Constantly biting lips and cheeks. Anybody else do this?

Page 1 of 3 [ 44 posts ]  Go to page 1, 2, 3  Next

Guineapigged
Velociraptor
Velociraptor

User avatar

Joined: 16 Sep 2011
Age: 33
Gender: Female
Posts: 412
Location: UK

28 Jan 2012, 11:12 am

I don't know if it counts as a stim, but I've been doing it as long as I can remember. People used to tease me at school and mimic the weird faces I pulled when biting the inside of my cheeks. The only time I don't do it is when I'm sleeping, talking or eating. Sometimes I end up making myself bleed, though I'm not trying to hurt myself deliberately. (Kind of like when you bite too much of your nail off).

I have thought about wearing a mouth guard so that I physically can't bite my skin, but it wouldn't be very practical because I'd look stupid and have to take it out any time I needed to talk.



Bun
Veteran
Veteran

User avatar

Joined: 8 Jan 2012
Age: 40
Gender: Male
Posts: 3,356

28 Jan 2012, 11:22 am

I think I understand what you mean; But I don't do it as a nervous reaction (I only sometimes clench my jaw), but if I bite my cheeks/lips/tongue, it happens to me by accident, which I really hate nonetheless!


_________________
Double X and proud of it / male pronouns : he, him, his


Hermier
Deinonychus
Deinonychus

User avatar

Joined: 24 Jan 2010
Age: 67
Gender: Female
Posts: 314
Location: Cyberspace, USA

28 Jan 2012, 11:31 am

Yes, I do the same thing. The inside of my mouth is a mess.



DerStadtschutz
Veteran
Veteran

User avatar

Joined: 5 Sep 2011
Age: 38
Gender: Male
Posts: 1,467

28 Jan 2012, 12:16 pm

I do this, not completely all the time, but a lot of the time. I've noticed that I do it especially when I'm stressed. I don't do it nearly as much to my cheeks as I do to my lifps and just beyond my lips. I never really understood why I do it, and when people find out about it, they usually find it weird.



goodwitchy
Veteran
Veteran

User avatar

Joined: 28 Dec 2011
Age: 58
Gender: Female
Posts: 785
Location: Interplanetary

28 Jan 2012, 1:04 pm

Sometimes I lightly bite the inside of my cheek because I like that little crunch feel and sound inside my head, but usually not to the point of messing it up severely, and I don't do it much.


I had no knowledge of Asperger's and high functioning Autism until recently, and at first I didn't think I had any stims because I don't hand flap.

But then I became conscious of my seemly involuntary behavior and realized that I constantly rub the back of my fingernail on my lips. Mostly my right hand thumbnail on my bottom lip. It helps me think and is comforting.

I also chew gum all day at work (Nicotine gum - addicted), and sometimes I hair twirl a thin strand and leg bounce a little....I only realized I leg bounce sometimes because my husband tells me to stop.


_________________
Aspie score: 161 of 200
Neurotypical (non-autistic) score: 38 of 200
Autistic/BAP -123 aloof, 124 rigid and 108 pragmatic
Autism Spectrum quotient: 41, Empathy Quotient: 19


OJani
Veteran
Veteran

User avatar

Joined: 23 Feb 2011
Age: 50
Gender: Male
Posts: 2,505
Location: Hungary

28 Jan 2012, 1:12 pm

I very often bite my lower lip, and sometimes the inside of my cheeks. The weird faces I often pulled as a kid were also caused by moving my jaw sideways (left-right) to a random rhythm.


_________________
Another non-English speaking - DX'd at age 38
"Aut viam inveniam aut faciam." (Hannibal) - Latin for "I'll either find a way or make one."


Ynnep
Snowy Owl
Snowy Owl

User avatar

Joined: 20 Aug 2011
Age: 52
Gender: Female
Posts: 150

28 Jan 2012, 1:39 pm

I have bitten the inside of my lips and cheeks my whole life. I can't stop. I never even thought that it might be a stim.....hmmmm



identity
Veteran
Veteran

User avatar

Joined: 20 Mar 2011
Age: 40
Gender: Female
Posts: 7,555
Location: South West UK

28 Jan 2012, 1:43 pm

I bite the inside of my mouth and cheeks. It does make my mouth feel strange sometimes but I don't do it to the point of making it bleed. I seem to do it when I am concentrating or relaxing. Is it classed as a stim? I used to do it a lot and then seemed to have a period where I don't think I did it that much but in the past couple of weeks I have noticed it happening again. Actually I would rather this one than some of the other stim like behaviours that I do.



felinesaresuperior
Veteran
Veteran

User avatar

Joined: 24 Jul 2011
Gender: Female
Posts: 1,050
Location: israel

28 Jan 2012, 2:03 pm

i started biting the insides of my lips, especially the bottom one, when i was about thirteen. first i had a blister and it bothered me so much i finally bit it off with my teeth. it hurt. then there were more blisters and i got used to it and it stopped hurting when i bit them off.
and then i kind of learned to like biting them off. i've always liked making things pop. so i started biting the insides of my lips even when i didnt have blisters. i know it's crazy but i've been doing it for decades. i do it usually once a day, i'm trying to cut it down now. although i do this every day, i usually only do it for a few minutes, although i used to do it for hours sometimes, especially when i couldnt fall asleep.
but only when i'm alone and i can stop myself, and never did it all day long.
i think part of asperger syndrom, or any other kind of autism, is being obssessive. like i used to walk on a branch that served as a bridge over a hole in the ground in the schoolyard as a child. like when my cat sat on my lap and he'd get off and refuse to come back if i swallowed. (he was very sensitive in his old age to the slightest movement.) so i felt i had to swallow every two minutes or so, and i tried hard not to, because i didnt want him to leave my lap, and that's made it worse, of course, and it was so hard till i felt i was choking. i get new obssessions and OCDs all the time.
there are obsessions and there are OCDs. we usually get both. i used to bite my lower lip pretty bad in the past, till sometimes it swelled and looked horrible, but still it didnt hurt. i dont do it anymore. there were other OCDs as well but if i tell all of them it would be too long a post.
that's what i think the cheek and lips biting is - some kind of OCD.



ediself
Veteran
Veteran

User avatar

Joined: 3 Oct 2010
Age: 47
Gender: Female
Posts: 3,202
Location: behind you!!!

28 Jan 2012, 2:09 pm

Same thing: inside of the bottom lip, and cheecks. I have so much dead skin in there that it never hurts or bleed now. I also love the little crunchy "sound-feeling".



Matt62
Veteran
Veteran

User avatar

Joined: 4 Jan 2012
Age: 62
Gender: Male
Posts: 1,230

28 Jan 2012, 2:22 pm

Not a stim for me, though I do it.
Just poor teeth, needed orthodontic work that I never got.

Matt



tchek
Pileated woodpecker
Pileated woodpecker

User avatar

Joined: 24 Jan 2012
Gender: Male
Posts: 184

28 Jan 2012, 2:25 pm

I do this all the time when I'm frustrated, Lower lip and inner cheek. When I can't cope with frustration I bite my right index finger, which is a wreck.

This steems from OCD being a byproduct of asperger.



nikki15
Sea Gull
Sea Gull

User avatar

Joined: 14 Jun 2009
Age: 40
Gender: Female
Posts: 220

28 Jan 2012, 2:32 pm

I bite the inside of my lips a lot. I lick my lips at times as well. I don't why I do it. It's a soothing habit, I guess.



wendigopsychosis
Velociraptor
Velociraptor

User avatar

Joined: 11 Apr 2010
Age: 33
Gender: Female
Posts: 471
Location: United States

28 Jan 2012, 6:36 pm

I bite my lips CONSTANTLY! Ugh, it's so annoying because then they are flaky and peeling, which makes me want to bite them even more! And on top of that, I've seen videos and photos of myself biting my lips, and it makes me look terribly stupid and immature. I'm trying my best to stop, but it's mostly unconscious so it's very difficult. And it totally does count as a stim.

On the bright side, I've stopped biting my nails! Now, if only I could stop biting the skin around my nails too...


_________________
:heart: I'm an author and public speaker on autism, gender, and sexuality :heart:
:heart: Read my articles @ http://kirstenlindsmith.wordpress.com :heart:
:heart: Follow updates @ https://www.facebook.com/pages/Kirsten- ... 9135232493 :heart:


kestrel
Veteran
Veteran

User avatar

Joined: 13 Jan 2012
Age: 40
Gender: Male
Posts: 574
Location: Ohio

28 Jan 2012, 6:46 pm

Yep - in fact, I'm chewing on the inside of my cheek right now. :P Used to bite my fingernails, too, but I've managed to condition myself into quitting that. I can't seem to stop chewing on the inside of my cheeks, though... dunno why. When I try, it just shifts to chewing on my lips, which I think is worse.



justalouise
Velociraptor
Velociraptor

User avatar

Joined: 20 Jan 2012
Age: 39
Gender: Female
Posts: 433

28 Jan 2012, 6:51 pm

Yes...I grind my teeth at night, which I didn't find out about 'til I was 18.