I have a minor problem.

[conuly]

Minor is a key word here, but it's starting to bother me. Most of the time, I am chewing on something. My fingers, or my cheeks, or my tongue, or junk food. I must've spent a fortune on junk food in the last year. It helps me to think, and stay calm in stressful situations and all that. Anyway, anyway, a while ago Ana, being all cute, handed me one of her teething toys, so I nibbled for a second, because she was trying to "feed" me (she's a cute kid, but a bit strange... are most one-year-olds that strange?) and ended up thinking "hm... that's not so bad" which immediately crystallized my ongoing vague thoughts into a firm "Something. Needs. To Be. Done."

So, I've done some research and some thought and came up with these options:

1. Get something to chew on.
Pros: Simple
Cons: Buying sight unseen

2. Steal one of Ana's teethers
Pros: Cheaper, even if I buy it
Cons: C'mon, it looks stupid. Really. And robbing my niece? LOW.

3. Do nothing, keep things the way they are right now
Pros: Saves money in the short run, in the long run if I cut out the junk food
Cons: I'm tired of waking up with a sore mouth? It looks silly in class when my fingers have tooth marks all over them?

4. Stop chewing on things.
Pros: Definitely the cheapest solution
Cons: I don't want to do this. Somehow, I don't see it happening easily, and, frankly, on the list of self-improvement things, this doesn't rate very highly. It's not as though I'm biting other people or sucking their blood....


[Poll #288730]

Thanks for reading and/or helping. This will possibly be posted over in asperger, so we'll see what they have to say too. Definitely it seems like an autistic thing.

Comments

[dkmnow.livejournal.com]

I'm the one who voted "other," so it remains for me to specify:

5. Breath-centered meditation.

Why? Because. . . well, because that's pretty much my answer to everything. Just try it for five years or so and you'll see why -- or your money back!

:-p

[moggymania.livejournal.com]

I've got the same stim -- it's very common among autistic people that for one reason or another stopped "natural" stimming like rocking or flapping. (Other species will do the exact same thing in response to stress if their natural behaviors are prevented, incidentally.) I chew my lips, the inside of my mouth, my cuticles, virtually any rough spot on my skin, and I'm also on the "self-harm" level where I'll actually start cut the skin off if I'm too stressed.

You could buy a chewing-oriented stim toy of some kind, or even pick something that doesn't *look* like it's something a person would chew on (like a dog toy) and buy that.

Another alternative would be to intentionally work on picking up a different stim to replace it -- perhaps wiggling a body part in a way that gives you the same sensation of relief. I've learned to rapidly chafe my hands or fingers together, and that results in the same mental sensation as biting, weirdly enough...

[conuly]

Another alternative would be to intentionally work on picking up a different stim to replace it --

Thing is, I don't care all that much about it... I just 1. don't like spending the money on junk food 2. don't like having chewed up fingers in class all the time and 3. realized that the teether worked better anyway. The "stop doing it" is just up there for those who think this sort of thing is a real problem. Never understood that myself, but...

[conuly]

I already work on my breathing a lot. Don't know that I meditate, but I breathe carefully.

[malantha.livejournal.com]

have you tried gum? i've had a lifelong habit of biting my nails, all the way down to the skin. one thing that helps me avoid that habit is to chew gum. it keeps my mouth occupied. bubblicious is the best for me because it's a bigger wad of gum than the normal stick gum, but after a while it gets kind of hard and makes my jaw hurt. :P

it might be only slightly less expensive than junk food, but it looks better than chewing on a teether i guess

[conuly]

I can't chew gum. Not since I was little, left some lying around instead of throwing it out, and got chewed out *groans at the pun* for it by my dad. And now I can't.

I chose other

[velvetchamber.livejournal.com]

Chewing gum, perchance? Or would that not suffice because you mainly use your incisors? Not that it is much cheaper... but still, it is an alternative to junk food. You could also try some food that's tough and you have to really chew to eat...

Re: I chose other

[conuly]

*points up* No gum for me, alas.

[feathered.livejournal.com]

I have similar problems. I always just replace them with others when they get too problematic. I used to chew my lips/mouth/hands, but then I bit all the way through my lip and I had to go to the emergency room and it was bad, so I started pulling hair and picking at my skin instead. I still chew my hands in my sleep sometimes, it's awlays troubling, but for the most part I've moved on. Now, that isn't really a solution at all unless the replacement is more constructive. Mine aren't. I was just sympathizing there.

So, either consider replacing the behaviour or just get something to chew on -- probably not one of Ana's things as that might look silly, at least outside the home, but something. I spend so little time at walmart and other places of commerce that I'm a little vague as to what, exactly, you might buy, but I'm sure you'll be able to find something that doesn't look silly and works.

[feathered.livejournal.com]

Oh hey, I just realized that the first two are links. I'm still going to vote for getting something to chew on, either one of those or something cheaper that you find at a store and use as a chewtoy, whether or not it's meant to be.

[malantha.livejournal.com]

ah.. well, it was worth a try.

and, by the way, nice pun there.. hehe

[conuly]

*giggles* Yeah, they're all linky.

Damn, you chewed through your LIP? OwowowowowowowOWWW!

*huggles*

[invsagoth.livejournal.com]

I'd say for you to get something sorta discreet to chew on (I picked option one fyi) You could use a teether thingy if you were just in the house, there's no reason to feel silly if you're just hanging around the house.

I've never really had a problem with chewing on things... If I'm feeling antsy I tend to clean my nails, as odd as that might look and/or sound. o.O Sometimes I get it in my head that there is something on my face and I try to scratch at my face until it goes away (which really really doesn't help anything I know). I think that might have something to do with being obsessive compulsive, but I'm not sure.

At least your not doing what my sister used to do, she'd just randomly start picking at herself (she has autism) and would end up with these big holes... that was supposed to stimulate her somehow. o.O Now she just rocks her head. Anyway, I'm rambling. Shutting up now. xP

[conuly]

Oh, I do that too, just not to any great degree. I hardly ever look in the mirror because if I do, I'll be stuck trying to get rid of all the blackheads/pimples/imagined blackheads and pimples.

[arazia.livejournal.com]

I voted option #1:
I have the same problem myself. I tend to chew on my cheeks or the inside of my mouth a lot. If I have nothing else to chew on, I hit pen-caps etc. What I started to do recently is just to buy sugar-free gum. It's not bad for your teeth, it still works as a stim, and you can find ones with different textures. I found one that has a real thick texture that I like to chew.

[conuly]

I used to do pencaps until I used one to dislodge some spare gum from a seat, and then realized I had no idea which pen cap it was, meaning ALL my pen caps could be the filthy one. Ended that habit quickly.

[ladytalon.livejournal.com]

You could also buy healthy snacks instead of junk food. Yeah.. I know, it sounds like something your parents would say... But I find carrots/triscuits/etc. to have a really nice texture.

Oh, and never get your tongue pierced. ^_~

[conuly]

I'm scared of most piercings. And healthy snacks, while much better than junk food, are still not healthy in the quantities I'd go through them (I do go through them, actually, in the form of fruit). And they still cost money, my big concern. Still, it's a good change from chips and ice cream (which is HORRIBLE, being all milk and sugar)

[deathweasel.livejournal.com]

Holy crap. :-) I feel less weird.
I chew my hands mostly, but sometimes I get really annoyed and start cutting off cuticles, nails, etc with my X-acto.


Maybe that was too much information. *wince*

[moggymania.livejournal.com]

Not TMI, that's the same thing that I do! I used to use an X-acto, scalpels from (sterile) dissecting kits, and most recently a pair of tiny surgical scissors. I've got a couple of raw spots right now, in fact. :-/

I think the worst I ever did (now this *might* be TMI) was when I was a stressed-out miserable teenager... I used toenail clippers to cut off all of the callused areas off the bottom of my feet.

[agentrayevyn.livejournal.com]

I recently noticed that I do the same thing... I'm trying to make a conscious effort to change that, but it's hard.

I voted to get something to chew on... before I knew I had AS and I was going through some really rough times at home, I developed this fascination with pacifiers... I haven't gotten a TMJ mouthpiece for my jaw yet, so I use it just to keep my teeth separated at night... and it is sort of relaxing, I guess. I've considered getting some sort of teething thing for those times when I realize I'm clenching my teeth so hard my whole face hurts...

[xiggaroo.livejournal.com]

I'm going to second the no tongue piercing for you thing - not that you'd get one anyway, but hey.

Hmm. See, I also have this problem. Snackfood was always good until I realized how BAD it was. I've resorted to chewing the skin on the sides of my thumbs and fingers... There was this one boy in my sixth/fifth grade class who, in retrospect I realize, probably had some form of HFA. He I think ended up getting special leave to chew gum in class (which was a big deal at the time) and he had this pencil/pen/whatever with a small tubular attachment. It was sort of like a chew toy for adults/teens/non-babies. I'll try to see what info I can get on it, if you're interested.

Arrg oral obsessions. *shakes fist at cigarettes*

[conuly]

Yeah, well, smoking isn't better than snacking. If you can get any info, I'm happy, but I *think* I know what I'm getting, exactly.

[fjorab-teke.livejournal.com]

I'm a nail-biter cheek-chewer. Ughh, and I'm trying to quit. I usually do fine until I'm stressed out or my nails get annoyingly long (which means past the tip of my finger) or rough-edged. I've found that for my nails, putting a favored nail polish (dark shimmery colors favorites) helps that a lot. For the cheek chewing, I've found that I only do that (un-stressed) if I'm lacking in something "meaty" in my diet.

[conuly]

Would constant access to a good set of nail clippers help? And a nail file? I don't like nails long AT ALL either, but I only ever bite them after I've realized I can't find the clippers. Again.