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swords & roses
August 7th, 2014, 09:20 PM
Does anyone here use their hair as a comforting/coping tool?

In the past couple of months, I've started getting sensory overload. The first time was during a family gathering of the in-laws: lots of people, lots of noise, lots of chaos. Happy, boistrous chaos, but still chaos. I just shut down. I got real quiet, reflexively made myself small, flinched as anyone moved near me, & retreated to a less crowded area as quickly as possible. It was a little scary, & even DH was concerned. I've never liked crowds, but I've never reacted like that.

Today, I experienced sensory overload again, though not as severe, as I began day 2 of a very long week of dance workshops. 75 bellydancers in one fairly crowded room for hours & days on end. I could feel myself getting a little overwhelmed just being there, and getting crankier & more irritable than I rationally should have been, & was recognizing that fact. I went over to one of my good friends for a hug (typical, between us), and told her how I was feeling. She started playing with my hair. Braiding, unbraiding, finger combing. I've always loved having my hair played with since I was a little girl, and still do. Today, it felt just as pleasant as it ever has, but when she was done I felt much better & was able to carry on throughout the rest of the day's workshops without feeling the overload.

Anyone else have similar stories of their hair helping to comfort them?

AmberJewel
August 7th, 2014, 10:01 PM
I completely understand where you're coming from. I also hate crowds and can handle chaos (happy or otherwise) for a limited time only. At a certain point you just need to retreat and take a break. I find having something to do with my hands helps as well. So yes, fiddling with hair can be therapeutic, especially since its soft and feels nice. It's so nice that a friend was available to comfort you.

On a side note, it looks like we're hair twins!

neko_kawaii
August 7th, 2014, 10:08 PM
Having someone brush or braid my hair is very relaxing!

ghost
August 7th, 2014, 11:58 PM
My hair is totally a comforting tool/coping mechanism. Combing, braiding, or otherwise caring for it is one of my favorite forms of self-care because my hair is one part of my body that I've always loved unconditionally. (Okay, maybe not my natural color, but mostly everything else).

Tini'sNewHair
August 8th, 2014, 12:52 AM
Oh i get that to, I had a pretty bad panic enxiety like attack last year when i was organising a baby shower for a friend, I had a lot to do and a lot of people coming to my house which is something i have never done before. In the week leading upto it i found it hard to breath and i even cried a bit... to calm myself down, I did the same but talked to a friend, and had lots of showers. I normally wash my hair every 3-4 days but when i get stressed out or if theres a lot going on, I even go to wash my hair everyday for days at end, when I wash it i spend a good ammount of time just brushing my hand through my hair with lots of conditioner and just stand under the water... another thing i do is I comb it and stroke my hair, but its still rare that this happens tho. I have a very loved childhood memory when my nan used to place my head in her lap and run her hands through my hair until i fell asleep or shed braid my hair and tell me how much she loves it, I think that thats where my love and attachment for my hair comes from :)

vulgarshudder
August 8th, 2014, 01:47 AM
In ASMR videos (which are used for relaxation), hair playing/brushing/watching is a very popular theme. Primates get blissed out too when grooming.

MINAKO
August 8th, 2014, 01:54 AM
I certainly do use my hair in that way. The more tense or lost in my thoughts i am, the more i play with it as well, but just the mere awareness that it's there keeps my mind off trouble sometimes, because you know, you got a routine and styles to reflect on and that loop can continue forever, lol.
I don't want to derail the thread or take the seriousness out of it, but it reminded me of this video, which i always found hilarious. :D


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wHAIVXIjRmw

fiðrildi
August 8th, 2014, 02:04 AM
I can understand your feeling, I also get very anxious when I'm the middle of this kind of situations. I love when people pet and play my hair, it's very relaxing (as long as they are very close to me, if not, it's extremely unpleasant and violent). I've never used my hair as a comforting tool though, not on purpose, at least :wink:
But I will keep it in mind for the next time, I'm sure it could help me handling a stressful feeling.

MINAKO
August 8th, 2014, 02:16 AM
That's very much the opposite with me. I hate when other people touch my hair, no matter who it is or what situation. My freinds, my mom, the hairdresser... i can't stand it, it makes me feel uncomfortable and i always imagine to get massive tangles as soon as someone just lays a finger on it. Most of the time it's in a bun, so i don't need to worry, but when it's down people seem to find it all the more spectacular and approach me in that touchy manner sometimes. The look on my face should tell it all then, but often isn't enough. :/

fiðrildi
August 8th, 2014, 02:40 AM
That's very much the opposite with me. I hate when other people touch my hair, no matter who it is or what situation. My freinds, my mom, the hairdresser... i can't stand it, it makes me feel uncomfortable and i always imagine to get massive tangles as soon as someone just lays a finger on it. Most of the time it's in a bun, so i don't need to worry, but when it's down people seem to find it all the more spectacular and approach me in that touchy manner sometimes. The look on my face should tell it all then, but often isn't enough. :/

Ah, I also hate to be touched in general, I would just allow people to touch my hair when they ask me first (and not always), and I would only feel comfortable with very few people (with hair, or any other part of my body). Anyway, it's very annoying that when you're wearing your hair down, some people just assume that you want to be petted. Same way they don't come to touch legs, for example, they shoudn't come to touch hair.

MINAKO
August 8th, 2014, 02:49 AM
Ah, I also hate to be touched in general, I would just allow people to touch my hair when they ask me first (and not always), and I would only feel comfortable with very few people (with hair, or any other part of my body). Anyway, it's very annoying that when you're wearing your hair down, some people just assume that you want to be petted. Same way they don't come to touch legs, for example, they shoudn't come to touch hair.

People around me seem to percieve me as very immature, naive and childish. I look much younger than i actually am and totally love a doll like outfit and stuff, yet i see that this contributes to some sort of weird behaiviour in others. I absolutely had people touching my legs, arms or waist and those were strangers, not even aquaintance. You know that thing when people suggest that you're "asking for it" when you look and dress a certain way! I hate it, but don't want to adjust my personal preferences about my looks to other peoples twisted morals. When it comes to hair it's always being noticed in an extremely positive or negative way, hardly anything in between. Some of my friends literally can't wait to see me wearing it down again and have their fingers in there, while others tell me it's too much and how it looks unmodern blah blah... yeah society! :(((

fiðrildi
August 8th, 2014, 03:37 AM
People around me seem to percieve me as very immature, naive and childish. I look much younger than i actually am and totally love a doll like outfit and stuff, yet i see that this contributes to some sort of weird behaiviour in others. I absolutely had people touching my legs, arms or waist and those were strangers, not even aquaintance. You know that thing when people suggest that you're "asking for it" when you look and dress a certain way! I hate it, but don't want to adjust my personal preferences about my looks to other peoples twisted morals. When it comes to hair it's always being noticed in an extremely positive or negative way, hardly anything in between. Some of my friends literally can't wait to see me wearing it down again and have their fingers in there, while others tell me it's too much and how it looks unmodern blah blah... yeah society! :(((

Sure thing! You don't have to adjust yourself to inconsiderate people! Sorry to hear that, that's so rude of people touching you, it gives me the shudders just to think about it ever happening to me :steam: People should get an education! The "asking for it" thing is very sexist and offensive. Off topic, but I discovered this the other day (I wonder if they were also "asking for it"? :wink:): http://www.buzzfeed.com/rossalynwarren/british-men-in-shorts-are-so-splendid
I think that people have a tendency to touch and admire what they don't have, but they should stop at the "admiring" thing, and never cross the touching line. "You are free to admire my hair, but you're absolutely not free to touch it", that's what I would say when I feel uncomfortable, and it seems to work.
I look much younger than I am too (some people are still assuming that I'm not more than 17, even 16!). And yeah, I don't give a damn, I'm not going to put on make up and dress like an executive just to please people (we will have the last laugh!) :wink:

MINAKO
August 8th, 2014, 04:09 AM
Sure thing! You don't have to adjust yourself to inconsiderate people! Sorry to hear that, that's so rude of people touching you, it gives me the shudders just to think about it ever happening to me :steam: People should get an education! The "asking for it" thing is very sexist and offensive. Off topic, but I discovered this the other day (I wonder if they were also "asking for it"? :wink:): http://www.buzzfeed.com/rossalynwarren/british-men-in-shorts-are-so-splendid
I think that people have a tendency to touch and admire what they don't have, but they should stop at the "admiring" thing, and never cross the touching line. "You are free to admire my hair, but you're absolutely not free to touch it", that's what I would say when I feel uncomfortable, and it seems to work.
I look much younger than I am too (some people are still assuming that I'm not more than 17, even 16!). And yeah, I don't give a damn, I'm not going to put on make up and dress like an executive just to please people (we will have the last laugh!) :wink:

Hahahaha, lol, those guys in shorts!
Sure thing i would never even think of touching anybody i am not good friends or officially intimate with. But other people seem to think different and then it's ME whos being percieved as drama queen. Just ugh, this entire "invitation by outfit" thing, i don't get it. As if it would be impossible that girls mainly dress nice to please themselves in the mirror, rather than attract looks and hands of others, especially men.
The most offensive thing i remember was in a bar, i orderer something to drink and was leaning over to the bar tender, when a guy lifted up my skirt from behind to see what kind of undies i'm wearing (or if not probably) because you know, short skirt means >>> doesn't mind having her entire a$$ exposed in public... apparently. He even touched my skin somewhat and i freaked out, but everyone else just thought it was funny. People can be so moronically (is that a word ??? lol) disgusting!
I usually wear my hair pulled to the front on one side when it is down, so at least i can keep an eye on it.
Looking younger sure has it's advantage to it, just the way that people think they can disrespect you therefore is totally annoying.

fiðrildi
August 8th, 2014, 04:46 AM
The most offensive thing i remember was in a bar, i orderer something to drink and was leaning over to the bar tender, when a guy lifted up my skirt from behind to see what kind of undies i'm wearing (or if not probably) because you know, short skirt means >>> doesn't mind having her entire a$$ exposed in public... apparently. He even touched my skin somewhat and i freaked out, but everyone else just thought it was funny. People can be so moronically (is that a word ??? lol) disgusting!

Oh my gosh, that's so disgusting!!! And I hope he got slapped in his face! I can't understand how could anyone find it funny, if I had been there to watch the situation, I would have become a fierceful little fury! :taz: :hatchet:

Johannah
August 8th, 2014, 04:49 AM
In ASMR videos (which are used for relaxation), hair playing/brushing/watching is a very popular theme. Primates get blissed out too when grooming.

Gosh I love those videos :lol:

MINAKO
August 8th, 2014, 05:43 AM
Oh my gosh, that's so disgusting!!! And I hope he got slapped in his face! I can't understand how could anyone find it funny, if I had been there to watch the situation, I would have become a fierceful little fury! :taz: :hatchet:

I kicked him, that's my usual reflex so even when i flip i technically don't really "touch" anybody, lol.

On those videos, i could watch other people grooming their hair for hours as well.
This one here is super hyponotizing. If my hair was like this i would probably comb it until i nothing left. :eek:


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7-fpXAVAcZg

ETA: oops, had to correct the link.

Olavi
August 8th, 2014, 06:47 AM
My hair is basically my security blanket. I get tiny bit anxious most of the time when I'm outside of the home and there's lots of people. Finger combing, petting and just playing with it makes me calmer. Today was second day of school, and all the people around me are new, so I played with hair for most of the day.

My old caretaker once said that playing with hair all the time, is usually "sign of being crazy". For a while I tried not to play with hair, but then I was just "Heck, it's my hair, I do what I want with it. And if people think I'm crazy? Well, they most likely stay away from me then."

chen bao jun
August 8th, 2014, 10:51 AM
The hair flip video was funny.
Hair flipping is definitely a signal. Of a lot of different things. I notice that women tend to hair flip either when they are flirting, or when they are in competitive mode, but there could be other reasons, I don't know.
I don't do the hair flip and I never did even when my hair was straightened. (When my hair was straightened, I hated it too much in that state to play with it). However, I do do the curl tugging and twirling thing a whole lot of the time. apparently this sends other signals, more childlike, as I found when I looked it up recently. But I don't know that I did it for the reasons that pyschologists say are common. I don't know that psychologists actually know as much as they think they do, although they are useful some of the time.
Hair signals a lot of things. People hide behind their hair, I've seen it. People flirt with it. People groom themselves like cats. Mothers play in kid's hair--or yank and pull it when they're combing and they're frustrated and angry-- and lovers play in each other's hair. It's hard though, because as I said, it means different things to different people. People bring different feelings about hair, from their childhoods and other things. I know I love my natural curls because I have good associations from when my hair was natural. My dad used to serenade my hair and sing that he wanted to put scarlet ribbons in it. When my mom had time before I had other siblings, she used to twirl my curls into place and I felt so loved. Someone touching my hair gently means tenderness and love to me. It seems intimate, which is why I hate strangers tugging on my curls without permission (though I usually don't mind letting people, especially kids, touch my hair briefly if they ASK). My husband is learning to touch my hair the way I like it. He was trained by his mother and sisters never to touch a woman's hair because they were wearing their hair artificially straightened and it couldn't be touched. So he thinks its just off bounds and its hard for him to get over it.
People have also been mean to me through my hair--my mom after she had no time dragging and pulling at it, hairdressers being rough, mean girls threatening me about it.
So its very emotional --and I bet its emotional for people in one way or another, whether you like you hair long or not.
That's why its so intrusive and awful to tell people to cut their hair off when they don't want, or insult their hair--when a mean girl wants to get to you, your hair is one of the things she's most likely to put down and insult--
It's just a fraught subject. But yes, for a lot of us, not all, touching our hair is very self-comforting and relaxing and brings up feelings from deep deep inside.

Éowyn_GreyEyes
August 8th, 2014, 01:11 PM
I get very anxious in large crowds (high school was terrifying) and can start to shake if I don't calm myself down. Everyone I know can easily walk around and not care about the noise and touching (inevitable in big crowds) but I must walk around with earphones in and I've learned to use my 5foot1 to advantage and dodge people so as not to touch or get touched... Even having family over at my house I talk for ten minutes and quietly excuse myself to the bathroom or my room just to wind down and be by myself. I also hate being touched... Don't like hugs unless it's someone trying to calm me down (ironic I know...). Same with holding hands or sitting too close to anyone. No high fives and fists are just as awkward. I also used to bite my nails/cuticles and I still crack my knuckles when I'm uncomfortable

I only let one person besides myself play with my hair and she's one of my closest friends. So I guess someone else playing with my hair to calm me down is out of the question, but I fiddle and pet my own hair when I get stressed so maybe that counts..?

jacqueline101
August 8th, 2014, 01:51 PM
I don't exactly use it as a comforting tool but I do take pride in my hair care needs. I detangle, oil, condition, style it. I gave it Saturday morning as it's spa day. I try to make a perfect routine for my hair.

Stormynights
August 8th, 2014, 02:52 PM
I love messing with my own hair. I might change my hairstyle and toys several times a day. I can't do a lot anymore and having my hair to mess with helps me get through bad days.

chen bao jun
August 8th, 2014, 03:04 PM
This sounds like clinical anxiety which I have had in the past and also sound close to panic attacks which I suffered from at one point. There is medication available to help you function better, which I was afraid of taking but now I'm so glad I did. People thought I should be able to talk myself out of it, but you can't when it's brain chemicals out of joint.

I get very anxious in large crowds (high school was terrifying) and can start to shake if I don't calm myself down. Everyone I know can easily walk around and not care about the noise and touching (inevitable in big crowds) but I must walk around with earphones in and I've learned to use my 5foot1 to advantage and dodge people so as not to touch or get touched... Even having family over at my house I talk for ten minutes and quietly excuse myself to the bathroom or my room just to wind down and be by myself. I also hate being touched... Don't like hugs unless it's someone trying to calm me down (ironic I know...). Same with holding hands or sitting too close to anyone. No high fives and fists are just as awkward. I also used to bite my nails/cuticles and I still crack my knuckles when I'm uncomfortable

I only let one person besides myself play with my hair and she's one of my closest friends. So I guess someone else playing with my hair to calm me down is out of the question, but I fiddle and pet my own hair when I get stressed so maybe that counts..?

skeletonous
August 8th, 2014, 09:23 PM
I do have anxiety (social and general), so I also can't handle crowds for a long period of time. My hair is definitely something that helps with that though, fingercombing I think is my favorite thing to do, though I haven't done it for that since my hair got cut pixie length. Perhaps when it's longer that'll happen again.

HintOfMint
August 8th, 2014, 10:43 PM
The hair flip video was funny.
Hair flipping is definitely a signal. Of a lot of different things. I notice that women tend to hair flip either when they are flirting, or when they are in competitive mode, but there could be other reasons, I don't know.
I don't do the hair flip and I never did even when my hair was straightened. (When my hair was straightened, I hated it too much in that state to play with it). However, I do do the curl tugging and twirling thing a whole lot of the time. apparently this sends other signals, more childlike, as I found when I looked it up recently. But I don't know that I did it for the reasons that pyschologists say are common. I don't know that psychologists actually know as much as they think they do, although they are useful some of the time.
Hair signals a lot of things. People hide behind their hair, I've seen it. People flirt with it. People groom themselves like cats. Mothers play in kid's hair--or yank and pull it when they're combing and they're frustrated and angry-- and lovers play in each other's hair. It's hard though, because as I said, it means different things to different people. People bring different feelings about hair, from their childhoods and other things. I know I love my natural curls because I have good associations from when my hair was natural. My dad used to serenade my hair and sing that he wanted to put scarlet ribbons in it. When my mom had time before I had other siblings, she used to twirl my curls into place and I felt so loved. Someone touching my hair gently means tenderness and love to me. It seems intimate, which is why I hate strangers tugging on my curls without permission (though I usually don't mind letting people, especially kids, touch my hair briefly if they ASK). My husband is learning to touch my hair the way I like it. He was trained by his mother and sisters never to touch a woman's hair because they were wearing their hair artificially straightened and it couldn't be touched. So he thinks its just off bounds and its hard for him to get over it.
People have also been mean to me through my hair--my mom after she had no time dragging and pulling at it, hairdressers being rough, mean girls threatening me about it.
So its very emotional --and I bet its emotional for people in one way or another, whether you like you hair long or not.
That's why its so intrusive and awful to tell people to cut their hair off when they don't want, or insult their hair--when a mean girl wants to get to you, your hair is one of the things she's most likely to put down and insult--
It's just a fraught subject. But yes, for a lot of us, not all, touching our hair is very self-comforting and relaxing and brings up feelings from deep deep inside.

Was it this song (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5611V_V_2mE) your dad sung to you? I listened to Harry Belafonte all the time as a child and I would fall asleep to that song. It's beautiful.

When I was younger, my mother would massage coconut oil into my hair before a wash, just like her mother did to her when she was young. I do miss the ritual.

I, too, find a great deal of comfort in my hair. When I'm stressed to the point of sickness, just imagining myself brushing my hair is enough to soothe me. Actually brushing and playing with my hair is one of my favorite things to do when I'm relaxing. It's almost like petting an animal (doesn't help that my hair resembles a great bushy tail at times). I wish it was something former lovers and boyfriends had done. I tend to get a lot of admiration from afar but not so much in the way of tactile appreciation. It's too bad, it's such a primal experience. It's something that doesn't just connect us as humans, but as primates, and heck, as mammals.

And now I'm touch-starved for someone to play with my hair. :p

polishrose
August 9th, 2014, 01:32 AM
My ex loved having his hair stroked and his scalp massaged. He would practically fall asleep when I did it no matter how stressed he was right before. Nobody's ever really played with my hair though.

chen bao jun
August 9th, 2014, 06:32 AM
Thank you. I've never heard that song since I was very, very little. I didn't know it was recorded. Hearing it was like having a message from my dad--he's dead now 14 years and I miss him so much.


Was it this song (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5611V_V_2mE) your dad sung to you? I listened to Harry Belafonte all the time as a child and I would fall asleep to that song. It's beautiful.

When I was younger, my mother would massage coconut oil into my hair before a wash, just like her mother did to her when she was young. I do miss the ritual.

I, too, find a great deal of comfort in my hair. When I'm stressed to the point of sickness, just imagining myself brushing my hair is enough to soothe me. Actually brushing and playing with my hair is one of my favorite things to do when I'm relaxing. It's almost like petting an animal (doesn't help that my hair resembles a great bushy tail at times). I wish it was something former lovers and boyfriends had done. I tend to get a lot of admiration from afar but not so much in the way of tactile appreciation. It's too bad, it's such a primal experience. It's something that doesn't just connect us as humans, but as primates, and heck, as mammals.

And now I'm touch-starved for someone to play with my hair. :p

HintOfMint
August 9th, 2014, 08:25 AM
Thank you. I've never heard that song since I was very, very little. I didn't know it was recorded. Hearing it was like having a message from my dad--he's dead now 14 years and I miss him so much.

You are more than welcome. :flower:

Éowyn_GreyEyes
August 9th, 2014, 08:31 AM
This sounds like clinical anxiety which I have had in the past and also sound close to panic attacks which I suffered from at one point. There is medication available to help you function better, which I was afraid of taking but now I'm so glad I did. People thought I should be able to talk myself out of it, but you can't when it's brain chemicals out of joint.

Im already an introverted kind of person, so i dont think its quite like that :/ i just don like people and try to avoid it so what i said above is just normal to me. The only thing that makes me truly uncomfortable is being on stage. As a former dancer is would get nervous but i did that my whole life so it was more like excitment. Drama and musical theatre was suggested to me to try and "open me up". Fun at times but bad idea, just made me hide more when i could. And now my stage work is all music and i get extremely shaky and nausious (like butterflies but worse). I have fun doing it but i cant control its scary effect like dance or theatre. As soon as im done any performance it goes away and its great. So i dunno

swords & roses
August 9th, 2014, 07:32 PM
My ex loved having his hair stroked and his scalp massaged. He would practically fall asleep when I did it no matter how stressed he was right before. Nobody's ever really played with my hair though.

My husband is the same way. He loves when I brush his hair, or scritch his scalp. He'll relax down to the point of falling asleep with his head on my lap, blissfully snoring away!

swords & roses
August 9th, 2014, 07:34 PM
Great big gentle hugs, Chen Bao Jun. <3

Red'N'Curly
August 24th, 2014, 04:03 PM
Oh yes. As a young child my mom was really rough with my hair, plus unstable so having my hair brushed usually meant being smacked around with the hairbrush too. Ever since then I've hated people touching my hair and always flinched away. But my wonderful husband loves to play a with it, finger comb it, even use the BBB on one tiny section at a time, and it is so relaxing! I was having a major pregnancy hormone freak out, and he held me and brushed my hair. All better :)

swords & roses
August 24th, 2014, 05:11 PM
Awww! Yay for your hubby!

MsPharaohMoan
August 24th, 2014, 05:55 PM
Ahh, this thread actually inspired me to come out of lurker territory. I strongly believe in self care as a coping mechanism. This is because I grew up using self-harm for coping. It wasn't productive and only left me hurting more… Somewhere along the way I realized taking care of myself left me more stable, more connected to reality, and more accepting of myself. Tons of love to anyone who is on the journey to making this same realization <3 !

swords & roses
August 24th, 2014, 06:14 PM
Much love to you, as well! I'm so happy to hear you found the brighter side of coping. *hugs*

Tenaya
August 29th, 2014, 12:58 PM
My daughter used to hold onto the tail of my braid and brush it across her cheeks while she was breastfeeding. It became her comfort item and she even named it "Braidy". People thought it was so weird but I thought it was kinda cool. She is nine now but she still likes to snuggle her face in my hair. So there's my hair-for-comfort story :).

swords & roses
August 29th, 2014, 01:03 PM
Aww, that's so sweet!

Zesty
August 29th, 2014, 01:05 PM
When I was studying abroad I was very unhappy, and I definitely used my hair as a coping tool. I learned loads of new hairstyles and practiced them and took pictures of my hair and generally swished it around and enjoyed it. It helped a lot with the boredom and anxiety that comes from being lonely, and got my mind off the other things that were going wrong.

wixardard
August 29th, 2014, 01:11 PM
For me, hair seems to be a comforting tool in 3 different ways:

1. Focusing on taking care of my hair is a very effective distraction and I see it as a much better project than any arts and crafts.
2. Having my hair touched or brushed slowly isn't something that happens a lot but when it does it not only makes me feel more relaxed but also safer not only because I'm letting said person touch my hair but also touch such a gentle touch of the hair signifies care from the other person.
3. Rubbing my SO's scalp and feeling his hair calms him down as well as me. When we fight or have any reason to keep silent for a long time, I usually run my fingers through his hair over and over again so he knows I'm alright and it will all be fine. It's a little weird thing but I love it.

Lindenare
August 29th, 2014, 04:10 PM
I've recently noticed that when I'm relaxing with my hair down, I'll often curl into my hair so that it covers as much of me as possible. Hair as a comfort blanket, anyone?

Tenaya
August 30th, 2014, 02:51 PM
I do too, Lidenare. And as soon as I have a quiet momet at work the forst thin I want to do is take my hair down and wrap it around my face :). I think as comfort blankets and coping mechanisms go, hair has to be one of the healthiest.

And, yes, it was very sweet. Now my daugters hair is longer than mine :)

Entangled
August 30th, 2014, 05:55 PM
Braiding and brushing my hair is very therapeutic after a very long and rough day. I just have to make sure mot to handle it when I'm flustered or rushed, or I will be very rough. It's more stressful to let others handle it because I know they won't be gentle with it and I have no control. That feeling of helplessness is NOT fun, so I don't often let others do my hair, unless it's someone I can't refuse, like my mom. However, I do enjoy the sensation of hair being handled.