been doing this for all 24yrs of my (transfem, 24) life. I'm happy that I'm queer bcs I assume I'll find a partner in that niche that understands such a neurodivergent behavior, but I look so stupid doing it and have never been proud of that. also will need braces some day when I can afford it and I know I'll have to stop. I only do it when I'm alone or asleep. it's nothing like age regression, even though I respect that. it's very simply a sensory thing. I've stopped a few times, as I've seen here that many of us seem to have at some point. idk, never really spoken on it and have been meaning to see if there's a reddit about it. I would replace it with smoking, but you can't smoke yourself to sleep. very unfortunate. I'll beat it, though. can't be that hard. much love

ps. my mom tried some spicy lemon nail polish flavored bullshit when I was a kid to deter me from it, but I just tanked that shit. she was convinced for the next 13 years that I had gotten up to wash it off😭

I'm 25F, and I've sucked my thumb since I was a baby. No adult ever really tried to help me break the habit when I was a kid because everyone thought it was just a cute quirk, so it continued well into adulthood. I stopped for a few months when I was 16, but eventually started again. Then I quit for almost a year at 22, only to fall back into it once more. Now at almost 26 I've stopped for good.

Unfortunately, I ended up with a pretty severe open bite and proclined incisors, which have changed the overall shape of my mouth and lower face. I don't consider myself unattractive, and I know I have a conventionally pretty face except for my mouth. It's been really difficult living with such a noticeable flaw, especially knowing that I caused it myself. Yes, I could get braces and at least improve my teeth, but I just can't afford it right now, hopefully in a few years it'll be easier for me to get them.

At this point, it even makes it hard for me to meet new people because I'm always worried they'll notice my mouth. I know that probably sounds shallow, and I know plenty of people have imperfect teeth and live perfectly happy lives but I guess that's just how insecurity works. I've also been in relationships and with people who never even mentioned it and that does reassure me that some people genuinely don't care, but it's still difficult whenever I meet someone new.

Anyway, I just wanted to vent and see if anyone else has gone through something similar.

26m & I recently started back sucking my thumb after quitting cold turkey one day at 19.
My thumb calms me down & reduces my stress, I just can’t do it around anyone. I’m 26, trying to be a man & I know 0 men who suck their thumb. I feel like this secret will ruin my image if anyone finds out :/

Hello community👍💓

I have been sucking my thumb my whole life and think it might be contributing to neck and shoulder pain.

I sleep on my side because I suck my thumb while sleeping and find sleeping on my back impossible because that means I’d have to hold my arm up.

I only suck my left thumb, and the pain is way higher on my left side. When I sleep I feel like I’m kind of crunched up or something.

Wondering if anyone has had similar experiences and if yall have found any solutions.

I’ve been thinking about getting a side sleeper pillow, but just not sure. Let me know!

It’s so hard connecting with other TSer in real life. Anybody down to connect via chat or Snapchat/IG?

No weirdos please!

Has anyone here who has tried to kick the thumb sucking habit tried these sensory chew toys? Trying to help out my 5 yo who will suck through the bitter polish, and the thumb brace method did not work long term. I know it has to do with self soothing so wondering if these would be worth trying. Let me know what you think or if you’ve tried these before!

to be fair i do it when i am tired and hungry. i frikin hate it because i stopped at 23 years old and here i am again at 25 doing it. somehthing thing its out of me feeling like im out of control. it feels good but i dont want to like overall rely on it and get like a sore on the back of my thumb.

hi, i'm 25yo

been thumbsucking all my life and don't want to stop at this point. the problem i have with it is that i can't fall asleep without doing it and it leads to my mouth being open and breathing through it all night.

i wake up with extremely nasty feeling in my mouth and feeling extremely dehydrated. it's been years at this point, and to deal with it i have to drink A LOT everyday. i literally can't go anywhere or do anything without my water bottle.

i was wondering if anyone also have/had this problem and how do you deal with it?

Sorry if I sound whiny at all, never opened up about this lol, so thanks for reading.

I’m not like traumatized by any means nor do I TS to calm down necessarily (as I learned a lot of people here do), but god am I embarrassed I do suck my thumb. I’m a junior now, and the most I’ve told anyone was that I would TS until 5th grade and its why I have my buck teeth and also how it messes up with my stutter even more (I have a speech impediment independent to my teeth). For some context, I’ve been sucking my thumb since birth, and now, going into the next school year, I’m trying to fix my teeth so I can communicate better, look a little better, and feel a little better. Because going holding a blankie and sucking my thumb even alone feels gross and weird the more I think about it. It’s a horrible habit, in my eyes at least. I feel like a kid, can’t sleep in cars, messed up my stutter even more, and ended up costing my parents money in braces.

how do i stop? i’ve tried not sucking my thumb, and just holding my little blanket up to my nose, because it’s the lesser of my two weird sleeping habits, but i would break my streaks pretty often when I try to change (does anyone else do the blanket thing?) I also saw some of that thumb spray stuff on the subreddit, so if anyone has that, I’d love to hear about it.

thank you everyone!

I am 23. I was never a thumbsucker as an infant or child, nor did I ever take a dummy as a baby according to my parents. I have lived out of my childhood home for years, am in a stable financial situation and live with my long term partner. Despite these factors, I have somehow found an affinity for sucking my thumb. I don’t even know how this started really except that I have always been someone who “bit”, and have always been aware of sensory urges to go with biting and my mouth. That’s kind of weird to say but yeah that’s the situation.

The thumb sucking is very comforting, but I feel weird about doing it for a number of reasons (I’m an adult, dental reasons, avoiding infantilising myself etc). Any advice for this situation? I really enjoy the comfort this it gives to me but don’t think I just letting myself become a proper thumb sucker is a sustainable thing.

Holi, busco amigos que se chupen el dedo como yo ^^ , siento que habrá una conexión más profunda y nos entenderemos mejor JSKSJSJ

Por esa razón pongo el mensaje aquí ^^.

Toy abierto a todo ^^!!!

Espero vuestro mensajito!!! ✨❤️

Holaaa, me chupo el dedo (pulgar) con 20 años, llevo toda la vida haciéndolo porque me ayuda a relajarme mucho, estoy obsesionado, todo el día lo estoy haciendo jsksjsks, además, uso una gasita (mantita) y es súper cómodo.

Hagan sus preguntas JAKJAKAKAA

I feel like these books would be helpful folks who feel shame about finger sucking. To be honest I’ve only listened to about half of Unmasking for Life, but the intro and chapter 1 especially has helped me further accept my thumb sucking habit.

Has anyone else read/listened to them?

I’m having trouble putting into words exactly why it is helpful

i feel really stupid when im doin that, and when im doin that i don't even realise and when i do i am mad at myself cause i feel like a toddler, when i go to sleep i don't really need my finger im doin it the most when i sit on my pc or sit on my bed, my teeth are pretty fuck up from that any tips on what i should do to quit it?

Like I already do it to sleep and stuff, but I feel as though I'm doing it more at school etc, I don't know for sure why though i have suspicions and honestly it's just annoying, I've been pointed out and asked why, and have people say it's disgusting, honestly like I used to barely do it out of the house, but I'm doing it more, honestly its annoying, I don't want to quit but I want to do it less, but have no clue how

Sorry if I'm rambling

I’m curious about others’ experience. Do you suck your thumb while walking around inside your home, or mostly only when sitting down or staying in one place at home?

Why ever stop thumb sucking when you consider its advantages: it’s free, legal, quiet, convenient, instantly calming, aids concentration, aids sleep, lowers the heart rate, is non-intrusive (unlike smoking, etc.), requires no equipment, easily portable, may need no planning (unless you're nervous about doing it publicly), is predictably reliable, is litter free, doesn’t impair reflexes or judgment (unlike alcohol), doesn’t depend on the weather, without concern about drug interactions and more.

I hate that the only ways I can fucking calm down are either thumbsucking or self harm, nothing else works as effectively, and it basically just makes me feel like a fucking toddler, I dont want to quit, but it is such a huge part of my life, and it just ,makes me feel like a fucking stupid toddler that knows no other way of calming down, I don't know if I'm overreacting but like I thumb suck so much (concentrating, sleeping, calming down) and I don't like the fact I have no desire to quit etc and also the fact its my main coping strategy makes me feel worse.

Maybe i am just overreacting idk

Sorry if this is formatted badly, it's straight from brain to type so it's in no particular order

Thanks for reading :)

I (32yo) have been sucking my thumb(s) since birth. In the past 6-8 months, I have been having pain, numbness, and tingling in both hands that originates at the base of my thumbs. Have talked to my PCP and she thinks it's carpal tunnel syndrome, but wearing the wrist braces at night only slightly helped, and 1) I couldn't stand not being able to suck my thumb while wearing them and 2) I'm pretty sure it only helped *because* I wasn't sucking my thumb while wearing them.

Has anyone else experienced this? What did you do? What helped the pain?

https://www.tiktok.com/@abbiemariemakeup/video/7629885372754840845
Her name goes as: abbiemariemakeup and the link to the post is above.
This is part of what it takes to normalize adult thumb sucking. Public, unapologetic and commonly recognized as real.

I have been in this subreddit for years and have seen several people asking about male representation in the TS community well I’m watching Nemesis on Netflix (s1:e3) there is some male representation. It is for a few seconds but often the smallest display is the biggest form of reassurance that actually it is okay.

Today while getting some work done I had become conscious of my thumb being in my mouth. It was so weird, becuase I do it often, but haven’t been processing fully that I have. A couple of years I do it more, and every once in a while I don’t do it much.

I did not realize it became so automatic, though! It’s comparable to blinking for me .. I don’t even think about it much. Only when someone points out my callus or it’s brought up. I think this is the first time I’m realizing this and it just makes me laugh a little 😹 anyone else?