Triggering (SI) - Flesh biting.[last post(20)--> all tips together].
I am not the best person dealing with stress/pressure.
I think my coping mechansim isn't the best one,...but it's still there..
This may be gross so be warned in case you want to stop reading.
I bite my flesh when i am stressd.Ew i know/often the part near the nail.
This is um quite sever i admit that,it's landed me at the dermalogist today.
As a result of my continuous 'flesh biting' i started getting my nails infected near the flesh that is near the destructed areas,swollen painful areas too.
No matter how hard i try to stop and in the best condition ever i would have the skin swollen ,tough and red cuz of the sever never ending crap i do.
The dermalogist was quite shocked by how sever it is lol.Which is really funny i think.
He was like: i want to see you hands well don't hide them, place them on the table in front of me so i see your destrcution.
And then gave me this "Oh my..." thing.
And told me that my nails and skin would never ever get better if i don't stop what i do and that i need to end it.And gave me cream to help the skin heal .I have another appointment with him in two weeks.
I know this is horrible,disgusting and awful thing to do..
I don't know,I can't help it !
I have tried everything i think!
So far:
Chewing gum-->didn't work.
Snapping a rubber band around my wrist when i get an urge to bite it-->didn't work.
Rubbing the skin with an awful bitter herbals-->didn't work.
Wearing gloves-->didn't work.
Keeping my hands busy(tapping on a pen)-->didn't work.
Telling myself ( stop this stop this stop this)---surprise surprise, didn't work either.
So my point from this post is that if you know anything else i haven't tried please tell me?
Last edited by _plastic : 24-08-2009 at 03:59 PM.
A little angel fell into my arms at the 7th of december 2010
it becomes a bit of a bad habit. my partner does it out of habit and it annoys me he cant find anything to stop either apart from having me punch him everything his finger goes to his mouth....
try puttin your fingers in something really disgusting that will revolt you.
Have you tried that Bitrex stuff designed to stop you biting your nails? It's really bitter tasting to try and deter you from doing it, only downside is you can't eat any food with your fingers like sandwiches as everything ends up tasting of it.
I also use flesh biting as a coping mechanism. Although not as severe as to get myself an infection. I often bite the skin around my nails until it is raw but I also bite holes in my wrists. I remember the first time I did it - I was in an exam, crying my eyes out, and my teacher (who was supposed to care about me) walked down past my line and went to the back of the hall so I got so angry that I just started tearing my skin apart. I tend to stick to cutting now as I find it provides better results but I do understand the need for flesh biting. Unfortunately I can offer no advice :( as my methods would have been the ones you have mentioned or others have. But just wanted to add my support
*hugs*x
"John, being brave is going where no man has gone before and with Lizzy Stark, that is NOT what you'll be doing!" - Aunt Polly.
“I told him I was going to betray you, and betray Lyra, and he believed me because I was corrupt and full of wickedness; he looked so deep I felt sure he'd see the truth. But I lied too well. I was lying with every nerve and fiber and everything I'd ever done...I wanted him to find no good in me, and he didn't. There is none.”
I do this sometimes, though I bite my arms :/ I think you should see this as self-harm like any other form. Personally I have found CBT techniques helpful, because they helped break SI habits that had become really ingrained. This includes things like making records of every time you hurt yourself. But to get the full benefits of it you really need a CBT therapist? Could you maybe ask your doctor about that?
i bite the skin round my nails. had no idea it could get so bad. sorry i don't have any advice. but maybe instead of distracting or whatever, you need to gte to the bottom of the stress, or whatever it is that causes you to do it. setting time aside each day for relaxation, and making a conscious effort ro destress when things start getting hard. it won't help straight away obviously but it's worth a try.
i do this too..ive done it for 15 years.. i have no feeling in my fingertips.
If i lose my sight when im older, im ****ed.
join the club, my fingers look absolutely horrible.
then again, mine eases off when my ocd plays up (i'm so scared of dirt that i cannot put my fingers in my mouth)
join the club, my fingers look absolutely horrible.
then again, mine eases off when my ocd plays up (i'm so scared of dirt that i cannot put my fingers in my mouth)
*holds really tight*
A little angel fell into my arms at the 7th of december 2010
Ah yeah, I have this problem, though not so severe damage.
My only suggestions are -
Make sure you're hands are always occupied with something, preferably something messy or something you can't take your hands away from.
Wrap your fingers in something like micropore tape and don't let yourself take it off.
Try to pay attention to when you're doing it and the situations in which you do it so you're more aware of it.
Other than that I think it's just tremendous willpower, I think it's linked with impulse control disorders so it might be worth looking up stuff about them.
"And yesterday I saw you kissing tiny flowers,
But all that lives is born to die.
And so I say to you that nothing really matters,
And all you do is stand and cry." - That's The Way by Led Zeppelin
Yeah i did try but it didn't held.Espcially that they fall after washing my hadns.
To be honest i ripped my flesh apart this time.The dermalogist would be quite amazed for this *sigh* I don't know what to do with myself.
I don't want to take it too seriosuly (may be i should?).Cutting is something i take seriously and i am trying so hard to control it & i am doing well on that side.Cutting can cause greater damager,but this causes disgust and overwhilming feeling of being out of control nothing more.
What worries me are those hidden reasons that make me unable to control SI of all sorts properly.I always feel i'm on the edge of doing something very stupid.
Very frustrating!
A little angel fell into my arms at the 7th of december 2010
Hey, im really sorry that you get theese urges
Its just a thought but it may work, i know it can for other urges
How about - everytime you have the urge to bite your skin, sit on your hands or squish them together as hard as you can (without scrating ect) and count to 100 or whatever. Usually by then the need to do something disperses
Hope your okay
X
Last edited by Papercut : 23-08-2009 at 10:30 PM.
Reason: Typo
i bite myself too, on my arms though. you are so NOT alone in this type of coping mechanism, its a comfort to know other people feel similar to you *hug*
do you see any kind of counsellor? mine had some great ideas for fighting my urges, however i cant remeber them. i should have written them down. ok im being pointless anyway, i hope your ok
xo
"They say time heals all wounds. I don't agree. The wounds remain. In time, the mind, protecting its sanity, covers them with scar tissue and the pain lessons, but it is never gone." - Rose Kennedy
