Lip biting is a habit that we may engage in, and not even be aware that we are doing it. It is one of those things, like nail biting, that you can do almost unconsciously – and because you might not know you are doing it, it can be very hard to stop.
What may start as an occasional thing can become a daily, hourly or even minutely habit; and before you know it, it has taken over your life.
Lip biting carries a few dangers with it, as well as the fact that it can make your lips unsightly, so it’s best to try to nip this habit in the bud before it becomes a fully fledged problem – or, if it already is one, then learn ways to stop yourself from doing it.
We are here to help! Read on to learn more on how to stop biting your lips.
Why do we bite our lips?
Some people can accidentally bite their lips when chewing or talking, due to the placement of teeth in the mouth. This is startling and painful – but it is usually a one off, and usually features the cheeks or the inside of the lips.
Lip biting on a more regular basis, the kind that becomes a regular habit, is generally caused by feelings of stress, anxiety or fear.
People can resort to lip biting as a response to the stressful situations in life, or to help them deal with a certain situation – repetitive behaviours can bring some people comfort when dealing with difficulties.
These habits are destructive however, and should be dealt with before they become dangerous to the health of both mind and body.
Dangers of lip biting
Biting your lips can result in them becoming sore and red, and can progress to swelling, inflammation and even painful sores on the lips. If untreated, these sores can become infected and lead to serious health difficulties.
Lip biting and damage to the lips can also have damaging effects on self esteem, as people may feel that their damaged lips makes them look less attractive, which in turn can lead to mental health issues.
How to stop biting your lips
Because there are so many different reasons why people bite their lips, there is no one size fits all treatment.
If your lip biting is caused by a physical issue, such as overcrowding of teeth, then your dentist will be able to help you out.
If lip biting is a psychological issue, treatment can be slightly harder – but it is definitely possible to learn how to stop biting your lips.
A. Habit Reversal Training
This is a type of Cognitive Behavioural Therapy that can really help with compulsive lip biting. You will learn how to become aware of when you are biting, so you can control it better; how to find alternatives to gain comfort while avoiding biting your lips; and you will experience support and professional help.
This, especially, is very important for people overcoming anxious habits.
B. Cognitive Behavioural Therapy
This is a trusted form of treatment for compulsive, anxiety based behaviours. It will help you identify the cause and the reasons behind your lip biting, and help you find other coping mechanisms for it. You will also learn how to better control your thoughts and actions in the future.
C. Mindfulness
This is a blanket term which covers a lot of relaxation techniques that can help improve your life overall, as well as finding reasons for compulsive behaviour.
D. Meditation
Many damaging habits come from stress, so removing that stress – or at least coming up with ways of mitigating it – can help enormously. Meditation is calming, relaxing and very good for the health of both body and mind, and it can really help you overcome your stress-based behaviours.
E. General lip health
If you are someone who bites their lips a lot, you will be stripping the moisture away from your lips and making them feel dry. This will encourage you to lick or bite them more, so that they feel moisturised – this is a vicious cycle, as this then damages the lips even further. Using a good lip balm will help this issue.
- Read also: How To Treat Sunburned Lips {Tips & Tricks}
Final words
How to stop lip biting is not usually a quick fix with an easy solution – first you need to figure out the reasons why you bite your lips, then deal with those reasons. They may be related to your mental state, or to a health condition.
Whatever the reason that you excessively bite your lips, it is well worth looking into how to stop biting them, for both your physical and mental well being.
