i pluck my hair out. am i the only one?

[melochodie]

sometimes when i sit down, i just have this urge to comb through my hair and feel for those damaged hair, you know, those that swiggly and wavy and have odd feel to the hands, and i pluck them out, and there are a lot of them, it's like i can't stand the fact that they're connected to my head, so i pluck all those damaged ones.
sometimes some are not really damaged, some just have a huge curl towards the end but i pluck them out anyway. once i plucked out about 50 strands in a sitting. i just can't help it. i keep doing it even though i know it might create a bald spot. so i try to pluck different areas of the scalp. but one's head is only this big, you know.
does anyone have this problem too? how did u overcome it? please share it with me. i still want my hair with no bald spots.

[Wannabe Beauty]

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Welcome to the club.

Kidding. xD
But I pull out my scalp hair, eyelashes, eyebrows, *red face* pubic hair and now it just falls out on it's own.
Try distract yourself by drawing, distract your hands by sewing or something, keep yourself busy.
Wear gloves if you have to, and remind yourself how horrible it is having bald patches.
You can overcome it, it's just a habit. :)
Hope your alright, if you want to talk just PM me. :D xxx~

[InMotion]

As Wannabe Beauty said; try to distract yourself. :) I used to do this - Trichotillomania that is - until a friend made fun of me for having a bald spot. :/ But that really opened my eyes, and made me consciously stop. I do occassionally slip, but it's nothing major. Good luck overcoming this awful problem! :( <3

[NanoBiff]

I do this all the time! Exactly same as you 'WannabeBeauty' Thought it was just me... Anyone know the reasons for it? Is it psychological or just medical?

[leivina]

I'm not obsessive about it anymore, but I know what you mean; it's SO satisfying to pluck out those squiggly hairs. The hairs on the back of my head are courser than the ones in front, and when I was little I would always pluck out a few for fun. Well, when I was in first grade, we had taken some sort of standardized test and there was nothing to do when we were finished. I sat at my desk plucking out one hair after another because I was bored, and when it was time to go home I looked down at my desk and realized there was a big pile of hairs sitting in front of me. I am so confused as to how the teacher didn't notice, or if she did, why she didn't stop me from doing it. Anyway, I created a sizable bald patch right on my part, and walked around like that (totally self conscious, especially since I am short and ALL of my peers could see the top of my head) for a few days until my mother noticed it and suggested I put my hair in a ponytail to hide it. I obsessively wore my hair in a ponytail until high school and never overdid it again. I told my mother I had no idea what had happened to the hair. A few years later she found out that if you get some kind of rash on your head, it creates a bald spot, and she figured that's what must have happened.

So yeah, I don't know a way to overcome it without humiliating yourself into not doing it again, but now if I really feel the urge to pluck out some hair, I keep it to areas where it's socially acceptable to be bald! Gimme a pair of tweezers and an unshaven leg and I'm entertained for an hour... :rolleyes:

[Fake]

I started pulling my eyelashes a little while ago, and of all people my mum said I looked ugly.
I find that you don't look so silly if you try and pull the hairs no-one sees. The ones at the bottom of your scalp (under the rest of your hair) are a good idea as they're not that important anyway and if you keep your hair down, no-one'll notice. You could also try your arms, hands, legs, torso. As Leivina said, areas that are acceptable to be bald.
It's a tricky disorder, 'cause it's one that makes you feel like you look like an idiot, even when most of the time no-one notices.

[theelephantgirl]

There used to be a girl in my school who did this, as far as i know its an actual condition called trichotillomania. You might not do the same thing, but i read something about it saying it affects about 10% of the population in one way or another, so you're not the only one, don't worry! Hope this helps :]

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[melochodie]

hey all, thanks for all ya replies... at least i feel less psychotic now that i know people don't just think it's crazy to pluck out your own hair, especially if there are people out there whose hair fall out though they don't want them to.
but i still feel like a compulsive urge to do it, ugh, especially after i wash my hair and it's all wet, and all the spirally damaged hair will be exceptionally obvious and i will just go pluck, pluck, pluck.
i wish there was some one-off solution, but i know there isn't. i just really hope i will be able to keep it all under control when i head for college real soon...
:(

[barely_there]

I don't pick at my hair, but I'm ALWAYS tearing at my lips. I don't think I can go more than 15 minutes without yanking the skin of my lips. I don't even realize I'm doing it anymore, and suddenly I'll look down to see my fingernails filled with blood underneath. I've done it for about 5 years, and I've never been able to stop.

Best,

-L

[Chew]

Every so often I get into a habit of unconsciously biting the corner of my inner lip, I don't know why I do it but I end up with a big throbbing lump & it stings to death! x

MoonChew. x

[UsedRomance]

My best friend has trichotillomania. I have a related condition called dermatillomania in which I pick my scalp so we have had some long conversations about it.

We both think it's strange how people seem to act like it's something to be majorly concerned about. She got kicked off her uni course when she told uni she had it. Yet it's just a habit that we do absent-mindedly, like biting nails. No one goes to therapy because they bite their nails.

It doesn't really affect either of us badly. It's worse for her, obviously, because it's noticeable when she doesn't have much hair. She's said before that if it didn't have the physical effects then she wouldn't bother getting help because she doesn't see it as a problem.

She's a lot better at the moment. It gets worse with stress but now she's out of the house where her housemates hated her and she's off a course that was stressing her out. So she feels a lot better and hasn't had to do it.

[OnlyGoestoShow]

Well,
I mean, I never picked on my hair
but since I can remember I have always picked at my lips.
And when I had acne in high school I would pick at my zits.
Pretty much anything on my skin that did not feel right to me I have picked at.

[TheOutsider]

I've had TTM since I was 7 years old.
Mostly eyeborws and eyelashes, but sometimes the tiny hairs on my hands
I also pick at my lips.
It's a horrible condition, but I find that chewing something, like gum or a pen lid helps to distract you. Or tearing up orange peel gives a similar feeling to tearing your lips

[dontfearthedort]

I don't pick at my hair, but I'm ALWAYS tearing at my lips. I don't think I can go more than 15 minutes without yanking the skin of my lips. I don't even realize I'm doing it anymore, and suddenly I'll look down to see my fingernails filled with blood underneath. I've done it for about 5 years, and I've never been able to stop.

Best,

-L

i've been doing that since i was really little. i cant stand the dry skin that sometimes forms on my lips, so i pick at it until im bleeding. i even do it to my boyfriend. i literally cannot stand that skin, lol. he doesnt really seem to mind..im pretty good at not making it hurt. its sooo weird, i know, but sometimes i just cant fight the compulsion.

[SufferForBeauty]

I used to tear my hair out as a nervous habit/ when I was stressed out. I still do it on occasion, but not nearly as often as before. It never got to the point where a noticeable amount of hair was missing, though (thank goodness)

[me-plainandsimple]

i'm exactly the same. i just keep pulling so, to make sure i pull out less, i fiddle with the bit i pull out for a lil while so i end up having pulled out less.
i do it all the time in therapy sessions

[perryr]

I pluck those ugly, coarse, damaged hair as well!

[Pearlmoon93]

When I was 6-7 I pulled out eyelashes.. when i was 13-14 I pulled out hairs until I had a bald spot... I don't pull them out as much anymore, but now i have the habit of scratching and touching my scalp. I didn't know other do it too until I read this! wow...

[SufferForBeauty]

I used to pull out my hair all the time. Not pluck the strands one by one, but actually run my fingers through my hair and pull it out. It wasn't an obsessive compulsive trait, it was just something I did when I was stressed. I don't do this anymore, mostly because now I just bite the insides of my mouth and the skin around my nails instead as an alternative. It's more satisfying and I don't have to worry about having no hair.

[Pointe]

When I was a kid, I was obsessed with my hair. (Most of my obsessions go through phases...) I would pluck it out. I would take scissors and cut a tiny bit off, then stash it in a trash can hoping my mom and step-dad wouldn't find out. But there's only so well a second grader can hide a bald spot on the back of her head. I don't remember what my mom did about it, but eventually the obsession passed. Now I just pick at my skin. :/

[Erla]

I pick every hair on my body with tweezer, but not on my head or face :)

[ricecakes]

I pick every hair on my body with tweezer, but not on my head or face :)

wow exactly the same as you, thought i was the only one!!

i also am constantly biting my lips/fingers till they bleed and go scabby.. but then its even more fun to peel off the scabs haha how gross.

and i pick at my head till it scabs too..

is this a form of ocd? i dont really think it should be haha!

[perfectdisaster]

i do this too.
less noticeably now, because before i used to have very visible bald patches on my head.
but yes, trich is a form of OCD...or at least according to my psychiatrist~

[fantine]

I did when I was younger but later in my 20s only my arm and leg hair.

[elzie]

I pluck my pubic hair. You're not alone! xxxxx

[Beckytea]

I do this too!

I pluck my pubic hair, leg hair, arm hair, even eyelashes sometimes...

[abitdifferent]

I did with my hair on my head when I was a kid...still don't know the actual word for this. It happened when I saw domestic abuse a lot at home though so maybe somebody has the answer to what it is?

[insight]

Nope, you're not alone. I've picked my hair out since I was a kid. Same with my skin. I find that I tend to do it more when I'm stressed about something/upset. I've started doing it more recently, it's horrible. |:

[xblindmyeyesx]

same:/xxxxxx

[brijeeet]

Trichotillomania?

[SorrowfulWhisper]

Scalp hair, eyebrows, eyelashes, pubic hair ... guilty as hell :(

[Constantine]

I'm not sure if this is exactly the same thing, but the weirdest thing happens to me where I will wake up in the middle of the night because I am pulling out my hair. It's not like grabbing individual strands, but running my hands through my hair to comb through the knots and therefore ripping out huge chunks. :( it sucks. I also have dermatillomania (spelling?) where I pick obsessively at my skin... used to be a big problem on my forehead and chin and now it has moved to my scalp... less visible but still gross. it makes me feel awful about myself :( so yes, you are not alone!

[snowprincess]

lately ive been literally pullin the hair outa my head, yes it already falls out alot, but im pullin chucks out in the shower now

[Mellyboo]

Same here it's so annoying.

Me as well. It is dead set gross , I don't pluck it either with tweezers, I just pull it out with my fingers, and even my armpit hair sometimes , I think I started with my eyebrows now too. FUCK me