[DeadOfNyght]

Hey guys, I have a problem...

I don't cut, but I do something very very different, which I think still counts as self harm? I'm not sure...

I know how this sounds, but it started about four years ago, it's triggered by stress, and it is very damaging.

I don't cut, but instead I scrape my tongue against the backs of my teeth, it's muscle memory by this point, and very hard to stop. It prevents me from talking, eating, sleeping, working, focusing, or just being a normal human being. My mom found me something call OraGel and it numbs it....I got addicted...it said to use it 4 times a day, but I would go through an entire tube in about 3 days to a week at most... It would usually end by itself but it just gets really really bad. One time it got so bad the entire tip of my tongue was yellow, I had a huge scab ON MY TONGUE.

I REALLY need help, this isn't good, any advice??

[PinkFlamingo99]

I do something I guess kind of similar. It's also stress activated. I was told it's an impulse control thing, kind of like trichtillomania or skin picking. One thing that helped me was putting gloves on at home. Is there anything you could do physically to block it and stop yourself from doing it automatucally? Dental wax or even a chewed piece of gum on your teeth?

[DeadOfNyght]

Hello!

Thank you for your response, I have found something similar to a solution when it decides to flare up. I apply the medicine then put a piece of gauze on where the damage has been done, it prevents me from doing anything to worsen the state of my tongue, and it makes the pain go away, problem is, I want to stop it from flaring up ENTIRELY.

It's stress triggered, and I am trying to find a different, less damaging way to cope, taking the place of self-harm all together. It's been going on for years, causing permanent damage, I can no longer taste as much as I want, and the tip of my tongue is completely unable to taste. All the taste buds were scraped off. And now my tongue is EXTREMELY sensitive to hot and cold, burning it could result to me self-harming again.

Do you have any suggestions on a better way to cope with stress an anxiety other than this??

hugs.

i've not done this myself but can realise how damaging it can be.

glad you are reaching out

[PinkFlamingo99]

Mine focuses on picking under my eyelids and I'm trying really hard to stop. Because it's my hands i'm trying to replace it with other things like knitting or even worry beads. Is there something like that you can do to try to focus your anxious energy on something else?

[DeadOfNyght]

Hello PinkFlamingo99!

Well one thing you can do is focus on something you love doing, but do it more often, focus on it a bit more than usual, like painting or writing or reading. It will preoccupy your mind and take your mind off of it and the reason you're doing it.

Try going on the internet, or sleeping more than usual, try doing puzzles.

These should all work reasonably well until you seek medical attention.

^-^

[SillyKitty]

I claw my scalp until I have big scabs on my scalp, then continually pick the scabs off. Sometimes the sores won't heal for a year or so. I end up with shallow pits in my scalp. I cut and burn, but I think the scalp thing counts since I do it when I'm anxious.

[phoenix7]

Deal with the part that is acting out on the anxiety - its your tongue so maybe chew gum? i hate gum but it might keep youre tongue busy - ahort term fix-

find what is making you anxious - find a solution to it or seek help to find a solution -

look at the grounding techniques they can help - meditation can help -

I wish you luck and lots of good health

[i dont matter]

I think it always comes down to intent. So, yes - clearly this is self harm.

BEST WISHES for you to find a healthy way of coping with your pain.

[DeadOfNyght]

Hey guys!

Some additional info I forgot to mention:
Its triggered mostly by school and drama, (I am in a specific program which puts a lot of pressure on to the kids, we are the smart kids at our neighborhood school, so they basically tell us that the fate of the schools funding rests in our hands.)
Gum, unfortunately, does not work, but instead makes it worse.
You know that feeling of when you burn your tongue? Thats what it feels like all the time, and imagine the only way to get it to not hurt is scrape it against your teeth.
Yeah...
I was just wondering if anyone had any other suggestions that may help with the pain in a non poisonous matter. ^-^

[rae.lynn88]

I don't know if this might help.
I chew my nails and chew the skin around my nails and pick and my face and all that fun stuff. And what helped me to decrease this was fidget toys.
I can't add a link yet since I haven't been on here but there's a website called therapyshoppe and they have different kinds of fidget toys, including stuff you can chew on

[DeadOfNyght]

Hello rae.lynn88!

I believe I received a private message from you with the link! I would like to thank you again for it! I think I'll get one, this should really help! ^-^

[SillyKitty]

Oragel? It'll make it numb, though. You won't be able to talk.

[DeadOfNyght]

hello!

Yes Oragel, and I was perfectly capable of talking. I just couldn't feel taste anything or feel the pain that much, it doesn't paralyze it. But I got addicted to it...which led to even greater problems.

[SillyKitty]

Ah.i can't even make my mouth move correctly when it's on one tooth. Guess I'm a Oragel light weight. lol