Many people bite their lip when they have anxiety. It's extremely common and occurs not only with anxiety disorders but also with nervous flirting, nervous tension, and just a feeling of something being amiss. It's an unconscious behavior that many people are unaware of, and others struggle to control.
Psychological causes
Chronic lip biting is one example of a body-focused repetitive behavior, or BFRB. This term refers to any repetitive self-directed behavior that damages the skin, hair, or nails. BFRBs occur as a coping mechanism in situations where a person is feeling uncomfortable or anxious.
An abundance of accidental bites could be a sign of something more serious like a misaligned bite (malocclusion) or even TMJ (temporomandibular joint disorder). When teeth don't align properly, the likelihood of your cheek, lip, or tongue getting in between them increases.
to prevent yourself from showing your reaction to something by speaking or laughing: I really wanted to laugh - I had to bite my lip.
Cracked or peeling lips: Heartache, worry, dryness in the body, feeling cold. Discoloration or faded colour in the lips: Lack of proper circulation throughout the body. Hot/burning/red lips: Inflammation or too much heat within the body due to overly spicy foods, too much sugar, alcohol or caffeine.
This condition is called Body-Focused Repetitive Behavior (BFRB)—a collective term for habitual behaviour which includes hair pulling, involuntary chewing, and yes, chronic lip biting. The BFRB version of biting on one's lips can be caused by stress and anxiety, your age and environment, or your temperament.
Many people repeatedly bite their lip (or cheeks or tongue) as a way to deal with nerves or stress. It's a habit that some may find relieving, although sometimes also painful.
Cheek biting may occasionally be a harmless accident or the result of misaligned teeth, but many people experience chronic cheek biting. Chronic cheek biting is a body-focused repetitive behavior that relates to obsessive-compulsive disorder. Doctors prescribe psychotherapy to help people resolve chronic cheek biting.
Anxiety tongue often refers to the physical effects that anxiety may have on your tongue and mouth. These effects may include tingling, twitching, numbness, burning, or pain in your tongue or mouth. Treating anxiety may relieve your tongue symptoms.
Most often, lip biting, cheek chewing, and other body-focused repetitive behaviors (BFRBs) have an underlying psychological cause. Anxiety is a common cause of BFRBs, as is the physiological response to fear and stress.
Body-focused repetitive behavior disorder is characterized by body-focused repetitive behaviors (eg, nail biting, lip biting, cheek chewing) and attempts to stop the behaviors. (hair-pulling disorder) and excoriation (skin-picking) disorder.
Cheek biting, also known as morsicatio buccarum, is a chronic condition characterised by repetitively biting the inside of the mouth. Cheek biting, similar to nail biting, is a stress-related habit that stems from anxiety and obsessive compulsive disorder, and if left untreated, can lead to serious health concerns.
Your lips, for example, are thought to be connected to your Spleen. The Spleen is one of the most important organs in TCM because it's in charge of major processes like extracting Qi energy from food and then pushing it throughout our body.
It can also be a sign of misaligned teeth. However, repeated chewing inside of the mouth is a sign of anxiety. Like hair pulling and skin picking, cheek biting can be a physical manifestation of stress. In these cases, the act of biting your cheek is known as a body-focused repetitive behavior (BFRD).
If you're currently feeling anxious and overwhelmed by stress, you might experience these oral conditions: Canker sores. Dry mouth. Lichen planus (lacy white lines, red areas or mouth ulcers on the cheek, gums or tongue)
A sensory chew or chewelry is a playful tool for sensory integration, oral motor training or fidgeting. Many kids and adults need to chew to help regulate the nervous system, cope with anxiety, or manage stress.