I am an ex-smoker. Haven’t picked up a single cigarette in six years. An unfortunate side effect of quitting smoking however has manifested itself in the form of an oral fixation. I am constantly chewing on pens and pencils or straws or whatever small,cylindrical object I can get into my mouth. I do it without thinking. Yet I am horrified to realize I’m doing it. How do you beat an oral fixation? Can it be beaten? Or is this something I"ll have to live with?
IDBB who’s staring at the masses of horrendously chewed pens,pencils,straws,markers,crayons and a phone cord with bite marks on it that are suspiciously human
I wish I could chew gum I but I don’t like gum in the first place. mangeorge–yeah when CG and I were dating, we’d dated for about 6 mos before he decided either the cigarettes had to go or he would go,so I quit and I’m STILL having problems wanting to put something in my mouth. Mith–I’m glad that I’m sticking something other than a cig in my mouth but I’m worried I might ruin my teeth or there might be a chemical in something I’m c hewing that’s bad for me.
What am I gonna do?
Any doctors out there with a possible solution to this irksome problem?
Did you chew before you were a smoker? If you didn’t, then I’d say you have developed a habit of chewing as opposed to an ‘oral fixation’. Are you fulfilling a sensory need or just chewing because it’s there?
If it is a sensory need, then talk to an occupational therapist. A lot of kids with autism have a sensory need to mouth stuff and there’s chewing objects you can buy.
For what it’s worth, I quit four years ago and still crave cigarettes on a regular basis. Don’t be discouraged, but keep in mind that you’ll never be the same person you were before you first tried smoking.
Today’s Dear Abby had a girl who couldn’t stop sucking her thumb. Abby’s suggestion was to put a rubber band around her wrist and snap it every time she felt the desire to suck her thumb. Eventually, she would associate sucking her thumb with discomfort and stop doing it.
I asked this same question in a recent IMHO thread, mine’s not from smoking, just a habit I’ve had for years and years, but I got some good suggestions there.
Primaflora–I noticed that I started picking up random cylindrical objects and putting them in my mouth and chewing after I stopped smoking.I have no idea if I’m fulfilling a sensory need or just chewing because it’s there. Waah!
