decide where to bite next.

I've stopped for months at a time but as soon as another stressful thing happens (unfortunately this is quite frequent for me, for some reason) I'm back at it. The jaw pain just makes me want to cry. I can't chew gum or it makes my jaws ache even more.

Ive tried everything. I though chewing gum would help for me but i just ignored the gum and still chewed on my teeth. I guess motivation is all.we can do. But most the time a dont realize when im doing it

I wear a mouthguard. I have a clear one. People don't even know I have it. I just wear it until my cheeks heal...then I am less tempted to start the cycle.

I do this too and it is a huge problem, after many attempts to stop i always fail! After biting the inside of my bottom lip and "smoothing" it out, liquid filled painful "bubbles" form where ive bitten and they throb and are SO annoying and ruin my mood. Sometimes if i bite down on these bubbles they will pop but then they just come back. The only things that i have found that help are chewing gum and wearing retainers. This is an awful addiction and i wish i could stop! Im so afraid of getting oral cancer!

We all sound crazy, we bite the inside of our lips, it looks awful from a bystanders point of view and still we do it and it doesn't serve any purpose. I'm 75 and have had the habit for 25 years. Sharp attention and gum work for me.

I am 13 and I have the same prob, but what I do is keep a pack of gum on me so instead of biting my lip i would chew my gum to get my mind off of it. thank you guys so much for your tips on how to quitting.

I had the same problem. I think I had been biting my inside cheek for 15 years or so (I´m 22). It became "a part of my life". I loved it when it started to heal and I could feel the new skin growing - that´s when I would bite it off again. I could never stop, especially on days when I was nervous studying etc. I would bite myself so much that it hurt the next day. I could notice some wrinkles forming above my lips. I felt bad (not only because of the wrinkles) and wanted to stop so many times. I had tried it, but after a few hours I found myself doing it again.

More than a week ago I told this to my boyfriend and he couldn´t believe it that I would have "such a disgusting habit". That day I promised him I would stop and I tried hard not do it. The first day I caught myself biting the cheek again, but I simply stopped. I felt the wounds healing and resisted the temptation of tearing off the new new strips of skin. It made me feel good that my skin was becoming smooth inside. The folowing days I didn´t bite my cheek again even though my teeth "wanted to". I don´t want to start again and O hope I won´t. I can´t believe it was so easy for me to stop.

I do this same thing.  One side of my mouth is so smooth and the other is not.  I tend to bite just one side all the time and want to stop so badly.  My Mom does it also and I just thought it was hereditary.  I believe it is nerves and now it is a habit that I cannot stop.  I try to be aware of it and stop as soon as I start, but the next day comes and something sets it off and I start up all over again.  It is good to know that others do the same though.  Maybe rinsing with salt water every morning and night will help heal it.  As soon as my tongue feels any roughness, the biting starts.  Ugh!

Welcome, u are not alone. Some good days, some not so good as far as biting goes. Still think it can be considered a tic with Tourettes possibly. Look into it. Can't hurt. Just like a tic person cannot stop themselves, neither can we.

That was kind of mean of your boyfriend. Don't worry, we still love you lol. I will never stop, I can't stop.

I suffer from this condition. Im 22 im a single male from UK, and ive only found out today that its a recognized Condition/ OCD! Im not even sure when i started biting maybe a year ago? Possiby longer, ive figured out that its getting stupid now and i have to stop it!. Im a smoker and i also like my Mary Jane so maybe its when im not smoking, i bite a hell of a lot when im not high.. Even though i just had a ciggy im biting right now, i was watching youtube videos and started biting and got P***** off with myself finally and googled it! I do it in public and everywhere! When im with friends too! But no-one has noticed yet which is strange, maybe they just see me doing it and think im in deep thought. Or they dont realize what it is! I think i need to tell some of my close friends. Ive noticed if i run my fingers on the outside of my cheeks and push in gently it feels as rough as the grand canyon! N i dont like it one bit.. I fear premature ageing! Or worse CANCER.. "/



Im not sure masturbating is the cure, thats only a temporary fix if your male.. Cant masturbate 24 hours a day, Ha. But good idea!

Hi, I have the SAME thing you do except from about age four. I do it most often when in deep concentaration, like reading, or during times of worry and stress. I smoke, which helps, but is also REALLY bad for me. Also my dentist swears I'm grinding my teeth at night but that's not it; I have bitten so long and so frequently that I have now had to have p veneers placed on my bottom front four teeth. My top teeth are beginning to look bad also. Im 39 years old by the way and have tried anxiety meds as well as anti-depressants. I need Help!

They can tell by looking at "all" your teeth if you are a night grinder like me. I understand you are wearing down the fronts too by biting lips. Not sure what would help you. I'm on Prozac and was on Wellbutrin which might help you. It didn't me, but who knows! Good luck. You are not alone.

I've done this exact same thing. Ive been thinking about going to see some kind of oral specialist about it actually but if you have or receive any good information about it or how to try quitting it please by all means let me know!! :) 

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