Compulsive Sniffing

[Fino]

I can't stop sniffing! Sometimes it happens without conscious awareness and sometimes I get a strong urge to do it and can only not do it if I focus, then as soon as I'm unfocused, it just happens. When I google it, the only thing that comes up is OCD and Tourette's. Do I have Tourette's?

 

[Misery]

I seriously thought the title was "competitive sniffing" and I gotta say, I came into this confused.

Well, okay, I'm still a bit confused.

 

[SusanLR]

Maybe you have a chronically stuffy nose?
It would be hard not to sniff if you do.

 

[Raggamuffin]

Could be a stim. Wouldn't go worrying about tourettes if you're sniffing repeatedly.

Tourtettes is part of the neurodiverse disorders anyway, so there's always a degree of overlap.

Ed

 

[WhitewaterWoman]

Are you sniffing just in general, or does your sniffing have a specific purpose?

I knew an autistic person who had to sniff all around me (face, hair, shoulder, clothing.) He did this to everyone. It was his way of getting to know people.

 

[AprilR]

I also sniff compulsively. I do have ocd and chronic sinusitis though.

 

[Judge]

More so in my own case when I was a child. I suppose I just grew out of it, though my sense of smell remains acute!

Which remains as both an asset as well as a liability.

 

[Fino]

Are you sniffing just in general, or does your sniffing have a specific purpose?

I knew an autistic person who had to sniff all around me (face, hair, shoulder, clothing.) He did this to everyone. It was his way of getting to know people.

Just in general. It serves no apparent purpose.

 

[Aspychata]

I smell things when l watch cooking shows sometimes. I am sensitive to smells, and l hate when men over spray cologne. But smells bother me less. Maybe take a smell you like and put it under your nose.

 

[Gracey]

My mother-in-law does this. For her it's a nervous thing. Just something she does when she's required to interact in the unfamiliar or uncomfortable.


She is no longer aware she's even doing it.

Some have a nervous laugh, throat clearing cough, twitch or facial expression,
she sniffs.

 

[Bolletje]

I sniffed compulsively when I was addicted to cocaine

 

[Fino]

My mother-in-law does this. For her it's a nervous thing. Just something she does when she's required to interact in the unfamiliar or uncomfortable.


She is no longer aware she's even doing it.

Some have a nervous laugh, throat clearing cough, twitch or facial expression,
she sniffs.

I think that's basically what's going on. Thank you for the input!

 

[Fino]

I sniffed compulsively when I was addicted to cocaine

I can't tell if you're joking, but I think more Adderall = more sniffing.

 

[Bolletje]

I can't tell if you're joking, but I think more Adderall = more sniffing.

Yeah, it was a joke.