06.03.2018 Views

The Book of Tells (Peter Collett)[unlocked]

Create successful ePaper yourself

Turn your PDF publications into a flip-book with our unique Google optimized e-Paper software.

ANXIETY TELLS<br />

being noticed, but because men have a larger Adam's<br />

apple, they tend to have more difficulty concealing this<br />

kind <strong>of</strong> nervous swallowing.<br />

• BITING LIPS. According to Charles Bell, the Victorian<br />

anatomist, the lips are, <strong>of</strong> all the features, 'the most<br />

susceptible <strong>of</strong> action, and the most direct indices <strong>of</strong> the<br />

feelings'. 15 This can be seen both in the movement <strong>of</strong><br />

the lips and in the ways in which they come into contact<br />

with the teeth. <strong>The</strong>re are several lip-biting gestures<br />

associated with anxiety. First there's the 'lip-bite', where<br />

either the top or the bottom lip is held between the teeth.<br />

As we saw earlier, this is a gesture <strong>of</strong> self-restraint, a<br />

symbolic way <strong>of</strong> preventing oneself from saying something<br />

that one might afterwards regret. But it can also be<br />

a gesture <strong>of</strong> anxiety or embarrassment - in other words,<br />

a way <strong>of</strong> holding on to oneself with one's teeth. <strong>The</strong>n<br />

there's the 'lip-lip-bite' gesture, where both the top lip<br />

and the bottom lip are pulled inwards and held tight<br />

between the teeth. This gesture is a trademark tell <strong>of</strong> the<br />

great American athlete, Carl Lewis - or at least it was<br />

when he was picking up medals and in the public eye.<br />

When Lewis was interviewed on TV he would frequently<br />

reveal his discomfort by pulling his lips in and securing<br />

them between his teeth. In every other respect Lewis<br />

always came across as confident and articulate - it was<br />

only his 'lip-lip-bite' that gave him away.<br />

• NAIL-BITING. People who habitually bite their nails<br />

tend to score low on psychological tests <strong>of</strong> self-esteem,<br />

and high on measures <strong>of</strong> anxiety. It has also been<br />

suggested that nail-biting is a sign <strong>of</strong> inhibited hostility,<br />

239

Hooray! Your file is uploaded and ready to be published.

Saved successfully!

Ooh no, something went wrong!