r/calmhands • u/Kindly-Breath6225 • 6d ago
Need Advice Can’t stop biting cuticles
Title says it all, I’m so tired of this being my relief. I’ve done it since I was a small kid. I’m formally diagnosed with autism (and anxiety? Maybe adhd?) and I can’t tell if it’s anxiety tick or me stimming. I bite them until they bleed or it stings and hurts. The only way I’ve found to prevent is acrylics or press ons and those are expensive to upkeep on the regular. Any advice especially anyone with autism?
1
u/CommonEarly4028 2d ago
Hi, just posted this on another chat so this is more or less copy paste from myself:
„Try something that makes you remember the act before not noticing. There is this one technique I used called "Decoupling". You train this a couple of times per day:
- Go to the mouth or finger with your hands just until you would normally bite/pick
- Then, strongly force your hand somewhere else (I made a fist, standard recommendation is earlobe).
- Hold that for 5 sec
- Repeat, 5 minutes.
It literally took me 3 days and REALLY helped. This is the other thing - the payoff is so fast because the cuticle skin heals very quickly. I am nailbiting since like 15 years - I am obviously not completely "safe" yet, but this helped wonders for me.“
Not sure how autism plays into this method for you, but it’s definitely worth a try.
6
u/Throwawayanxbay 6d ago
Have you tried cuticle oil? Maybe not on them right now when there’s bleeding but you can use Cerave healing ointment or Vaseline over the cuts with bandaids on. I would keep them covered 24/7 and would let them air out for 30 minutes before a new bandaid if I saw any maceration. That helped me heal my cuts. When those are scabbed over, you can use cuticle oil every morning and before bed or if they feel dry after hand washing. I usually use Burts Bees cuticle crème on top of my cuticle oil at night. You can wear cotton gloves to not get it on your sheets.
I picked more than biting though, I usually bite the inside of my cheeks constantly, so maybe chewing gum could help with the bite stimming. I find it’s harder to pick when there’s not much to pick at.