Unconventional self harm due to health anxiety

[jalapeno1234]

For many a year I used to bite my nails, probably from the age of ten when I'd feel on edge. My mum believes it to be cos my best friend at the time did it as a stress reliever and so she always held a grudge over the friend (which I think is unfair). I'm 26 now and dip in and out of SEVERE health anxiety, particularly gastrological anxiety due to emetophobia and bad IBS in the last few years. I had a pretty nasty time this year from May-now where I got a terrible TERRIBLE flare up due to a skin medication and was basically floored for weeks on end. I believe its getting better, I am now having more or less normal stools due to an ammendment in my diet but Im still on edge most of the time as my stomach plays some horrible games. Thankfully during this period my emetophobia has been zero as I havent felt sick or had any upper stomach issues, just lower.

What I HAVE noticed though is that my nails/surrounding areas are HORRIFIC. When I was going through these IBS cramps (if it IS IBS...i had numerous tests done and in true fashion the docs put it down to this vague hell) I would chew, bite, even sometimes gnaw for hours on my skin....this is ironically how I got the infection which I had to take the medication which destroyed my gut (talk about deluded). I still do this gross habit as it brings me an unconventional sense of "relief". I never used to understand people who self harmed but my gosh, in the physical sense, it truly does help with my anxiety which flares if my stomach hurts. I have managed to eat pretty much normally all week for the first time in ages and Im still doing this compulsive chewing cos Im scared of how my stomach will be all day. Granted, if I was nauseous, Id have no fingers left - thankfully the meds didnt affect ANY of my stomach until food gets to my colon (sorry TMI!).

Anyone else do this ?

[Dying_Swan]

Have you heard of compulsive skin picking, or dermotillomania?

[NervUs]

I was a bad nail biter for years. It started in childhood, and I think I picked it up from another child. Obviously, it helped me emotionally though b/c I continued to do it all through school and into my 40s, lol. I did it when nervous, when bored, when whatever.

Ironically, hypochondria is what made me stop. It is a long story, but I started thinking about what I might be picking up on my nails, and I stopped putting them in my mouth. They grew and, miraculously, I haven't bitten them to the quick again. They look pretty good!!!

[MyNameIsTerry]

Have you heard of compulsive skin picking, or dermotillomania?

I would say look at what Swan says. I'm a skin picker.

You can deal with it but it feel veyr compulsive. It has it's links to OCD although WHO stil regard it as an impulse disorder making it slightly different but it could also be a compulsion in OCD depending on what else might be happening in your anxiety.

It's not the same as conventional self harm to my knowledge but you can easily see how it can be compared when you consider the damage you do physically. Reducing your anxiety overall will help but it does also need a certain amount of just stopping yourself for enough time to learn not to do it or have strategies to stop doing it (e.g. occupying hands with something else).

[Chrysoprase]

I have dermatillomania (related to OCD, and being on the autism spectrum), and it always gets worse during bad anxiety spells as well as physical illness.

I recommend trying fidget toys to occupy your hands if you’re sitting still and tempted to chew. For example, I pick my skin badly while watching movies, but I use fidget toys during movies to give my hands something to do instead.

Doesn’t even have to be a specialized fidget item, even something as simple as beads on a string can do the trick.