'Self-Injury with biting'

elizabeth jarvis (24.71.223.141) -

I have struggled with bi-polar since childhood .. would like to chat about self-injury ... in may case it is biting my hands .. started around January .. i don't seem to be able to stop ... would love to hear from you. Thanks!

Comment #1 Em (198.151.180.26) -

First, I would like to say thank you. Until now, I thought I was the only one that bit my hands. Specifically, I bite the knuckles on the indexfinger of my right hand. As hard as it is to hear, it is a form of self-mutilization, and it is important for you to accept it as such. I nearly lost friends over my biting. They were concerned and confronted me about it and I would yell at them and deny it. I understand how hard it is to admit, but biting is a form of self-injury. Probably the hardest part of getting over it is acknowledging that it is self-mutilation. Try bringing it to the attention of your friends, tell them not to let your hands anywhere near your face. You can also do research on it, don't neccessarily follow the advice of the web-sites or books, but know about the issue, be familiar with it, and you (as I did) may start to notice other self-injuring habits I have. It will be a long hard road, and you might have scars from the biting (I sure as hell do!) but it is better for you. Self-abuse is self-abuse, don't let it beat you, and don't let it continue. It really is dangerous, but I have faith that you can conquer it!

Namaste,

Emma

Comment #2 Anonymous (207.119.73.30) -

What do thay call this disorder? I bite my hands to...

Comment #3 Chris (203.87.64.154) -

Hi there

My son - he is 22 - has problems with hand biting and head rubbing when he is stressed.

We are trying to find ways to help.

How are you handling this issue now?

Chris

Comment #4 Stephanie (24.21.200.43) -

I also thought I was alone with biting. I started about 3 months ago after a really bad depression episode. I tend to go for the wrist area. If I'm in public or don't want to run the risk of someone asking about the mark, I use my knuckles. I've never drawn blood, but am biting harder and harder it seems.

Makes me feel better (less crazy??) to know I'm not the only one, but sad all the same for everyone.

Comment #5 Matanuska_Tundra (72.207.83.67) -

It's nice to know that I am no longer alone with the knuckle biting. I've been doing it since I was 6. I'm 23 now and would really like to stop doing it. I have scars on my index finger, thumb, and wrist on my left hand, and my index, thumb, middle finger and wrist on my right hand. So far, I've tried applying lotion and antibacterial lotion hourly or whenever I feel myself putting my hands near my face. I know enough at least to know what my triggers are (mostly anxiety/stress) and that it it is a form of self-injury (although I have no desire to hurt myself). I've tried replacing the behavior with eating Beef Jerky (the jerky has a soothing texture to it, similar to skin), but the behavior still continues, as I'm not able to buy Jerky all the time. I was wondering if there are any other approaches to definitely stopping this behavior. I don't have the money for psychoanalytic or cognitive-behavioral therapy and nothing else I've been doing seems to have definite impact.

Comment #6 randy (63.176.159.185) -

I dont bite my hands.. i punch things and thats what gives me my satisfaction..

Comment #7 Hurdey (63.176.159.85) -

I have read that bipolar disorder is a very serious disorder but not to this point. I believe you guys have tried psychological consultations and treatment. I wish I can suggest something useful because I can almost feel your suffering. Have you tried restraining or putting gloves around your hands? This is to avoid it from being injured and will serve as your first line of defense from your indiscriminate biting of your hands.

Comment #8 nemo. (92.233.202.175) -

i bite my self to ... at first it never left marks ... i started doing it a 10/11 im now 12 ... now it leaves bruises and teeth marks i know that i shouldnt do it but it kinda makes me feel better if someone is annoying me i bite my hands or forearms sometimes i scratch my self :( i dont really know why i started but i just did ... :| as well as getting annoyed with other people i also get annoyed with myself or the way i feel about things ... it makes me feel stupid for doing it and i'd like to stop but i dont want to tell anyone because my mum just thinks that self-harmers do it for attention ... but mines not... cos im NOT proud :( if you can you should try to stop ...aparently rubber bands snapped against your wrist or holding ice cubes work ... :(

gd luck x

Comment #9 skye (71.241.130.73) -

Hi!

I have a really bad/maybe addiction of biting my left top/side of my wrist. I started a week ago, just a biting contest w/ my friend and has branched to something which i think is serious. i have bitten myself so hard that i have bled and i have a scab as we speak. I am also using this biting tecnique as a way to escape emotional pain...and it's working. but i need help/ideas and i REFUSE to seek a psycologist, and yes i know this will certainly help but i dont feel comfortable letting my parents know about this. and im on the indoor track team and was on the xc team so ive tried running and its still not helping...so HELP

Comment #10 cdg (152.7.43.254) -

Im 20 now, ive been biting my hands since way back in elementary school. Kind of quit in high school because it drew looks, but some recent stress the past few years have brought it back out.

It always seems that all the stress/anger builds up fast and heavy, but the bite kind of tears it all back down soothingly. It doesn't happen very often, but wonder if i should see a shrink/counselor or something. I dont really care about the social stigma that much, just want to be able to handle stress/situations without freaking out.

Comment #11 dustin (63.176.159.37) -

i always bite my nails.. but i don't think its an addiction.

Comment #12 Julie (79.64.112.118) -

I have bitten my hand since I was very young too (maybe from around age 10, I am now 43). The trigger was probably stress when I was young because of very stressful situations at home. It used to be all my hand so I would go to school with obvious bite marks which I am surprised teachers didn't note. These bite marks have heeled as I have got older and I no longer bite my hand but bite my fingers.

It happens when I am angry, either at myself or a situation such as things constantly going wrong or when angry at my family.

This not only helps me relieve stress, I also do it to release other emotions such as intense feelings towards my dog. I know this might sound bizarre but I can look at him being cute and it makes me want to bite my hand. This makes my family laugh. I want to stop but it's an automatic response and has left marks and dry skin patches. I do this many times a day when I see him.

I found this website by googling hand biting as I am curious as to how many others do this. Although I agree it is a form of self-injury I don't intend to injure myself and it's not always done in a negative way (also to express positive feelings)

Not sure I could change this behaviour now as I have done it so long. The biting through intense positive feelings as only since I got my dog over a year ago and occasionally did it with my cats.

PS: I am not weird:o)

Comment #13 Macy (164.64.243.204) -

hi ive been biting my knuckle since i was 10 im now 23 i know it can be a turn off for some guys. i used to pull my hair before but for some reason biting my knuckle was more pleasurable (yeah freak!) i dont know why i do it, i tried putting gloves and i chewed right through them LOL! seriously i also rubbed on some poison to keep me away but it just spiced up the flavour on the knuckle. i guess this stress disorder will be with me forever! u can even see my bone now. i temp stop when my skin hurts and bleed a little :(

Comment #14 smoore (75.89.56.238) -

I DONT ONLY KNUCKLES BITE MY KNUCKLES, I ALSO PULL THE HAIRS OUT OF THEM WITH MY TEETH. THEN WHEN I CAN'T GET TO THE HAIR BECAUSE IT'S STILL UNDER MY SKIN. I PEEL MY SKIN BACK AND THEN PULL THE HAIR OUT. THEN MY KNUCKLES MAY START BLEEDING. IT'S LEFT ALL MY FINGERS SCARRED AND NOW MY KNUCKLES LOOK WIERD, SO I TRY NOT TO SHOW MY KNUCKLES.I'VE BEEN DOING THIS SINCE I WAS 8, AND NOW I'M 29.

Comment #15 Lenwood (63.176.159.28) -

Why in the heck would you bite your hands and knuckles? I understand biting your nails but your hands and knuckles.... I would say you need some professional help, go see a doctor, or a psychiatrist.

Comment #16 anon (87.194.158.138) -

I did not realise other people did this. As far as I know I do not have Bipolar or Autism which is commonly linked to this. However, I am not sure that I don't anymore. I have always been quite reserved and inwardly analytical which has resulted in stress for me and that is usually when I do it. I have never had to do it in public but sometimes the marks are still there and hiding them is awkward. I started this when I was 9 and feel it may have been due to some form of trauma but I cannot remember. I have been doing it for far too many years now and am desperate to stop.

Comment #17 Lauren (71.225.118.135) -

I bite my knuckles. I'm 21 years old, and i've been biting my knuckle since i was 8, when I started bowling. I figured because the bowling sometimes callases your thumb, i was biting on the callase. But about ten years ago i started biting my index knuckle. And now the past couple months, I've been biting at my other index finger knuckle. I don't know why I do it. But I wish I could stop. It's so unattractive and i'm embarrased, and i don't know why i do it. I wish it would just go away. Or I wish I knew the treatment...

Comment #18 AB (217.34.235.69) -

Oh my god, i can't believe i'm not alone.

Message 12 -(Julie) it sounds like i have exactly the same disorder as you - most comments i can relate to i.e being angry about something but i also bite my fingers with positive feelings towards people and animals but not as often as when i'm angry. When i was young i did it every time i had a positive feeling but seem to have this under control now and want to get the angry under control. I've had pet cats when young and over the years and exactly like u said when you love your pet and they do something cute the feeling of admiration and happiness is overwhelming.

I don't remember when i started but was very young - i used to bite my arm, my mum took me to the doctors and he put a velcro band on my wrist so i couldn't do it but i still had to so i started to bite my hand but the marks would take forever to go and it was embarrassing so over the years i did it on my fingers. I'm sure i did it in front of others wen i was very young but once i was aware of it and wen i got told off for doing it, i realised it was wrong and was a problem so i'd only do it when no one could see and deny it.

I'm concious of my fingers b'cos there are patches of dry skin which i hate ( the arm patch went over the years from wen i i used to do that)so there's hope that if you stop the deformed skin will go. I use cream constantly which makes it less noticable but it feels awful so i avoid holding hands with my partner (right hand)

I hate that i do it and now in my 20's i'm looking for a way to stop such as finger protectors so i get out of the habit, it's just a release of intense emotion which goes as soon as i do it but doesn't work if i bite anything else. I've never drawn blood and it's never lead to anything more (self harm) but i know it is in a way.

Good luck to everyone we are not wierd but it make you feel bad when you know others don't do it but you can accept it because its a secret to you and no one knows and people close to you who know don't think any different of you.

Comment #19 Dave (75.39.217.228) -

I, like Julie, am 43 and started biting my hands around age 10, mostly the first knuckle and space been my index finger and thumb on both hands. It's really noticiable, but no one asks about it. I wish I could make it go away.

Comment #20 the insane 1 (66.96.97.28) -

WOW! I can't believe there are so many people who do this. I have started to do it around eight years old. My two index and middle fingers are the ones I bite. I have bi- polar too. I would bite them until the bled. I noticed that when my mother died, I was able to stop biting them for a brief period. one middle finger i have completely stopped. Two of them I bite a little bit during the day. My left index is really bad I bite on it alot, so bad that i have to use a utility knife to cut away the calloused skin. I do eat the skin. I don't think I will ever stop.

Comment #21 Ewan Jones (86.149.157.237) -

I have the same problem as everyone here.

I started biting when i was about 4 years old, when me and my dad had a disagreement. I call it that because i couldnt fight back. Since then, our arguments have been getting worse, and when i was about 12, I started to cut. I dont like to think about it or talk about it, but i did do it.

After a bit, i stopped but the biting has always carried on. Everytime something makes me depressed i sit there putting myself in absolute pain. The only good thing is it fades quicker.

Im now 14 and my biting is reaching a high point. My arms are permenantly sore where ive been biting them and now i cant stop.

Can anyone help me?

Comment #22 Thomas (24.236.52.188) -

I bite my forearms, sometimes they will bleed. I haven't bitten my hands as much, but I have bitten them before where they left marks for weeks.

It's just sometimes I get an overwhelming anger, usually from my family, sometimes from stupid drama at school, or maybe I just don't like how the teacher's doing class.

I suppose I could scream, and break things, but that's not quite a discreet way of dealing with anger. I'd get a stress ball, but it's not really the same as the sharp pain of a bite.

I can't get help from my mom, when she found out she threatened to send me away to a treatment center so they can lock me up. Our family already deals with mental health issues that have greatly affected our lives with other members of my family, so I kind of just try my best to deal with my intense emotions and bad habits.

I've been biting since I was 11-12. Sometimes I can stop, maybe for a month, but then it comes back, some phases are worse than others, I just want it to go away and never come back.

Comment #23 Chad (76.108.142.99) -

I am a biter and im not sure how its gotten like this but i need to stop. im going to therapy evaluation. I ended up telling my parents, and its helped me, but i find myself with sores and my arms and knuckles. geez if anyone is interested in more shoot me an email if your serious, im just looking for people around my age, im 19

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