Please help

[tmanly27]

Can anyone help me, please?

I have a bad habit of playing with my hair, i twist it and fiddle with it, until it gets so badly knotted, it hurts and I have no choice but to cut it, with scissors, or i pull it out.

Even when i wear my hair up, i always pull a piece out to play with! I get reminded by family and friends who catch me doing it, i've even gotten my finger's smacked.

To top it all off, i have no idea why i do it, and a lot of the time, i don't even know i'm doing it, my hand automatically goes up into my hair and i start to play with it.

If anyone could give me any tips or ideas, i'd be really grateful. Thank you so much!!!!

Cheers!~
Terri-Ann

[furnival]

I feel your pain! I was a chronic hair- fiddler for years. I would twirl it until it was a knotted string and braid little sections of it into tiny braids that were impossible to get out. I couldn't keep my hands away from it, especially in uncomfortable situations. I would wrench bits out of updos like you mentioned, just so I could destroy them with my helpless twiddling. But I am cured! One summer I took to wearing a scarf around my hair to protect it from the sun. I wrapped it quite tight so I couldn't get to my hair at all, and after a few weeks the habit was broken. It was hard at first not to twiddle when I took the scarf off at night, but when I saw the improvement in my hair's condition it helped me to realise what I'd been doing. I had a little hedge of new growth at the front where I'd pulled so much out it looked like my hairline was receding.
It's not easy but it's well worth it. Try to keep busy- I don't know about you but I fiddled the most when sitting around doing nothing. Good luck to you :flower:

[bunzfan]

I used to do exactly the same want to know what cured me :D updo's seriously if its up i don't play with it.

[SilverDoe]

Yes! Updos saved me. Either I fiddled it into a tangled mess, or the weather did it for me.
Ever since I got my flexi 8's, I've actually been able to put my slippery hair up & keep it there, where hair stricks would slip out & I would start fiddleing again. :grnbiggri
http://www.flexi8.com/

[torrilin]

You may want to look at threads on trichotillomania. The symptoms may sound familiar to you, they may not. If you're reading through the threads going "that's me!" the whole time, you may want to consult a psychiatrist. Those sorts of behaviors can be a way obsessive disorders manifest. Thankfully that sort of thing is treatable :).

[spidermom]

You might try wearing a scarf with a nice fringe to play with. I recently found 3 really pretty and cheap scarves at a thrift store.

[swearnsue]

It sounds like OCD to me especially if you can't stop but it makes you feel better while doing it. There is a lot of help out there, talk to your doctor about it. If you're doing this to your hair you might be doing some other behaviors that are harmful to your health.

[WaterMusic]

Keep something else with you to fiddle with. Maybe a bracelet that has bits that hang down, or something you can put in your pocket.

[Anje]

Put your hair up, consider covering it with a scarf. Consider wearing gloves (useful to me when I start mindlessly pulling at hairs, but tough to do constantly).

Also, get yourself a fidget toy ASAP. It could just be a rubber band, but I think you need something that stays in your pocket and that you can play with whenever you're sitting around with your hands free. I like some of the things available here: http://www.fidgetman.com/

[MAO]

Long earrings. I play with my hair a lot too, and when I wear a nice pair of chandeliers I usually wind up playing with them more than my hair.

[heidi w.]

Can anyone help me, please?

I have a bad habit of playing with my hair, i twist it and fiddle with it, until it gets so badly knotted, it hurts and I have no choice but to cut it, with scissors, or i pull it out.

Even when i wear my hair up, i always pull a piece out to play with! I get reminded by family and friends who catch me doing it, i've even gotten my finger's smacked.

To top it all off, i have no idea why i do it, and a lot of the time, i don't even know i'm doing it, my hand automatically goes up into my hair and i start to play with it.

If anyone could give me any tips or ideas, i'd be really grateful. Thank you so much!!!!

Cheers!~
Terri-Ann

Habits, once developed and formed, are quite difficult to break. Maybe you need to carry a small, fine-toothed comb with you and interrupt your behavior enough to quickly detangle it?

heidi w.

[BlazingHeart]

I, too, recommend a fidget toy of some variety. I like the Tangle, which you can get here http://www.officeplayground.com/Tangles-C109.aspx?mkwid=slNyyzk8b&crid=9624256930&mp_kw=tangle%20toy&mp_mt=e&gclid=CMeS_pbThbACFQlN4AodgFzAkA or here http://www.tanglecreations.com/categories.php?ID=4

Just having something else to futz with can help.

~Blaze

[jacqueline101]

I have a habit of that too if my hair is in a pony tail. I'm going to wear it all up.

[long&blonde]

I agree;a scarf to play with,around your neck, or a beaded mala bracelet around your wrist,switch to playing with the fringe or beads!