Compulsions...how to stop?

[EmilyR6]

I don't perform rituals or have any common thoughts/anxieties associated with OCD. However, I regularly engage in picking and compulsive behaviors - seemingly always when I'm bored/unoccupied. There are two behaviors that I switch off between: Picking at my scalp and trying to bite the papillae off of my tongue. I know it's weird... I've looked around online, but I can't seem to find hardly anyone who shares this second behavior! I'm very confused as to why I do these things and can't remember when or why I started.
The second behavior is painful - and I recognize that it's painful - but it feels satisfying somehow. I usually engage in these behaviors when I'm not fully occupied (not quite "bored", but not quite fully engaged). For example, when I'm watching a movie/TV show, reading a book, doing homework, surfing the internet, etc. It gives me the feeling of having "something to do". I just can't sit still and concentrate on a single activity, so I unconsciously start doing these things. I'm even biting my tongue as I type this, for god's sake! Then...if a swollen taste bud/papillae forms from the initial biting (which it usually does), it irritates me so much that I have to remove it with further biting/picking/whatever it takes!
I've been doing these things for years...maybe over a decade (and I'm only 20). I can continue to do them, because they're not easily noticeable by others and have little consequence. But I really just want to stop. I can't say how many times I've tried - so many. But I just can't seem to. I might go for a week without doing anything, and then, when I'm spacing out, I'll pick up the behaviors unconsciously. It's so frustrating... =(

[B_01]

Wow I have the EXACT same thing as you do! The biting the taste bud off, the scissors, the enjoyment I got from it.. The picking of the scalp. The picking at my face. I can't believe someone has done that as well... I have never told anyone because well, it's not something you wanna go around telling people, am I right? I always thought that I was the only person that would bite my tongue and cut it and the hair thing? I DIDN'T THINK ANYONE ELSE DID THAT... I'm just so shocked. I was looking up stuff about my tongue biting habit and it turns out that I have alot of other habits tied with it. I'm considering telling my mother, but well.. Not sure if I should. But it's crazy how there are people like me in the world. I also have a weird fascination with my own blood.. For some odd reason I enjoy the taste. That might help, I hope it does.

[lowren49]

I also have to add that I also do this weird thing with the loose areas of skin on my hands, fingers and wrists where I fold over and rub my skin. I do think unknowingly as well. Does anyone elso do this? Is this OCD?

[lowren49]

I bite my tounge/ inside of cheeks unknowingly even as i am typing this. The part I hate most is the need to literaly put my fingers in my mouth and pick off my tounge. I absolutely have no idea I am doing it. My parents try to point it out while I am in the act so I stop, but when i am alone I zone out and pick like crazy. It all started when I was about 13 when I purposefully bit off a "taste bud" and liked it.. I like the blood in my mouth and I liked the feeling of something getting picked off. I have even taken little nail scissors to my tounge to cut off the top layer. Its like I get put into a trance and I lose control. I also pick at my face constantly, I also pick at my scalp without realizing it. I pick until it bleeds and forms a scab, then i just pick the scab off! (which is the part I like i guess)..I have to resort to getting fake nails put on because I cant pick with them on..I had acrylic nails constantly for over a year and on my way home driving from getting them taken off I immediately stuck my fingers in my mouth and started picking away! Is this just a habit? Its disgusting That I even want to put my fingers in my mouth I know, but I truely cannot help it.

[JEA111]

I actually burst into tears of relief reading this. I can't believe there are other people who are experiencing the same thing. I'll give it the old college try as far as mind over matter goes, but I find my tongue bloody sometimes before my brain even checks in to what I'm doing. No idea what the cause is. I'll keep following here. Thanks to everyone for sharing.

[JGF25]

Did you ever consult a psychologist about this habit?  

[Sze]

I started at 1st yr high school. At first, i bit the bud-like thingy in my tongue because the tingling pain felt good. Then the blood taste good? Then when white scabs are starting to form, it feels satisfying to remove them all. But you start to bite around it because you feel the surface is not of the same level (this is the OCD part i think), when you couldn't help it, or control anymore. The only time i stop is when it hurts too much, or the bite is already deep enough. If so, I tend to bite the other areas that are still bearable. This will finally leave me a whole sore tongue. I feel like someday, i would have tongue cancer or have an infection in my tongue and will have to remove it.  I did stopped when it started to cause blood-like smell in my mouth, i was conscious about it, so i did stopped for awhile. Now, after 4 yrs, it's starting to happen again. :(