Love Smelling My Upper-Lip

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  • I've done this ever since I was about 5 (I'm 25 now). There's not a name for it, but it's in the spectrum of repetitive compulsive behaviors like nail biting, cheek and lip chewing, scab picking, skin picking, and hair pulling, and can be minor and non-interfering with one's life (more of a habit), or very prominent--an activity that goes on for hours at a time (more of an obsession).

    Either way, it's totally normal. Like the habits listed above, it's something your brain now classifies as calming, so you keep doing it because your brain releases calming and happy hormones when you do it. If it bothers you a great deal and you find yourself unable to stop, cognitive behavior replacement therapy (CBRT) is very effective. (I have hair-pulling--trichotillomania--and severe lip and cheek biting, and CBRT has practically stopped both behaviors after twenty years of doing them constantly. Even my related habits, like scab-picking and the lip smelling, have reduced themselves.

    On the other hand, if it doesn't bother you to do it, don't worry and just enjoy. It feels good and doesn't hurt anyone.

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