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.