I bite the taste buds off my tounge does anyone else do this?

I am 30, and I have done this for as long as I can remember. Once I start, usually without realising what I am doing, I don't stop until my tongue is bloody and sore. Never rinsed with peroxide though. I managed to kick the habit for a couple of years but now recently began again. I'm not one to pick at scabs or anything like that. And as far as I am aware, I have no OCD like behaviours. But like you I like it too be smooth and I like the sensation of the pain, gradually going for more painful bites. Never heard of anyone else who did it and I haven't found anything too useful on the internet, unfortunately. Up until recently I was also a smoker, which used to make me super paranoid. But I felt it was too weird to talk to a doctor about it. In fact, I tried not to go to the doctor after a biting session incase they saw it.

Hi all! Thanks for sharing your stories and views! It is so helpful to know that someone else has the same thing! I used to do this too. I'm not sure what caused it...it went away on its own. But I think there are two possibilities (this is me guessing from my own experience, but maybe it can help!): First, I noticed that I only did that when I was feeling very 'encroached on' - like I didn't have my own time and space to do things my own way. I think the focus gets 'turned inward', and one ends up focusing really hard on little details like bumps on the skin or tongue and kinda getting obsessed with it. So think about whether you are feeling like you don't have your own space and time, and if that sounds right, then try and take steps to claim your own space and time.
Second: Feeling like you want to eat scabs, nails and skin could very straightforwardly be a lack of sulphur in the diet (the keratin protiens that make skin and nails have a lot of sulphur in). So try adding eggs, meat and onions to the diet. A lack of salt in the diet is also a possibility.
Hope this helps! Blessings
Katheryn

I do it too. I constantly pull my taste buds off with my teeth and eat them. I like the pain and the taste of blood and the 'warm juice' that always spews from underneath my tongue when I harm my mouth. I also eat my skin too. The skin around my nails I always pull off with my teeth and eat. What is causing me to do this?

Omg me too I’m only 16 but like when I’m nervous, bored, or especially when I can’t sleep I bite my taste buds off one at a time. It hurts but yeah I do it too, even when my brain is like NO like I can’t stop, but you shouldn’t worry about biting off too much, while tongues do not reform like lizard tails mike has proven to take a good cat’s paw’s size or so out of it and it’s fine

I've done this my entire life and I've literally NEVER heard of another person doing it. It always starts with a lie bump, but once I pick pick it off, I just keep going. The picking causes the surrounding taste buds to swell up, which just feels like more lie bumps, and before I know it I've picked almost every taste bud off the tip of my tongue. I don't like pain, I don't like the taste of blood, and I don't care about my tongue being smooth.. idk what it is honestly, but once I get started, it's almost impossible to stop. I actually was diagnosed with OCD, though, so that probably has something to do with it. It explains why I can't stop once I start, if nothing else. It's honestly embarrassing and I wish I didn't do it, but once I get that first lie bump, I can't help but to pick and pick until my tongue bleeds. I've even been known to take a pair of (clean) nail clippers to my tongue. I bet a lot of people do this, it's just that no one talks about it cuz it's such a weird habit. I wouldn't be surprised if this was actually a diagnosable mental disorder that hasn't been recognized yet. I've looked this up before, but I couldn't find anything about it online. Literally not ONE mention of it anywhere, so I was really surprised to come across this link today. Thanks for posting. Now I know I'm not the only weirdo who does this. lol

I am 61 years old and have done this since I was a kid. It's funny to find that other people do it too. I agree with Katheryn's assessment above - when I feel that I'm not getting enough Me Time is when I do it more.

I am a 32yo man and I've been doing this since I was in middle school. I'm actually doing it now, tongue bleeding and all.

I hope I’m not too late on this but as of rn it’s almost 1am and I’ve been doing it since abt 7pm, today. I’ve been doing it since like 9th grade bitiNn my taste buddy’s off Nd like you said, once I start I cannot stop. I’ve never used peroxide but I love the burning sensation so If you guys love it too, I recommend brushing your teeth with anything mint, then rinsiNn with Listerine. [I started doing brushing aggressively a few years bavk when I would go lay down Nd was doing it tryiNn to fall asleep but just couldn’t.] I’d go deeper Nd deeper until one day I hit a vein Nd it wouldn’t stop bleediNng. . I let it heal for like 2-3 days Nd the taste buds healing were only half way ‘on’ I guess Nd that’s the best for me.. except the part my jaw cramps. I’ve went a few months now without doing it but it started up again a few nights ago Nd tonight is never ending. I’ve smoked brushed my teeth a good 2-3x in the last hr (bc that normally causes me to stop) but I really don’t know if I should go to the dr or not .. I don’t want to b looked at for sum I’m sure NOONES ever really heard.. it’s not sum I feel like I’d b comfortable enuff to talk abt it if there’s no certainty or even a diagnosis...

I hope I’m not too late on this but as of rn it’s almost 1am and I’ve been doing it since abt 7pm, today. I’ve been doing it since like 9th grade bitiNn my taste buddy’s off Nd like you said, once I start I cannot stop. I’ve never used peroxide but I love the burning sensation so If you guys love it too, I recommend brushing your teeth with anything mint, then rinsiNn with Listerine. [I started doing brushing aggressively a few years bavk when I would go lay down Nd was doing it tryiNn to fall asleep but just couldn’t.] I’d go deeper Nd deeper until one day I hit a vein Nd it wouldn’t stop bleediNng. . I let it heal for like 2-3 days Nd the taste buds healing were only half way ‘on’ I guess Nd that’s the best for me.. except the part my jaw cramps. I’ve went a few months now without doing it but it started up again a few nights ago Nd tonight is never ending. I’ve smoked brushed my teeth a good 2-3x in the last hr (bc that normally causes me to stop) but I really don’t know if I should go to the dr or not .. I don’t want to b looked at for sum I’m sure NOONES ever really heard.. it’s not sum I feel like I’d b comfortable enuff to talk abt it if there’s no certainty or even a diagnosis...

I don't care that I'm late lol. I'm doing it now and I can't seem to stop, been this way since a piece of floss got stuck on an extra large taste bud in middle school. Haven't stopped since... I kinda would like to but I sort like the pain like everyone else seems to. I agree with what's been said before about being encroached on, I'm finding myself in less and less control in my life and it's effecting me... I kinda hope there's a cure for this..good luck everyone else!

I have been compulsively picking and biting the tip and the sides of my tongue since about middle school. I pull skin and bite the insides of my lips too. No other picking or biting.. I am well into my fifties now. I pick and bite my tongue more now than I ever have. It seems like I pick the most absentmindedly, like when I'm driving or not thinking about anything in particular. I regularly use a pair of clean toenail clippers and a needle as part of my pick kit. I have literally pick small chunks of flesh from the tip and sides of my tongue. It's painful, but in a good way. I can spend hours over the bathroom sink spitting up blood and rinsing my mouth only to continue picking until my tongue feels just right, then I can stop. I know this is not normal. On a dental visit, the dentist asked me if I had burned my tongue. I told him that I actually habitually bite it. He very plainly told me to stop . Yeah right. If it were that easy I would have stopped years ago. I don't know why I do this. I have been diagnosed with generalised anxiety and I have been known to compulsively eat and compulsively spend so there's that. I don't know why I do this. My doctor gave me medicine to help the compulsion to buy my tongue. The medicine actually worked, however it made me so sleepy, I couldn't take it and work effectively. I am hoping for relief from this terrible habit. It is good to know there are others out there let the same problem because I don't know one other person on the planet who does this.

No, you are not alone. I do this as well and have ever since I was a little girl. I honestly have yet to figure out why it even started. Maybe it's just I cannot remember. I was wondering if anyone knew what could happen if I pull off my taste buds and smoke cigarettes?? I have recently stopped but have pulled off my taste buds and smoke for like 10 years.. I have tried to Google it but don't really get any good answers. Anyone have an idea?

Hi I’m 13, and I some times bite my tastebuds off. I don’t normally do it, it’s just that if I accidentally bite my tongue and then it bothers me and I would want to bite the injured tastebuds off but I accidentally bite the wrong one and then I would not stop. I thought that I was the only one who did this and I’m crazy but I’m not which is a good/bad thing. I want to stop biting and I try my best but I can’t . HELP ME

Omg! I have done this since middle school! (I just turned 50). I also took the tweezers and finger nail clipper and picked it so badly. But I still didn’t stop. I have asked dentists for help, and they tell me to just stop doing it. Lol. I have tried hypnosis and therapy. That didn’t help. I got a really bad infection in my mouth and it swelled up so bad. I was unable to eat for a couple days. It was terrible... but I still do it. Do you know what I have found that helps me? Getting acrylic nails put on! It is so frustrating at first because I am unable to pick anything. The nails are too thick and I just cannot do it. But, it makes me stop. I recently got them off and I was good for about a month. Yesterday I did so much damage to my tongue, so... I guess it is time for nails again! I had never heard of anyone else doing this. It’s nice to know I am not alone.

Hi I'm 37 and yes I bite my taste buds. I worry I will lose my taste. Does that worry you ever? And yes I like it typically smooth, anotherwords, if some abrasion happens to one of my taste buds I must bite it off. I have different forms of sexual abuse in my history, probably more Appropriate to tell a health professional.

I’ve done this for years along with many other skin picking habits. The tongue one is one of the ones `i do more when I want to feel pain as I bite it until I tear off a chunk of taste buds and leave a sore. I then have an ulcer/sore on my tongue for a few days which I then spend all the time rubbing against my teeth. The sensation it causes is a combination of pain and something else which seems to make the urge to feel it even stronger. I sometimes also get strong flavoured food like spicy crisps and hold it against the wound which creates an even stronger sensation. When I bite my tongue like this it often leads to a bad lip picking session too. I made the mistake of buying a in-ear camera cleaner. It looks like a thin pen with a light and camera on the end. You get little rubber spoons which fit to the end and you clean your ear with it while watching the camera image on your mobile device. It’s great for cleaning ears but I’ve realised it’s quite an enabler tool when it comes to my skin picking. I used it to look at one of my tongue wounds once and I saw my taste buds magnified so much they looked like a forest of little skin coloured trees on my tongue, this just made me want to bite off even more. I’ve never seen these habits as being part of the same thing until I discovered ‘skin picking disorder”. Now I am seeing other people doing the same things I do I;m realising how damaging these habits are to my body whilst not knowing why I do them.

Does anyone else enjoy the pain-type sensation after they have caused the wound? Is this a type of self-harm?