Anonymous wrote:I'm 42. For my whole life, I've bitten my nails down as far as they will go without hurting, and sometimes past that (it goes away in a day or so).

Wait did I write this? I'm 42 always bit my nails and still do. I have to get them manicured and painted regularly nail polish is the only thing that will stop me from biting them. Sucked when I was too poor to afford a regular manicure or when our budget got squeezed when I started being a SAHM.

I stopped biting my nails in college. I was happier there than I ever had been in grade school or high school, so I'm sure it was anxiety resolving itself. I pick my cuticles when I'm anxious now, which is much less than it used to be. I try to prevent it by getting manicures. I have mixed results with this.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Bit my fingernails as a kid, now I pick at my skin. The thing is though, I'm super happy. It's just like this mild anxiety in the background that I don't even notice.

+1
I switched to skin picking in high school and it's completely tied to my anxiety level. I do sometimes still bite my hangnails. I feel ok though and reasonably well adjusted.

+2. I sometimes think about trying to give it up but I probably won't.

I chewed my sleeves and ate paper for about a year in grade school, and bit my nails until age 30. I stopped with the nails when it caused an unrelated tooth injury to reoccur; I just decided to stop and it hasn't been a problem since. I've never smoked but I do love to eat and can have trouble maintaining a healthy weight; I chew a lot of gum to keep from eating at my desk.

I was bullied in grade school, which in hindsight may have caused the chewing. I have anxiety and perhaps mild OCD but am not in treatment (have been to talk therapy in the past) or on meds, and am doing fine. The OCD was much, much worse in my childhood -- I used to think that everyone but me could read minds, used to check in the closet and under the bed at night well into my 20s -- but I just kind of outgrew it in my 20s/30s. The anxiety has a hormonal link and shows up a certain times of the month, and is worse after having a child. Both my parents almost certainly have anxiety (undiagnosed) as does my sibling (formal diagnosis). When my toddler was about one I thought she had some sensory issues, especially related to her feet; they seem to have faded but we'll see as she grows.

I am very successful at work, and was a very successful student. I did do a lot of extracurricular activities but don't see how that's related. Now married, one kid, normal suburban life, normal friendships: not defined by my anxiety. And not a molester.

I sucked my thumb until I was 7. Gnawed on my nails constantly until college and chewed pen caps into splinters. Also loved to chew ice. All pretty much stopped by mid-20s. (Though to this day if I break a nail I will happily attack it and chew it down to a nub. Then I forget about it and it grows back.) I never smoked though.

I had a happy, secure childhood and wasn't particularly anxious. However, the family lore is that I started sucking my thumb when my brother was born, when I was 16 months old, so maybe it was borne of insecurity/unhappiness. Regardless, I was a pretty happy kid with good self-esteem, and I'd say that's true in adulthood, too.

I've never heard that there was any association between nail biting and molesting, wtf?

I was a thumb sucker - outgrew it.
Smoked for over a decade - quit.
Nail biting/skin picking (at zits, not just skin in general) - committed for life, refuse to try to quit.
I also chew on random tiny things.

I am a functional, happy person.

Anonymous wrote:Bit my fingernails as a kid, now I pick at my skin. The thing is though, I'm super happy. It's just like this mild anxiety in the background that I don't even notice.

+1
I switched to skin picking in high school and it's completely tied to my anxiety level. I do sometimes still bite my hangnails. I feel ok though and reasonably well adjusted.

I'm 42. For my whole life, I've bitten my nails down as far as they will go without hurting, and sometimes past that (it goes away in a day or so).

Bit my fingernails as a kid, now I pick at my skin. The thing is though, I'm super happy. It's just like this mild anxiety in the background that I don't even notice.

I used to fold my ear. Outgrew it.

I outgrew mine around 30. Just wanted to get my life together.

I sucked my thumb for a long time, and bit nails through young adulthood, then smoked. Outgrew it all. I'm 37.

I outgrew nail biting by my mid-20s. I don't think anything in particular made me stop, but it did coincide with a maturation evident in other facets of my life. Becoming a responsible employee, cutting out toxic relationship bs, stuff like that. So, I guess it was brain development?? I also outgrew serious messiness/borderline hoarding that reached its peak during the teen years, which drove my poor mother insane.

Oh, and my childhood was about as idyllic and low-stress as you could imagine and I was still an anxious, stressed-out kid. I do t have any experience with the touching thing. Is he touching other kids? Does their reaction upset him?

Did you outgrow it? How long did you have it? What made you give it up? Did you many extracurricular activities contribute to why you had this disorder?

My child has touching and oral sensory issues even with OT not much help. I hope he doesn't turn into a molester. I know that sounds awful but it's like he can't stop. 7 1/2 years old