This muscle (yes, the tongue is a muscle) has caused unspeakable anxiety in many men and women —
— to the point where they’ll spend huge amounts of time every day examining their tongue in a mirror, and also “testing” its strength by pressing it against the insides of their mouth.
These “checks” can go on all day, beginning shortly after getting out of bed in the morning.
Before the face is washed, hair is combed, etc., the afflicted individual begins examining his or her tongue in a mirror.
After a certain number of checks, he’s convinced nothing is wrong. Then upon proceeding to do the next thing (brush hair, rinse face, shave, what-have-you), he’s suddenly reeled back to the mirror and just has to get in more tongue checks.
Can’t Get Enough Tongue Inspections
The tongue is not just a muscle — it’s an ugly muscle. There’s no such thing as an attractive tongue.
Its inherent unsightliness doesn’t help calm the nerves or those with health anxiety.
They’ll think it’s swollen, or maybe they’ll swear it’s atrophied.
They’ll begin seeing that one side is smaller than the other, or that there are “dents” in it that mean a deadly neurological disease — a killer disease that I won’t mention here, but you know what I’m referring to.
Sometimes the frequent tongue inspections involve how well a person can move it inside the mouth. Other times it’s about how this muscle feels inside the mouth.
- Is it stiff?
- Is it rigid?
- Is it hard?
- Can it press harder on one side than the other?
- Can it curl?
Check out these very helpful tongue articles if you’re in desperate need of reassurance:
- Take control of your tongue twitching terror
- Is there a way at home to rule out Bulbar onset?
- Causes of a stiff tongue
- Causes of a sore tongue
