Hair Pulling....

My girlfriend picks on her scabs to the point that they bleed. She cannot stop herself.
 
Well - I still pick at anything raised on my skin at all. It does not matter if it is a scab, a scratch, pimple, or whatever. That's just a nervous habit I have and can't seem to stop.
 
I often wonder why people have such a hard time seeing themselves as beautiful. If only they could see themselves the way I see them.
 
Wirelessly posted (droid)

Cheetah, you're a kind person. The world needs more kind people.
 
KristinaB said:
Well - I still pick at anything raised on my skin at all. It does not matter if it is a scab, a scratch, pimple, or whatever. That's just a nervous habit I have and can't seem to stop.
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My sister has a nearly obsessive habit of picking at ingrown hairs on her legs - last summer, I couldn't help but notice her legs covered in small red bloody dots and told her to stop picking but she can't help herself.
 
Cheetah said:
I often wonder why people have such a hard time seeing themselves as beautiful. If only they could see themselves the way I see them.
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I wish you could see me, Cheetah! ;)
 
mbrek said:
I wish you could see me, Cheetah! ;)
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I have seen pictures of you, and you are beautiful! I could say that even if I never saw your picture, I have seen what you write.
 
KristinaB said:
I used to have that problem. At times, I still pull out strands here and there, but not as often or as much. I was taught to channel my compulsions elsewhere and so that's when I started going to the piano. If the time was not good for the piano, I would then just do "finger-crochet". (making a crochet chain using my right index finger as the crochet hook) I still have that chain somewhere packed up. It is close to 500 yards.

I have OCD and it is more in the areas for organization. I did this stuff mainly when I did not have my own household. I have found, since moving into MIL's house, I began to start it again. My mother recognized it and gave me some yarn and I am back to doing a chain. We did let my doctor know about this, but I had never seen a doctor about it while growing up. My parents always thought it was my nerves or the fact that I never felt like I fit in. I spoke to a therapist about it while in Missouri when I was finally diagnosed with my OCD.

I am not making light of this condition at all, and I know that it is different for each individual.
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I don't have any ocd other than this one and it's one of the most disfiguring mental conditions ever. It has triggered some of the worst ever rages that I've seen in my family.

My eyelashes are quite sparse as a result even though I haven't done this in several years so the damage is perament.

trichotillomania is more accurately an impulse control disorder though than a true OCD.

As a rule, I don't watch reality shows but I remember one reality show where they had a hair pulling daughter on the show, I was shocked at the calm manner the whole family had about this disorder.

My parents took to me to the shrink for this reason and since my dad told me he's a friend of his and my mother, I didn't trust the shrink. It didn't work out.

I have never discussed this in public until today.

Some people will eat the roots of the hair they pull out.
 
KristinaB said:
Well - I still pick at anything raised on my skin at all. It does not matter if it is a scab, a scratch, pimple, or whatever. That's just a nervous habit I have and can't seem to stop.
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:shock: Same here.
 
Cheetah said:
I have seen pictures of you, and you are beautiful! I could say that even if I never saw your picture, I have seen what you write.
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Aw, Cheetah! You're sweet. I wish I could squeeze your cute furry self!
 
deafskeptic said:
Some people will eat the roots of the hair they pull out.
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Yes, and the whole hair. It can be deadly, actually, albeit it is rare,
for the hair is not easy to digest. It stays loooong time in the intestines and eventually all the hair that lies collected there over time
create trichobezoar (a hairball),
that can block the intestine completely.

Since the pullers are so embarrassed of what they do, it is not uncommon they don't tell about this habit- swallowing hair, they won't seek help if the problem arise.


Eventually, did you seek professional help Deafsceptic?
This so hard on your own.

My personal opinion is trich is a disease, very much like migraine or epilepsy is a disease.
You have it all the time, only the pain or seizures come once in a while.
Depending on severity, more or less often.
So in the trich, like a seizure or the head pain, the urge to pull comes on and you pull pull pull.

You can not stop pulling or picking any more than you can stop the seizure or migraine pain by yourself.
One need HELP. Sometimes you even need a medication.

One thing is sure, trich episode is as sure impossible to stop by sheer willpower
as migraine or epilepsy episode is.

I think it is hard to comprehend because trich's symptoms, unlike in other diseases, are purely "mechanical" - seems like one is "doing it to oneself".

Fuzzy
 
I twiddle and pull out a few strands at a time, regularly, throughout the day. But don't ingest them. It's come on over the last year or so. I do it without knowing I'm doing it and I have RSI in my hands from the repetitive motion! I'm CONSTANTLY doing SOMETHING with my hands, the only I do it less is when RSI gets bad because the pain reminds me of what I'm doing! My hair is thin in two places, and shorter than the rest of my hair, but I manage to somewhat disguise it. I don't really do anything about it, much like the smoking. Tell myself I've gotta pay attention to it sometime and stop, but tomorrow never comes. I'm a nervous person, diagnosed with PTSD, and this nervousness has got worse since I lost more hearing. Being hypervigilant does not bode well with deafness at all!! Feel like I have too much to readjust to as it is :(
 
I have two of my friends have it. Sometime, they get better but back to pull the hair and skin. They said very hard to stop it.
 
I'll admit i'm a picker, if there's a scab, mole etc. i'll pick at it until it heals. My brother on the other hand doesn't pick his skin, he digs it. There are huge holes in his legs and arms, he's autistic and we can't find a way to get him to stop. :( He is always getting infections that my mom has to clean and in the summer his legs are so wrapped up he looks like a burn victim.
 
KristinaB said:
Well - I still pick at anything raised on my skin at all. It does not matter if it is a scab, a scratch, pimple, or whatever. That's just a nervous habit I have and can't seem to stop.
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I do the same, my mom will be like "stop doing ...". Believe me I've tried, but its very hard to stop. Like my nails..seriously they look awful, Im constantly cutting on them or biting them, its a nervous habit I guess.

I have to constantly be moving, whether(?) it be shaking my foot or whatever.
 
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