[northernsky]

I was just thinking about the nervous habits that I have that are actually really self-destructive.

Whenever I get stressed, worried or exhausted, I always end up engaging in really negative behaviours. With me it's biting my nails mainly. That's what brought this to my attention. Last night I have bitten and picked at them so much that today it's unbearably painful, yet at the time I couldn't feel a thing and just kept doing it. I also get eczema at times of stress, and I tend towards overeating. All these things are so unhealthy for me and I get really embarrassed about them because they're really obvious to everyone round you and people can tell how you're feeling from how you look. I almost don't even want to share them here now I've typed this out :sad:

Does anyone else have any nervous habits like this or any hints on how to stop these negative behaviours?

 

[pajamiez]

Please don't worry about something like this, do only what feels natural to you. These habits are not even as bad as people make it seem, at all.

They also can be changed easily if you want to. Overeating, maybe try healthier foods (this can help by filling you nutrition-wise) and also to adjust the amount of times you eat per day along with the amount and experiment until you find one that makes you feel best. Nail-biting, maybe this could be stopped by developing more concern for your nails. I don't know, maybe if you painted them according to something that means to you.

 

[rainingthroughmyhead]

i have the habit of hitchhiking... reckless and irresponsible, i know... but that's why i do it... when i need to escape...

 

[Calvaire]

I bite the insides of my cheek and my lip.
it's pretty bad actually I've made my lip bleed before : (

 

[ponyjoyride]

Well, I got the same problem with over-eating or then I might do the opposite and not eat at all. I was in a really stressful relationship a year ago and my friends started noticing my weight loss and asking if everything was allright. And during this summer I've been very stressed because I've been traveling a lot with other people and I haven't had my own time to relax and reflect and I've put on so much weight that I just hate myself. I can't wait that this summer ends and I can go back to my normal life. So everytime I'm stressed it can be seen from my changing waistline.

 

[Nasmoe]

I guess mine would be drinking a lot of soda. I've gotten sick from drinking too much soda a few times.

 

[Blackbeard]

Chain smoking, worst habit of all. I win.

j/k

 

[Cyberbear]

stress = pot

 

[rowingineden]

I tend to pick my scabs (gross, I know), which is probably a lasting symptom of my inclinations towards self-harm. Uh, I have engaged in self-harm in the past, though I haven't done that for a while. Hmm... oh, also, I may sometimes take pills in not their prescribed ways to make it through a moment now and then (though I do always engage in moderation). So, yeah.

 

[OSKARR]

I've picked at scabs since I was a kid, and i guess I have a propensity towards "self harm" as well.

Right.

 

[Box]

I used to yank out my hair when I was nervous or stressed, but I somehow managed to curb that. Now I scratch at the back of my neck, which ends up bleeding on occasion.

 

[GrannyWeatherwax]

I bite my nails, the skin on my fingers, my tongue, lips and inside of my cheeks until I bleed.
I sometimes put needles under the thick skin inside my hands and rip them open.
I pick on my skabs over and over, sometimes until they become deep scars.
I used to self-harm by cutting myself with razors (sometimes i needed stitches afterwards) and burn myself with hot metal-things (it's been a year since I've done that).
Sometimes I take too much of my medication.
Sometimes I overeat, and sometimes I eat almost nothing.
I suck at handling stress..:dry:

 

[GrannyWeatherwax]

Double post!

 

[ptarmigan]

I will also bite and pick at my nails. Dogs are lucky to have rawhide chews to take to town. I also very much like something to fidget with or play with while talking to people.

I have many times yowled in imitation of an angry cat in public and then pretended like nothing happened. I'm not sure if this is a response to anxiety, but I would guess that it is related. While I still sometimes feel like doing this, I've kept it in check of late.

As for how to stop, I've found that it is much easier to not bite nails that I've allowed to grow out a little. If, when I clip them, I am very careful to not leave sharp edges or angles, it is easier to keep them that way. I'll run my fingers over them or clean them instead of biting or picking. Other than that, the old-fashioned way of simply catching yourself and stopping is always in style. Count to 10 when you stop, and the desire to bite can fade, likely because relaxation of any kind is anathema to anxiety. Also, what you are thinking is just as important as what you are doing. If you're talking in your head about how you've ruined a perfectly good nail, or how you've had this habit forever, it is probably not helping.

I hate to boil it down to something so obvious and simple, but you've GOT to relax. Take a time out from what you are doing. Very few things are so important they can't wait a minimum of 10 seconds. Very little can go a long way.

 

[Gonzo Life]

I'm also a chewer of nails, fingers, 'hands in general' I don't even know I'm doing it until I notice the taste of blood :sad: & that's just for the everyday anxiousness ... when The Proper Stress hits my life, I forget to eat for days at a time. Tis very uncool. :frustrating:

But am working on improving relaxation techniques: I'm trying zen meditation atm - & luckily folk are already used to me zoning out mid-conversation. :tongue:

 

[obz900]

I probably take the cake for most self-destructing nervous behaviors. I bite my nails, chain-smoke, overeat, and when very stressed or upset-drink massive amounts of alcohol. In high school I even cut myself a few times. Not pleasant at all.

 

[Stolen]

Obsessive skin-picker here...my poor arms are scarred all to hell.

My first reaction to either too much stimulation (stress) or too little stimulation (boredom) = pick. Even when there's nothing there to pick, I just pick at a plain spot of skin until it bleeds. Or a completely healed scar, until it bleeds freshly.

Never been a cutter or anything....this is just a bad, bad habit I can't seem to stop.

 

[JerseyDevil]

I bite my lips a lot. I have bad allergies and asthma so my lips always seem dry no matter how much blistex or other stuff I use. The dry skin drives me crazy and I have to bite it off no matter how raw my lips get or if they bleed. I don't do it to purposely hurt myself though.

I will pick at scabs sometimes too, and pop any kind of zit or boil or anything like that. Overeating is another issue, though lately this has not really been stress-related and more munchies-related :wink:

 

[scarygirl]

I was just thinking about the nervous habits that I have that are actually really self-destructive.

Whenever I get stressed, worried or exhausted, I always end up engaging in really negative behaviours. With me it's biting my nails mainly. That's what brought this to my attention. Last night I have bitten and picked at them so much that today it's unbearably painful, yet at the time I couldn't feel a thing and just kept doing it. I also get eczema at times of stress, and I tend towards overeating. All these things are so unhealthy for me and I get really embarrassed about them because they're really obvious to everyone round you and people can tell how you're feeling from how you look. I almost don't even want to share them here now I've typed this out :sad:

Does anyone else have any nervous habits like this or any hints on how to stop these negative behaviours?

Oh, you're speaking to a cutter and self-harming person.
You are telling nothing new to me.
When I'm very angry or stressed by anything, or even my OCD is fucking with me, I become very self-destructive, even with others.
Well, that's because I hate my parents and they never get along with me (well, we don't) and a great part of my super-destructive behaviours come when I fight them. I break all their gifts, I cut my arms very hard (once I did it very hard), and I throw all I have through the window.
You are going to think I'm crazy and laugh, but at least...I know you would.
And I touch my hair much. Don't know if that means being nervous. But I do.
If there is a type that easily gets stressed emotionally, I think that's INFPs. But our overemotivity is our strength, maybe.

 

[northernsky]

Why would you think we would laugh? It's awful isn't it when you have to express your emotions in this way. But I think INFPs do feel our emotions intensely but find it incredibly hard to express them to other people, which is probably why they come out like this instead. At least this board is a good place for sharing feelings and letting things out in a more positive way.