So, how do people deal with oral fixation things? I am constantly putting things in my mouth and chewing on them or wiggling them around or whatever: pens, straws, pins, paperclips, etc. They're especially tempting for me if they're metal. If I don't have a separate object, I'll start chewing on my nails and the skin around my nails, which is unwanted for obvious reasons. What's worse is that most of the time I don't even realize I'm doing it. Heck, I've even found smoking attractive, just for the excuse of the motion of putting something up to my mouth and then taking it away again. I hate smoking, I have asthma...and yet the temptation is there. Gum doesn't really help, either; I just end up playing with it, which is gross. So, yeah. Does anyone else have this problem? How do you deal with it without, like, accidentally finding yourself chewing on a pin? (I dunno whether this belongs here or not, let me know if this is in the wrong place.)
i guess my first question is, why is this a problem? is it that you don't want random objects around you getting gnawed, or that you don't want to get sick putting something weird in your mouth, or that you think you look stupid and want not to, or that the motion annoys people around you? because the why will help aim how to proceed.
@EulersBidentity Oooh, that looks shiny. That's definitely something to consider - every time I look it up I just get a bunch of Freudian nonsense or things meant for toddlers. @Astrodynamicist I just want to stop putting potentially dangerous or messy things in my mouth (like sewing pins or cheap pens), probably by replacing it with something else? I have been recently considering just getting like sugarless lollipops or something. I was just wondering if there are alternatives.
It'd be good to minimise the amount of time you spend chewing on metal. It's not great for your teeth.
Chewing stim toys are brilliant, make sure you get a really tough one if you're a biter like me. I personally recommend the chewable annular pendant by stimtastic.
Do NOT go with sugarless lollipops. They typically have sugar alcohols instead, and if you've read about the infamous bag of sugar-free gummi bears, you'll understand why that's a terrible idea.
Sugar alcohols apparently have a pretty strong laxative effect. (The reviews page for that infamous bag of gummi bears.)
stimtastic.co has a lot of different kinds of chewables! I got the infinity necklace, but it was too thick for what I wanted which is like the feeling of chewing plastic. I'm gonna try the trapezoid though and see how that works.
