Obsessive compulsive chewing

Something that I even did before I ever got sick, but has definetely got worse since developing anorexia, is the obsessive way I chew food. I always make sure I eat the exact same amount of food on the left side of my mouth, as I do the right side. For example while eating grapes, I pick out two grapes that are exactely the same size and eat one on the left and then one on the right side of my mouth. If I am left with 1 grape, I will bite it in half and chew half of it on either side of my mouth. I really dont know why I do this but I just feel as though I need to balance things out, so that things can be perfectly even. Perhaps this habit of mine actually has more to do with the fact that I am a perfectionist, rather then my actual anorexia.


I know that it is common for anorexics to develop weird habits whilst they eat but what I think is strange is the fact that I have done this with some foods for as long as I can remember. I have always done it whilst eating rice crackers or chips as well as pieces of breakfast cereal. However it is only since I got sick that I have started doing it with practically every food I eat.




Also, even now I still love eating all food with little forks and teaspoons which is a common anorexic behaviour however I have always done this ever since I was a child, long before I ever got anorexia. I would be really interested to know whether or not any other people suffering from anorexia have the same chewing habit as me or even one similar. Sometimes I wish I could just eat without thinking about it but I have been doing it for so long now that i do it even without thinking about it. Does anyone else have any tips about how to overcome behaviours like these? Do you think it is necessary to try and over come habits like these?