Stimming with your mouth

[Kalinychta]

I’m curious if anyone here stims with his/her mouth, and if so, how? Do you have ways of doing it discreetly? Do you have any “stim toys” that are safe i.e. that won’t cause you to choke?

I’ve been talking about my nephew a lot lately, and I believe I discovered that he stims with his mouth (chewing and sucking on different objects), so I’m looking into what I can do to make sure he can comfortably and safely stim.

 

[SusanLR]

It always came naturally what I would call stimming with my mouth.
I tend to chew my lower lip, kind of pull on it with my teeth, when concentrating.
Like when involved with watching a movie and here writing.

Another thing is lip movement involving a bit of licking my lip.
My Dad had the habit of holding the end of his tongue in the corner of his mouth
when he was concentrating on something.
I don't think he realized he was doing it.

I know a performer that licked his lower lip or pressed his lips together when he
was on stage.

This was noticed by a dermatologist once and he told me to use chapstick
frequently because it actually takes away the natural oils in the lips when you
lick them with the end of your tongue.
So... I guess if you find that to be a natural stim, use a lot of chapstick!

 

[Richelle-H]

Long, long ago, in the time I was known as weird and/or strange I learned conscious control of every muscle in my face and neck. On reflection, it was most likely an unconscious form of stimming but in the end it left me with a massive amount of willful, conscious, tics that I drew upon whenever I felt the need, from being able to almost flap my ears like Dumbo to twitching my cheek muscles independently without squinting or closing my eyes..

On the plus side of that, it is probably a contributing factor why I have few noticeable wrinkles and why I still get much disbelief from people when they learn I am 76.

I never considered it something to hide until I received a few strange comments and the odd thing was that I wound up adding bouncing my knees (left or right/independently or together) which was far more noticeable when I was anxious or stressed. I have learned through experience to keep in in check when I am with others (unless of course I do it surreptitiously, my shoulder length hair cover my ear flapping quite nicely, don't you know ).

 

[Thinx]

Obvious example, but I sucked my thumb as a child to a late age probably 11 or so. I had calluses both sides on it from doing that. I didn't do it in junior school or anywhere I might get embarrassed by someone. Probably while reading or resting watching TV or going to sleep. Parents commented but I didn't consciously stop, tho was probably influenced by conventions. I also ate sweets, another obvious one. And have very poor teeth! Avoid sugary sweets! Chewing gum?

Another one was nail biting, way into adulthood, probably only relatively recent that I rarely do so. And smoking, as a young person. And drinking wine to slight excess. And snacking still. But with care, fruit etc more than fatty or sugary stuff.

 

[Neonatal RRT]

All I can say is: Billions of packages of chewing gum have been sold over the years. There really isn't any other reason to chew gum except that, for some, it's a calming maneuver. Sure, gum comes in different favors, and I have used it after a meal to reduce breath odor,...but those that routinely chew gum are basically "stimming".

Some "oral fixations" are also a way of stimming,...some eat, some smoke, some drink,...basically, they need something in their mouth. Of course, eating, smoking, drinking,...also stimulate dopamine and serotonin.

 

[Aspychata]

Chewing gum is defintely huge for me. I did this in my jobs because l was stressed and it calmed me down. Biting my lips and removing small amounts of ick. Biting insides of cheeks. Snacking on crunchy things is extremely soothing to me. I use to bite pencils, but that has stopped. I do like like to lightly nibble on pens, because l like the smooth texture of pens. My daughter didn't want to give up her pacifier which l think was stimming. Which as a mom, l let her have until age 4 because l must have instinctively knew she needed it. We finally attached it to a balloon and gave it a farewell party.
I use to put my hair in or around my lips. I use to chew my cuticles, bite my nails, or take anything that has a cord on my tops and put that in my mouth. I have a complete itinerary of mouth stims. But gum is the easiest. When one of my bosses asked if l was chewing gum, l smiled and said oh no. He let me slide, he was on the spectrum too.

 

[Alaric593]

I’m curious if anyone here stims with his/her mouth, and if so, how? Do you have ways of doing it discreetly? Do you have any “stim toys” that are safe i.e. that won’t cause you to choke?

I’ve been talking about my nephew a lot lately, and I believe I discovered that he stims with his mouth (chewing and sucking on different objects), so I’m looking into what I can do to make sure he can comfortably and safely stim.

I sometimes chew on the inside of my cheeks.

 

[calicoandgreen]

I’m curious if anyone here stims with his/her mouth, and if so, how? Do you have ways of doing it discreetly? Do you have any “stim toys” that are safe i.e. that won’t cause you to choke?

I’ve been talking about my nephew a lot lately, and I believe I discovered that he stims with his mouth (chewing and sucking on different objects), so I’m looking into what I can do to make sure he can comfortably and safely stim.

I stim with my mouth a lot, so do my partner and daughter. Personally I love chewing on things with particular textures like the skin of my lips or around my fingernails, the inside of my cheeks, the tip and sides of my tongue. I also clench my teeth 24/7 which sometimes ends up in pretty weird/funny faces. This is breaking my teeth though but I can't seem to learn to stop doing it. I've also picked up an unhealthy habit of feeling a massive urge to chew on food with particular consistencies and tastes whenever I get very overwhelmed with emotions after losing one of my beloved feline daughters almost 3 years ago and going into a very deep depression. I'm trying my best to stop doing that because it made me gain weight and I am not happy with that. But some food textures are just so soothing. That and the sound some food makes when I chew on it, like potato chips. I also love kissing soft things like my cats fur and my daughter's hair and cheeks. Or just rubbing different things on my lips.
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My partner does teeth clenching a lot too, as well as sucking his tongue and cheeks.
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My daughter is the queen of mouth stimming in our home though. She's always biting or chewing on things (same ones as me mostly). She removes skin from her lips with her fingers then eats said skin. She makes A LOT of sounds with her mouth and tongue all the time. She clenches her teeth too.
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I'd say overall the teeth clenching is the most discreet but I'd never recommend that to anyone because of the pain and teeth damages it causes. I don't personally use or like gum but I think it's a pretty safe and discreet way to stim.

 

[PastelPetals]

I run my fingers over my lips and chew and suck on my lips a lot too. I have found it better than destroying all of my fingers by biting them.

 

[Slime_Punk]

I'm pretty much the worst. I bite my nails, chew my actual fingers, sing in falsetto and beatbox. Since they're all kind of embarrassing to do in public or around strangers, I've usually got a hard mask on that's like constantly alerting me not to do those things, so that's a good recipe for social anxiety.

If you come up with anything, I'd also love to know. And watch this thread