Anxiety, Stress, and Lip/Cheek Biting

I have my tongue pierced and I bite my lip like crazy.

See, I have the same problem however I don't suffer from anxiety (well I don't think I do), Yet I'm CONSTANTLY biting both inside corners of my lower lip? Is this a bad thing? Can it cause real harm? How can I stop?! I don't like the idea of chewing gum as I am at school all day and chewing gum in lessons is not allowed. Any other ways to help would be helpful as I'm sure this is not a good thing!

Hey, I'm 18 (male) and have this exact problem. I also suffer from biting my nails and picking my face at times of stress or ''indepth thinking''. It comes in waves, i'll be doing it when im not preoccupied and then as soon as i'm on my feet doing something of interest i'm fine! So in my opinion the only way is to either force yourself everytime you start to STOP or just to keep yourself active and busy.  But yeah this is the first day of me admitting it to friends and looking for advice...

 

P.S guest who posted on same date as me - ironic or what, please let me know if you have any better advice from your research.

This is such a difficult one to quit! Probably moreso, in some ways, than something like smoking, as at least with smoking you can just stop buying 'em. You mouth, lips and teeth are always there!

Having said this, since I first found and posted to this forum (about 2 weeks ago), I have done better. My tongue still occasionally roams and I occasionally have a bit of a gentle chew of the side of one cheek, but not to the extreme that it was just before finding the forum. Just this morning, however, I have nibbled on a bit of a flap, pulled it a bit, scraped a bit with a fingernail, and I feel on the precipice of a downward spiral. As I write, I have stopped for now... exerting willpower... drawing on the power of the forum!

OMG it's getting worse, esp. when I know I am going to the dentist.  I am so embarrassed I want to die.  I can't stop this chewing. 

As I am typing right now, I can't help but bite on my lips and cheeks.. I have been doing this since like 5 years old and now I am 25 years old... I want to stop it but I everytime I try I end up doing it without noticing it. I do have crooked teeth which may be one of the issues and now 3 wisdom teeth are growing in and are very painful but I still want to chew and chew! I really need help!  I want to stop this habit!

Hi again.  I posted on here 3 months ago.  I've now gone 8 or 9 months without chewing, after having the habit for about 3 decades.  My strategy works very well for stopping the biting.  The challenge I have is not starting again after a couple of months.  There have been two times during these months, where I've caught myself nibbling, and let it go, which led to more nibbling.  I had to resort to my original strategy again to nip it in the bud.

Here's what works for me.  I wear an elastic band on my wrist, and I snap it hard every time I begin to chew.  I was snapping it almost continuously for the first 10 minutes, resulting in a very sore wrist.  However, after a half hour or so, the brain begins reminding you before you bite, and you are able to resist.  After 24 hours, I was only snapping my wrist once every 2 or 3 hours, and after 48 hours I was not biting at all.  I kept wearing the elastic for weeks, and only had to snap it a couple of times in those weeks. 

I liked what someone wrote a few posts ago about stopping the tongue from searching - this stops the evil tongue from skulking about your mouth quite quickly.

Doug

whenever i do it. i apply chapstick and lip gloss then rub my lips together. it feels smooth. so i relax and stop doing it.till the gloss dries up and then i reapply before i bite them again.

I was amazed to realize how many people also have this problem.  I read in another place that a good idea is to just smile whenever you feel like feeling/biting.  I've been trying this and its been helping me.  Also, it helps just to realize that God created us beautiful and well designed, and it makes Him sad when we do something harmful to ourselves.  Our cheeks and lips are His masterpiece, and we should honor Him by honoring them.

this is acually being very useful for me and i thought i was the only one with thid problem i am 15 and i try to get it into my mind that its just not right but its hard

So encouraging to know that it's possible to quit this habit. This gives me hope!! Thanks for posting, and I'll keep on trying to stop.

I am not happy that other people have this same issue, but I am a bit comforted to know i'm not the only one that has this "issue".

 

Currently I am biting the inside of my bottom lip, and it is bleeding heavily, and i have a rather large "hole" forming, and I keep feeling compelled to chew more, tear away more, make it "even".

 

It hurts like crazy, i know it will get worse before it gets better, but i keep doing it.

 

I have had this habit for YEARS.

 

I'd start chewing gum now, but even drinking WATER stings and hurts.

 

I keep spitting out blood and soaking it up with a paper towel, but I keep biting.

 

I want this to stop so badly....

I have the same problem.. I don't do it to the point of bleeding but I will suck on my lip incontrollaby and I look pretty ridiculous.. I have noticed that I do it less when I keep my lips moist with Carmax or Chapstick. I then find myself applying the stuff constantly but IDE rather do that then to be biting myself nonstop.. I know it's an anxiety symptom. Hope my suggestion helps.

I have tried for years to quit and have has success on and off. I can offer two things: First, keep thinking about how nice your mouth will be when you stop - it only takes about 3 days and your cheeks feel AWESOME, and your breath is fresher. Also, for me, the enjoyment is less in the biting off, but more in chewing/gnawing the little piece of skin I have removed. Sometimes the biting off is so automatic, I have done it before I notice. If I force myself to swallow or spit out the skin into a tissue instead of gnawing on it first, the joy goes away, and the biting stops. Or I find something else to do with my hands, or some other distraction. You may have to give this some serious thought before you come up with ways to quit. Most importantly, I asked God for His help in stopping. I think this is like any addiction or habit - very hard to break. Keep trying and you CAN do it!!!

I feel very frustrated and embarrassed to write or admit that I am a cheek bitter. I have a degree in behavioral health and I work in health care administration so though I am knowledgeable and know I should not do it...I can't break this bad habit. Like any bad habit smoking, drinking, gambling, hoarding etc I know it's a struggle to stop.  However like previous poster wrote...it's not like one can remove yourself from the situation as your mouth goes everywhere with you!

As a child I used to pick my nails and the skin at the side of my nails and then bit the skin I picked off.  Sometimes it was really bad. I found a solution to that...acrylic nails! With the acrylic nails being thicker I was basically unable to continue the practice.  Though I solved that issue and always have nicely painted (not too long) nail I now chew my cheeks.

Prior to getting the fake nails, I used to bit them occasionally.  However it increased after getting the nails. I have had the nails for eight years and I can't say I have constantly bit my cheeks for eight years. There have been many times that I have not.  However within the past two years I feel that the cheek biting is getting worse.  I'd like to say if I removed the nails the cheek biting would stop.  However a few times I did remove the nails I immediately went back to the nails and skin on my fingers. So it's just one thing or another.  It's the chewing habit that I must break...not what I am chewing.

I have previously read to try to chew gum.  Ha, ha ha...I can chew gum AND my cheek at the same time!! 

About eight months ago I had facial fillers in the lines at the side of my mouth. I am sure the lines are caused in part by the chewing. It wasn't cheap and it gave me the incentive to stop cheek biting...but then now I am back doing it again and I feel it's worse then ever.  It is also time for a facial filler re-fill. I really want to stop for good on the cheek biting. I just wish I knew how to convince myself to. 

I do tend to find if I rise with Listerine every time I start to bit it triggers me to stop or slow down.  Tonight right before I started reading this blog I started spraying my gums with aseptic soar throat spray to try and make myself stop!

I feel some of my issues is stress I also feel some of it is just habitual.  I am hoping by forcing myself to admit my habitual stress and share stories with others that others as well as myself can beat this together!