Published on 12, July, 2020
i have been biting my nails since i was a child (i’m now 20) and am fairly sure i do it as a form of stimming/self soothing, it’s bad to the point that if i go to bite my nails and there isn’t anything to get a hold of i get frustrated, upset, and distressed.
i’ve found that using a tangle to keep my hands busy works most of the time as i don’t really like to have stubby bitten down nails but recently even redirecting myself doesn’t stop me … i’m very aware that it’s gross and not exactly pleasant but i’m not sure what else i can do to try and stop myself.
wondering whether it’s less of a hands thing and more of a chewing/biting stim? not sure if that makes any sense.
is anyone else a chronic nail biter due to autism … is this a common thing?
I do this as well and I'm sure it's definitely an autism thing. I started of biting my fingers and hands as a young child which I'm pretty sure was an unhealthy stim. I still do this now except I also bite my nails which I'm pretty sure is caused by anxiety now as it started when I was at school and stressed because of the work. I still bite my fingers and hands as well which has caused a lot of skin issues for me. I'm sure it is all autism related though.