Bad habits

And pick my lips

Firstly, talk to your therapist if you have one for a more detailed plan and strategy tailored to your specific personal needs and situation. In short, you've identified that it is harder to stop when you are stressed, but it is not impossible. The next time you are stressed or intrusive thoughts are heavy, resist the urge to bite your gums for just one minute. Then notice that if you can go one minute, you can go two. Small steps lead to big gains over time! I cannot stress the importance enough the value of doing Habit Reversal Training with a therapist who is trained in the approach, which includes every therapist at NOCD.

Same

I used to profusely bite/pull at my nails, cuticles, and cheeks inside my mouth until I would bleed all over the place. It was painful and horrible. One thing that really helped me was finding a way to prevent the action. My therapist told me to paint my nails, and although that partially worked (because I couldn’t bite my nails), I could still destroy anything I put my nails into (literally). She then suggested I start doing dip polish on my nails which made them indestructible and bulky so I couldn’t pick ANYTHING orrrr bite them at all. I don’t recognize my hands anymore, and even when I don’t have my nails done, I bite and pick a looooooooot less. It’s almost never now! I also wore some mouth appliances when I was/am alone to control biting. You can’t tear things with Invisalign or bulky things in your mouth! The physical prevention paired with mental work is awesome. Don’t know if something like that would help! Good luck, I’m so sorry you’re going through it right now!