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How to stop this habit?
My whole life, I've had a terrible habit. I bite off the skin in my mouth; Kind of where my lips are, but on the inside of my mouth. I do this everyday and I want to stop it... I do it when I'm anxious, nervous, or just thinking. Whenever new skin grows, I peel it off with my teeth. My mouth eventually bleeds, but stops after awhile. This is a habit I just can't seem to break. Chewing gum works, but only for awhile. What can I do?
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You're absolutely spot-on, nerves/anxiety is the trigger for this habit. Concentrating intently often causes people to grip their bottom lip between their front teeth too, if you notice. I'm afraid as we get older nerves, stress and anxiety tend to replace the largely carefree with occasional emotional outbursts (aka tantrums)of childhood. It's common to all of us at times. We need to find some acceptable and effective, and preferably non-harming way of 'managing' stress and anxiety. A way to handle it when it 'boils over' and keeping the levels as low as possible at all times. That's the long-term plan. Note that drinking too much alcohol, coffee and smoking cigarettes are not acceptable replacements. The odd coffee, an occasional drink to unwind...that's ok...cigarettes avoid at all costs, they're powerfully addictive and will wreck your general health over time even if you don't become afflicted with a specific smoking-related illness. Right' short term let's look at cracking the behaviour pattern. By the sound of it it's already a subconscious habit, meaning you don't consciously plan to chwe your mouth and you've done it before you realise you're doing it right? Here's a little ruse that might help bring it back up to a conscious habit. Slip an elastic band (a loose-fitting one, kind of like a bangle in fit so it drops easily onto where your hand begins) on your left wrist. When you encounter a stressful situation and start to feel the anxiety build-up, pull the band with the thumb and forefinger of your right hand and let it 'ping' sharply onto your left wrist. This is your alarm-call. Reminding you of what we have been talking about and calling out "Hey...don't start biting myself!!" And whenever you feel an involuntary, reflex first 'nip', ping that band again! I ain't suggesting you're going to have an elastic band on your wrist for the rest of your life mate. Start investigating some long-term stress-management techniques, on the internet maybe? Or a book on the subject, there are many good ones. It's just a way of getting that habit out of the subconscious where we can tackle it. And keep a rough memory of how many times you ping that band. Pinging it is a conscious act, and will provide true a measure of how often you're getting stressed. It might surprise you just how often! Good luck. And feel free to drop me a line when you're evaluating some good stress-management techniques too if you like?
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Wow, I've never heard of this habit. I used to bite my nail, but I've recently stopped. Here are some tips that help:
-Stay in a conversation; if you're talking, you're not biting
-chew gum, like you said it helps
-drink water whenever you feel like it
-listen to music to take your mind off of it
-Think. Think about how bad that is, just think how great it would be if you stopped.
You honestly want to stop it, so stop it. Habits are like running, when you get tired and think you have to stop you don't actually have to stop. You're just tired. It's all about the mind, believe you can stop and you will. DON'T GIVE IN!
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