Hi there,
(could possibly be graphic)
I have been chewing the inside of my mouth for years but in the past few months it has gotten so much worse. I chew my mouth to the point it bleeds and I am finding I cannot stop this. At the moment my mouth is rough, dry and my lips are sore because I bite the skin off them too.
I have quite severe depression, anxiety disorder and severe mood fluctuations if that helps.
I don't understand why I do this, does anyone else have this problem/have any tips to stop it? It is a very big problem for me. Thanks guys.
I do it all day when I am not talking/eating/drinking.
It gets worse when I am sitting on my computer or when I am at work and we get a rush of people so I have to work faster and harder. I don't know what I think or feel when it gets worse because I struggle with identifying emotions and remembering things, something of which I am working on.
Do you do anything to stop yourself or control how much you do it? I just can't seem to stop myself at all even if I am completely aware of what i am doing.
I don't really do anything to control it as such, it just happens sometimes, and I don't really know what to do, but you could try and stop yourself when you are aware of it?
Hey,
I used to do this, it got to the point that i'd be spitting out blood and biting holes through my mouth. I was having psychotic episodes at the times it was the worst. It was a coping mechanism for me, to take away from the distress i was feeling.
What helped for me was using other techniques - writing when possible, talking to people about what was going on, fiddling with things - i have ribbon that i carry absolutely everywhere that i rub between my fingers. I've done that with the ribbon as a grounding/soothing thing since i was a toddler.
A stress ball might help.... What things help when your anxiety gets out of hand?
Hope you are ok..
I do this too, I thought that chewing the skin on my fingers would make it not as bad but now I just end up doing both -_-
I got my lip pierced and have a plastic stud in there so I try to chew on that instead when I catch myself at it, not a great solution since I have to keep replacing the backings...I also found that chewing gum works well as a substitute too, it doesn't have the same feel to it but you can chew faster when you are nervous or whatever.
Also to treat the wounds in your mouth (mine have a tendency to turn into ulcers) you can rinse your mouth out with salt water or apply some sm-33 it kills the germs and numbs the area, it clears them up faster too.
yeh i carry a metal slinky around with me everywhere as well, always have one beside my bed and one in my handbag, i like the feel of it and it soothes me too :)
when my anxiety gets out of hand i generally try breathing techniques, i am on medication for it and keep some other medication handy for when i need to calm down fast or know ill be in a highly stressful situation.
I have generally high levels of anxiety in day to to day life, ugh i want it to stoppppppppp.
where do i get sm-33? ive not heard of it. thanks so much for your help, treating the wounds is important and i just dont do it, always forgetting.
i also have a plastic stud.. i suck the front in tot my lip and pop it out all the time and bite the backings too lol.. thank god i dont get metal ones!
It may be worth asking you dentist for a lower soft gaurd. I have one to stop me grinding teeth, it is transparent so I also wear it often during day as I grind teeth and clench jaw.
It will mean you can't bite as you got gaurd protecting you.
May be worth a dentist visit.
I want to kiss the bottom of the ocean before I burst through its surface into the sunlight, otherwise I will always be wondering about what was left unseen at the bottom
i'm tired of chasing my dreams. i'm just gonna ask where they're going, and hook up with them later.
That's a great idea! i have a dentist appointment booked for a few weeks time anyway for a chipped tooth.. lol my mouth is a huge mess!
I grind my teeth lots and lots too so that would be great.
Does the guard help you?
I have only had the guard about a wekk and half so it early days but I do notice I am less likely to grind or clench when I wear it whilst awake (watching tv etc)
It is free if you get free dental treatment (like on benefits)
I want to kiss the bottom of the ocean before I burst through its surface into the sunlight, otherwise I will always be wondering about what was left unseen at the bottom
i'm tired of chasing my dreams. i'm just gonna ask where they're going, and hook up with them later.
You can pick up sm-33 from the chemist, it should be on shelf not behind the counter...but just ask them.
Here is the website, it has pictures and information - http://www.sm33.com.au/home/default.asp
I don't know if they have it in any other countries, I expect it would be called something different probably but would do the same thing.
Oh great, yeah i recognise the packaging, thanks for the link.
i am trying as hard as I can to keep the bite shallow but argh its just a mess. painful mess.
Thanks for the pointers everyone
I use to do this a lot. I started when I was really young. I had to basically force myself to stop because I ended up getting fillings because my teeth were so worn down and chipped. I did it out of boredom and because I don't like the feeling of the skin when I don't chew it off. I find that sometimes chewing on gum helps. I also used my retainer from when I had my braces off to try to limit it. You could also try finding things to distract you.
Forget the risk and take the fall if it's what you want it's worth it all
yeah I bite and pick my lips & inside my mouth. its a pain in the ass but such a deep ingrained habit now. I've pulled skin from one side of my mouth right the way to the other - lots of blood, swelling, ulsers, pain. ergh. its calmed down a lot now - not in frequency but outcome. its impossible to stop cause i do it automatically w/o realising half the time! i think i do it thru nerves, boredom, and habit. people have photos of me picking away when i dont even realise what im doing! Grrr. If you do go too close to the gums tho - use ulcer gel to relieve the pain. good luck!
I didnt know meds could effect this, 1 or 2 months ago i started taking new medication after having bad reactions to other stuff.. do you know what types of meds effect this? I am on serequel and lexapro and occasionaly valium too. Though I have not taken valium for a long time.
if it is a side effect of the meds, does it wear off or is it up to the individuals metabloism?
It appears lots of people also have this problem, as bad as it is, I am quite comforted that I am not the only one who does this to extremes. It can really make me feel like a huge weirdo especially when i catch myself doing it in a reflection of a window/mirror because i look so silly like pulling faces.
I bite my lips, but I think its more of a habit than anything self destructive. I also chew on my lip ring which is better than biting my mouth! It's probably also an anxiety thing for me.
Isn’t it funny how day by day nothing changes but when you look back, everything is different…
you once called your brain a hard drive, well say hello to the virus.
It could be related to meds or it could just be your own habbit. If it was related to meds you would kinda notice a change within a few days of starting meds. As for if it wil stop it just depends upon personal circumstances.
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