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heyshortyhey
September 8th, 2012, 03:28 PM
When my sister was growing up she had a few tics. Well mainly one, but she would develop a new one every year it seemed. Her latest one was pulling her hair out. I do that, too. I don't know who started first, her or me, but now it's a pain in the butt to stop.

I have thick, coarse curly hair, and sometimes I'll just sit there for hours and feel around my scalp for those really wirey, kinky, thick pieces and pull them out. Sometimes it's just one or two, but I've literally been sitting here for about 30 minutes and I've found TONS. I've only pulled the really bad ones out, but others I want to sort of smooth down with my thumb nail, and I doubt that's really good for my hair either.

I can see I'm starting to get a halo of broken hairs around the crown of my head again, but stopping is so hard! Sometimes I don't even realize I'm doing it until my mom yells at me to "stop picking your hair!"

Does anyone else do this? Would maybe wearing some sort of glove or something help? Even keeping my hair up or in a braid doesn't stop me! (total TMI but once in a while if I can't find any, I've even begun pulling pubic hairs out...gross I know!)

Madora
September 8th, 2012, 04:14 PM
You have trichtotillomania.

Try wearing your hair up as much as possible.

If you find it impossible to stop, then perhaps a visit to your physician might help. Good luck!

MinderMutsig
September 8th, 2012, 04:21 PM
I think this is something you need to seek help for. I believe this is more serious than a simple bad habit and most likely something that you can't fix on your own.

katfemme89
September 8th, 2012, 04:48 PM
Yeah definitely see a therapist or your doctor about this. This is serious stuff. A lot of people with this disorder wind up bald, especially when stress level get high in their lives.

miss_asimov
September 8th, 2012, 04:51 PM
What they said. It sounds like you just started, so behavioural therapy alone might be enough and you can avoid the meds. Go asap!

riceball
September 8th, 2012, 05:01 PM
Oooh I totally had this problem for YEARS. I was positively delighted when I pull out one of those wirey, pubic-hair-like strands that take random twists and turns for no reason. And I also relished flattening them out with my nail. But you know what, I stopped. I stopped because I knew that it was a habit triggered by anxiety and boredom. There are better ways to deal with those things than pulling out my hair.

I also have so many baby hairs popping out of my head because of my hair-pulling habit. It's annoying.

What worked for me was getting acrylic nails (harder to pick through hair and flatten out strands) and getting someone to yell at me when I started pulling hairs out.

Ebrox
September 8th, 2012, 05:19 PM
Sounds like trichotillomania, which can be serious if not treated. It's considered to be on the spectrum of obsessive-compulsive disorders.

lapushka
September 8th, 2012, 06:15 PM
If you can start to see where you've pulled out hair, it's already *really* bad, it's not just one or two hairs anymore, it's way worse.

I agree with the posters above, go see your doctor immediately and get a referral to a therapist. Do it before your hair further suffers the effects of your bad habit.

spidermom
September 8th, 2012, 06:33 PM
1) Start tying your hair up in a scarf.
2) Get professional help NOW. People do get big bald spots from this.

MrsGuther
September 8th, 2012, 07:01 PM
I feel your pain on that. I do that too, except I usually just feel around my scalp for the course wiry hairs instead of always pulling them out. I have about 2 spots on my head where I always pluck one particular hair that grows out of my head and feels like its made of plastic. No joke.

eros
September 8th, 2012, 08:09 PM
ohhh wow!!! I thought I was the only one that did that!!! Yeah, I look around for really coarse thick curly strands, and pull them out. They annoy me SOO much. I don't know how I get them. Grrr.

MinderMutsig
September 9th, 2012, 05:50 AM
ohhh wow!!! I thought I was the only one that did that!!! Yeah, I look around for really coarse thick curly strands, and pull them out. They annoy me SOO much. I don't know how I get them. Grrr.You get them because everyone gets them. They are a normal part of having hair.