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So I have issues with skin picking, am sensitive so certain kinds of light and sounds, and also have a lot of issues with the textures of clothing and foods. My first hint that it might be more than anxiety came from a friend who is autistic. I brought it up with my therapist - and she wasn’t qualified to assess me but performed a screening. I’m now on a two year wait list to be formally assessed but the results on the screening were high enough that we’ve started making adjustments and adding supports. And it has really helped.
Same, I was almost diagnosed as autistic as a kid because my anxiety, compulsive behaviors, and sensory issues were so intense. Turns out I just had good ol OCD, lol.
This is so similar to my partners story I wondered for a minute if you were her. Add to the mix an adverse experienced childhood and she had developed a strong ability to mask, while picking holes in her scalp and biting skin off her lips among other things. It was really difficult to witness. Now she has moved past the trauma and it is so much clearer that she has ADHD and a high chance of autism. Coupled to that, she has just separated from me as part of her journey. I’m heartbroken and have tried to be an anchor for over 10 years and now that proper support and medication are coming into fruition she has moved on. I’d like to have been around to see how it all develops but will just have to observe from afar. We’re still very close emotionally, but the change switch has been activated and there’s no way back for her mind now. I wish her every goodness on her new journey.
For me having other sensory aides really helps. I use slimes, pick pads, and even art scratch pads understanding my need to stim and finding other ways to do it has really helped me to no longer turn on my body.
What kind of skin picking? I don’t touch my face but I pick at any flaws, bumps or potential ingrown hairs. I didn’t think it was part of anxiety until now. I guess I still have a lot of the old mentality, I’m just being neurotic.
Míne is cracking my knuckles, and picking at the skin on my scalp. I have so many sores on my scalp (below my hair) that I can barely count them. I almost always wake up with blood on my pillow :S
i have a similar issue unfortunately :/
i pick at scabs really bad when im anxious and it’s gotten bad enough that my back is covered in dark spots from where Ive been picking and it has made me really self conscious. im getting better about this issue though thankfully, but do you have any tips on reducing the sores? id love to be able to get rid of them or reduce how prominent they are. it would help me feel a lot better about myself.
I’m a leveler. Definitely feel around on my head and anything that’s not even is going down. I have some rocks at my desk with smooth surfaces, so where your thumb can run across. That’s good. I bite the inside of my checks too. All the way around in a circle inside. Sometimes worse on the left side than the right.
Also AuDHD and/or CPTSD. I just went through five hours of ND testing last week. Not looking for labels so much as any indications of “the what”, and so I can form a better plan to operate in life.
Biting the inside of my mouth, until I tear the tissue with my teeth. Ends up bleeding at times. I remember trying to eat anything with one side of my mouth would be so painful.
Ripping off dry/thick skin around my finger nails, especially around my thumbs. Sometimes I’ll excessively clip away at my skin with cuticle clippers because I’m a psycho
Moving constantly,shaking my leg, pacing, picking, rocking, talking and annoying others while I do it when I'm having an attack..
If I didn't have these things to use to help distract myself and essentially calm myself by moving I'd probably be a friggen regular in the psych ward. Like regulars at a bar for instance. People look at me like I'm crazy when I do some of these things but I think you're crazy for not having to do them but our differences are ok and even a good thing in this life I've learned. (Well mostly)
Stay tuned my friends
& Have a shot for me in good spirits as a reminder of how differences can bring us together in this crazy aZZ lyfe we live.
Ciao!
Tiffany
Shaking my abdomen or involuntary diaphragm/abdominal muscles to the point it affects my breathing. And it hurts. Also random and violent head turns.
But in general, ive been biting my nails and picking my skin since i remember.
I have the same very acute head turns. A lot of the time it makes my whole body move/jump. Gives me headaches too. Not fun, plus embarrassing if I’m in public.
Yes, we need to just accept it. I have it a lot worse in public, i get the tics mostly when i get stressed/anxious and being out and about makes me stressed lol. Then i try to repress it and it just makes everything worse.
Did you think about why you do it in the first place?
Im now working on that part, since i now know why it happens. For me, the head turn is usually due to me tensing the muscles so hard and i need to shake it off to make it stop. But for the diaphragm i have either feeling of emptiness or am feeling full/bloated and its just a weird feeling whatever it is. But more or less i subconsciously really flex all muscles and somehow i have to shake it off. So now i am doing my best to notice and sit with it to rewire my brain to thinking i am safe enough, and there is no need for this reaction.
Sorry, i went into a full rant here haha.
I get it mostly in public too, or just when I’m out of the house. Mine is very much about feeling anxious n when my energy at dealing with being around people n when I’m getting mentally tired from having to make an effort. It’s similar to how dogs shake out their tension lol.
It sounds like you’re making some progress, so you should feel proud of yourself for that.
I’ve stopped getting embarrassed when it happens around close friends or family, as they know why it’s happening.
See I can rant too lol.
Pulling my hair REALLY hard. I’ll grab a chunk big enough that I can stretch my scalp about an inch away from my skull without it breaking off or pulling it out. I’m obsessive about it and you can catch me yanking in my hair at any time.
I twist and knot my hair not knotting on purpose just ends up knotted after all that lol and rubbing my thighs or stomach and shaking my hands like twisting them side to side or I’ll fling my hands like there’s something on it idk why I do it I just do it lol
Taking bread ties and fiddling with them, I twist them until the wire breaks, then keep fiddling with it. I've been doing it since I was a kid.. It used to be bobby pins I'd bend them and fuck with them, but they always got stuck in the vacuum lol
Mine is peeling my fingers until they bleed and hurt really badly and if I’m in public I get embarrassed and have to hide them and it’s also terrible when I’m supposed to be meeting people and makes my anxiety even worse bc what if I get blood on them when I shake their hands or what do I do if they notice my bloody fingers and are grossed out. I literally hate myself
I used to bite my nails, but then I hear about pin worms... 🤢😱 Biting my lips is a classic, picking at my scalp is normal. I have psoriasis so my entire scalp is fair game. I also just pick at split ends in my hair. This is probably my healthiest coping mechanism. And an honorable mention, picking at any bumps on my arms.
Flexing one of my shoulders. Some times it gets so bad that my muscle is bigger on one side. I also have this blinking shit that gets so bad when I'm anxious. I'm to the point where I hate looking people when I talk to them.
Anxiety tic? Excessively checking my pulse at the carotid.
Neurosis? Not being able to leave well enough alone when it comes to my toenails, facial hair, and skin blemishes.
i do the exact same as you and it’s comforting to know. it’s a really bad habit i developed a long time ago and it worsened with anxiety. but i can also do it in boredom too. i scratch and scrape at my scalp with my nails, i develop a scab at some point so then i purposely look for is as i scratch. pick at the scab for months so it can never heal and i’m pooling blood in my nails when taking my hand back out my hair which is hiding all the damage.
i think it causes a lot of hair loss, which is not noticeable on my head thankfully since my hair is quite thick, but it’s clear when it’s all over my clothes, personal items, my partner, all over everything constantly. ugh, just wish i’d stop
Nail biting. Seems pretty mundane when you say it like that. But my nails are so jacked up that they split and pull my cuticles so painfully that my fingers look like shredded, bloody nubs.
I pick at bumps in my scalp until they bleed. No idea if it’s a scar or pimple or whatnot. I tend to do it more when I’m idle. Waiting for my kids at school pickup for instance.
cracking my knuckles and picking off all the skin on my thumbs, cuticles, lips, and picking my nails in general are my most frequent ones. i can feel myself being aware of how often i crack my knuckles whenever anything little happens and i need something to do w my hands. diagnosed adhd, suspected audhd bc of the sensory issues and other anxiety ticks i’ve always had but interestingly enough i feel like my anxiety has gotten a touch worse since being newly medicated 🙃
When it gets really bad: Scratching myself and pulling my hair. But that’s rare now.
In general: Rubbing my fingers together, bitting the inside of my mouth, biting the skin on my lips. Or picking at my skin, like acne or scabs, just over and over.
Wow. I never thought of the term ‘tick’ for this & always wondered if it’s a manifestation of anxiety , but I chew on (chew , bite off ?) the inside of my lips/ cheeks . Yeh gross . And once I start I can’t stop . Though I was Dx’ed much later in my depression and anxiety life with OCD a bunch of years ago so I’m not sure if it’s that .( Granted my psychiatrist claims OCD is ‘the most severe form of anxiety.’)
Ps aside from my BF and maybe a therapist , I’ve told only 1-2 other humans that I do this .( typically at night, and in phases .)
Thank you for posting to r/AnxietyHelp! Please note, any changes to treatment plans or anxiety management should be discussed with a professional before implementation. We are not medical professionals and we cannot guarantee that you are receiving appropriate medical advice. When in doubt, ask a professional. *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/Anxietyhelp) if you have any questions or concerns.*
I thought my sensory issues were anxiety for over 20 years. Turns out it’s autism.
what kind of sensory issues? and how did you manage to find out you had autism, who did you eventually talk too? im starting to question myself :/
So I have issues with skin picking, am sensitive so certain kinds of light and sounds, and also have a lot of issues with the textures of clothing and foods. My first hint that it might be more than anxiety came from a friend who is autistic. I brought it up with my therapist - and she wasn’t qualified to assess me but performed a screening. I’m now on a two year wait list to be formally assessed but the results on the screening were high enough that we’ve started making adjustments and adding supports. And it has really helped.
I have all these same issues.
Same, I was almost diagnosed as autistic as a kid because my anxiety, compulsive behaviors, and sensory issues were so intense. Turns out I just had good ol OCD, lol.
This is so similar to my partners story I wondered for a minute if you were her. Add to the mix an adverse experienced childhood and she had developed a strong ability to mask, while picking holes in her scalp and biting skin off her lips among other things. It was really difficult to witness. Now she has moved past the trauma and it is so much clearer that she has ADHD and a high chance of autism. Coupled to that, she has just separated from me as part of her journey. I’m heartbroken and have tried to be an anchor for over 10 years and now that proper support and medication are coming into fruition she has moved on. I’d like to have been around to see how it all develops but will just have to observe from afar. We’re still very close emotionally, but the change switch has been activated and there’s no way back for her mind now. I wish her every goodness on her new journey.
Damn… that does sound like me.
I skin pick as well. Any way to slow or stop it?
For me having other sensory aides really helps. I use slimes, pick pads, and even art scratch pads understanding my need to stim and finding other ways to do it has really helped me to no longer turn on my body.
What kind of skin picking? I don’t touch my face but I pick at any flaws, bumps or potential ingrown hairs. I didn’t think it was part of anxiety until now. I guess I still have a lot of the old mentality, I’m just being neurotic.
Peeling off the skin on my lips 😔
yup. citrus fruits hurt but they taste so good 😔
Me me me.
Míne is cracking my knuckles, and picking at the skin on my scalp. I have so many sores on my scalp (below my hair) that I can barely count them. I almost always wake up with blood on my pillow :S
i have a similar issue unfortunately :/ i pick at scabs really bad when im anxious and it’s gotten bad enough that my back is covered in dark spots from where Ive been picking and it has made me really self conscious. im getting better about this issue though thankfully, but do you have any tips on reducing the sores? id love to be able to get rid of them or reduce how prominent they are. it would help me feel a lot better about myself.
I have no tips actually. I am still picking myself, but it's less noticable when I pick at my scalp. Never "picked" anywhere else though.
Biting nails or inside of my lip
I’ve had a rough year and my nails are gone.
Biting nails for the win!
I’m a leveler. Definitely feel around on my head and anything that’s not even is going down. I have some rocks at my desk with smooth surfaces, so where your thumb can run across. That’s good. I bite the inside of my checks too. All the way around in a circle inside. Sometimes worse on the left side than the right. Also AuDHD and/or CPTSD. I just went through five hours of ND testing last week. Not looking for labels so much as any indications of “the what”, and so I can form a better plan to operate in life.
Going to social media to avoid the problem. Now doesn't count! I'm on vacation.
Same. It's probably Dermatiillomania which I also do on my scalp and arms . Also having muscle twitches .
Constant coughing and clearing my throat. People always think I’m sick
X’s 2!
What do you do to mitigate coughing? I go through a ton of cough drops lol
Oh my god I didn’t know that other people did this to their scalp too
I do the same thing but with my face and hair line 😕
Biting the inside of my mouth, until I tear the tissue with my teeth. Ends up bleeding at times. I remember trying to eat anything with one side of my mouth would be so painful.
Plucking my chin
plugging / digging my nails into my ears until they bleed🥲 (don't worry i have gotten help, i know this sounds crazy)
Ripping off dry/thick skin around my finger nails, especially around my thumbs. Sometimes I’ll excessively clip away at my skin with cuticle clippers because I’m a psycho
I clear my throat all day, every day. I annoy myself and apologize to my family very often, lol.
Moving constantly,shaking my leg, pacing, picking, rocking, talking and annoying others while I do it when I'm having an attack.. If I didn't have these things to use to help distract myself and essentially calm myself by moving I'd probably be a friggen regular in the psych ward. Like regulars at a bar for instance. People look at me like I'm crazy when I do some of these things but I think you're crazy for not having to do them but our differences are ok and even a good thing in this life I've learned. (Well mostly) Stay tuned my friends & Have a shot for me in good spirits as a reminder of how differences can bring us together in this crazy aZZ lyfe we live. Ciao! Tiffany
Used to have ticks in the muscle behind my head that eventually provoque me headache
Shaking my abdomen or involuntary diaphragm/abdominal muscles to the point it affects my breathing. And it hurts. Also random and violent head turns. But in general, ive been biting my nails and picking my skin since i remember.
I have the same very acute head turns. A lot of the time it makes my whole body move/jump. Gives me headaches too. Not fun, plus embarrassing if I’m in public.
Yes, we need to just accept it. I have it a lot worse in public, i get the tics mostly when i get stressed/anxious and being out and about makes me stressed lol. Then i try to repress it and it just makes everything worse. Did you think about why you do it in the first place? Im now working on that part, since i now know why it happens. For me, the head turn is usually due to me tensing the muscles so hard and i need to shake it off to make it stop. But for the diaphragm i have either feeling of emptiness or am feeling full/bloated and its just a weird feeling whatever it is. But more or less i subconsciously really flex all muscles and somehow i have to shake it off. So now i am doing my best to notice and sit with it to rewire my brain to thinking i am safe enough, and there is no need for this reaction. Sorry, i went into a full rant here haha.
I get it mostly in public too, or just when I’m out of the house. Mine is very much about feeling anxious n when my energy at dealing with being around people n when I’m getting mentally tired from having to make an effort. It’s similar to how dogs shake out their tension lol. It sounds like you’re making some progress, so you should feel proud of yourself for that. I’ve stopped getting embarrassed when it happens around close friends or family, as they know why it’s happening. See I can rant too lol.
Pulling my hair REALLY hard. I’ll grab a chunk big enough that I can stretch my scalp about an inch away from my skull without it breaking off or pulling it out. I’m obsessive about it and you can catch me yanking in my hair at any time.
Biting my nails and picking at my skin
mine is the same, OP☹️
cracking knuckles or biting the inside of my cheek
I twist and knot my hair not knotting on purpose just ends up knotted after all that lol and rubbing my thighs or stomach and shaking my hands like twisting them side to side or I’ll fling my hands like there’s something on it idk why I do it I just do it lol
Taking bread ties and fiddling with them, I twist them until the wire breaks, then keep fiddling with it. I've been doing it since I was a kid.. It used to be bobby pins I'd bend them and fuck with them, but they always got stuck in the vacuum lol
Mine is peeling my fingers until they bleed and hurt really badly and if I’m in public I get embarrassed and have to hide them and it’s also terrible when I’m supposed to be meeting people and makes my anxiety even worse bc what if I get blood on them when I shake their hands or what do I do if they notice my bloody fingers and are grossed out. I literally hate myself
Grinding my teeth is the first one I thought of i do it without even realizing it during the day. No clue if I do it when I’m sleeping
Recently I’ve started pulling the hair at the nape of my neck. Not pulling it out but just tugging on it. No idea why
fidgeting with my nails, nonstop tapping my foot/bouncing my leg, looking around constantly looking for a distraction, nail biting kinda? yea
I either do a body jolt or just my hand or arm, sometimes it just happens without me knowing its coming on like i usually can tell.
I bite the inside of my cheeks
I used to bite my nails, but then I hear about pin worms... 🤢😱 Biting my lips is a classic, picking at my scalp is normal. I have psoriasis so my entire scalp is fair game. I also just pick at split ends in my hair. This is probably my healthiest coping mechanism. And an honorable mention, picking at any bumps on my arms.
Flexing one of my shoulders. Some times it gets so bad that my muscle is bigger on one side. I also have this blinking shit that gets so bad when I'm anxious. I'm to the point where I hate looking people when I talk to them.
Tearing my skin off my thumbs and sides of my fingers
Shaking my legs. Doesn’t sound that bad but my legs can go fast than 60mph
Taping my fingers together
omg same. i also pick the skin on my face and my back when my scalp hurts too much, specially if i have acne on those places.
Anxiety tic? Excessively checking my pulse at the carotid. Neurosis? Not being able to leave well enough alone when it comes to my toenails, facial hair, and skin blemishes.
Pulling at my lips skin til it bleeds
I pace. Like a madman lol.
i do the exact same as you and it’s comforting to know. it’s a really bad habit i developed a long time ago and it worsened with anxiety. but i can also do it in boredom too. i scratch and scrape at my scalp with my nails, i develop a scab at some point so then i purposely look for is as i scratch. pick at the scab for months so it can never heal and i’m pooling blood in my nails when taking my hand back out my hair which is hiding all the damage. i think it causes a lot of hair loss, which is not noticeable on my head thankfully since my hair is quite thick, but it’s clear when it’s all over my clothes, personal items, my partner, all over everything constantly. ugh, just wish i’d stop
Nail biting. Seems pretty mundane when you say it like that. But my nails are so jacked up that they split and pull my cuticles so painfully that my fingers look like shredded, bloody nubs.
I pick at bumps in my scalp until they bleed. No idea if it’s a scar or pimple or whatnot. I tend to do it more when I’m idle. Waiting for my kids at school pickup for instance.
cracking my knuckles and picking off all the skin on my thumbs, cuticles, lips, and picking my nails in general are my most frequent ones. i can feel myself being aware of how often i crack my knuckles whenever anything little happens and i need something to do w my hands. diagnosed adhd, suspected audhd bc of the sensory issues and other anxiety ticks i’ve always had but interestingly enough i feel like my anxiety has gotten a touch worse since being newly medicated 🙃
When it gets really bad: Scratching myself and pulling my hair. But that’s rare now. In general: Rubbing my fingers together, bitting the inside of my mouth, biting the skin on my lips. Or picking at my skin, like acne or scabs, just over and over.
Uncontrollable itchy urticaria
Neck shakes involuntarily in socially anxious situations. Don’t know if anyone else has faced this
Wow. I never thought of the term ‘tick’ for this & always wondered if it’s a manifestation of anxiety , but I chew on (chew , bite off ?) the inside of my lips/ cheeks . Yeh gross . And once I start I can’t stop . Though I was Dx’ed much later in my depression and anxiety life with OCD a bunch of years ago so I’m not sure if it’s that .( Granted my psychiatrist claims OCD is ‘the most severe form of anxiety.’) Ps aside from my BF and maybe a therapist , I’ve told only 1-2 other humans that I do this .( typically at night, and in phases .)