Is this normal: I grind my teeth when around defenseless things

Question

I know this sounds odd, but I am not kidding; when I am petting or grooming or paying attention to any animal/thing that I feel is defenseless against me, I grind my teeth and clench my jaw, and it hurts. Not to mention the fact that it is strange. Does anyone else do this?..

Answer 1

no thats totally normal  

Answer 2

It's funny because I do that too I go to pet an animal or something and it's like a reflex I will grind my teeth for a split second. I also found out that I grind my teeth at night while sleeping. I was wearing out the enamel on my teeth.

Answer 3

It's a little strange, but I can see why you do it... when you're grinding your teeth looking at things you find cute, it's probably because you find the animal/thing so adorable that you want to eat it (not literally).  For instance, when people say that a member of the opposite s*x looks "good enough to eat" they don't really mean they'll eat that person, but it's a figure of speech.  

The only other thing I can think of is that you are experiencing some level of anxiety on behalf of the animal.  You could possibly be picking up on the feelings of the animal and expressing the stress through grinding your teeth.

Be conscious of the fact that you grind your teeth when you come into contact with a defenseless animal so that you can spare your teeth the wear-and-tear.

Good luck!