A terrible bad habit i have?

Question

I have a bad habit of plucking hairs from my head and see the root. i did it since 11 now i am 21... i am not bald yet but sooner look like i will... that is empty patches on my head.. i look pretty in face but not in head. i got a bf who think my hair is dropping actually not... how can i stop this i can't? i seen pple doing it... how can make my hair grow faster..... how please... how can i stop too? how please.... seriously answers pls. thanks

Answer 1

you really do need to see a doctor because this is an illness. i saw on 60 minutes a while back this same subject. the women were miserable because they couldnt stop plucking their hairs, they had huge bald spots on their heads due to this illness. please see a doctor and let him direct you to someone who can help you. i dont think you are going to be able to quit on your own. good luck. i wish you the best.

Answer 2

What is Trichotillomania?
Trichotillomania is the uncontrollable plucking of one’s hair. Although usually limited to hair on the head, removal of eyebrows, eyelashes and other body hair is not uncommon. The practice results in signficant, and sometimes complete, hairloss.

Official Criteria
The DSM-IVR includes 5 criterion that must be present for the diagnosis:

Recurrent plucking of one's hair resulting in noticeable hair loss
Increasing build-up of tension immediately before the plucking which is is follow by:
Sense of relief or reduction in tension when the hair is pulled
The problem is not better explained by an alternative mental or medical disorder
The problem results in signficant distress or impairment to the individual in social, vocational or other areas of life
Since Trichotillomania is currently thought to be a variation of Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD), similiar types of treatments are used. Behavioural therapy, stress reduction, and psychotherapy are used either singularly or in conjunction with pharmacological treatments such as SSRI’s (eg. Prozac).

Answer 3

Wow, that's a hard habit. What are you feeling when you start plucking your hair, nothing, or are you stressed? I have a very bad habit of biting my cheek from the inside as well as the skin inside my lip. I do it when I'm idle and just sitting at the light in my car or when I'm nervous. There are some very good vitamins called "Hair and Nail Vitamins" that you can get at Wal-Mart or Target. I bought them and I take two in the morning and one at night and I've noticed that my hairbrush isn't getting as full as it used to. It's helping me keep my hair and growing more. You can try associating your habit with something painful to keep you from doing it. Whenever you start pulling out your hair and checking out the root bite your tongue hard. That'll maybe cause a pavlovian effect where you'll stop from associating your habit with pain (maybe it's called something else, not pavlovian, but you catch my drift). Good luck with this.

Here's an excerpt:

Hair pulling
A lot of people twiddle with their hair as it can be comforting. Sometimes, it can develop further into Trichotillomania, which is when you pluck out your hair strand by strand. The most common places to pull hair from are the head, eyebrows and eyelashes. Some people suck, chew or eat the hair or bite off the root and discard the rest. It’s very common among women and is linked to obsessive compulsive disorder. If the habit gets out of control it can lead to baldness, which is very upsetting.

Try to keep your fingers occupied using stress balls and wear cotton mittens or a hat or headscarf so you don’t get tempted to pull at your hair. There are thought to be as many as 2 million people with the same habit as you so don’t suffer in silence. Speak to your GP for a referral to a behaviour therapist.

Answer 4

Okay honestly, I have no idea how to make you stop doing this. However, I do have hair down past my butt. Only use good Shampoo and conditioners, use only wide tooth comb when hair is wet. And for some odd reason my hair grows faster when I keep it pulled up tight. Not so tight though that you get head aches.

Answer 5

Please listen. You are not alone. This is a documented form of obsessive compulsive disorder and it can be treated with meds. You need to see a psychiatrist who is familiar with this compulsion.

Here's what I got when I googled 'obsessive hair plucking'. Now you have a name for it and a source of info. Please get help:

This condition is called Trichotilomania. You can surely find information on the web. It is treatable. Good luck
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It's called trichotillomania and it's a treatable, obsessive- compulsive type disorder. There's a place in the South Bay, Santa Cruz maybe?, dedicated to helping people with it. Their web address is http://www.trich.org.

Answer 6

it's a real disorder (as you know) many people suffer from this
"you're not alone" you need to see a Dr., or counselor, they'll give you a RX that should help.
I have something called CSP
(compulsive skin picking)
and I found out a lot about it on the internet. you can find out more
about what you're going through too...I hope that makes you feel a better...

Answer 7

go to the doctor . this is an illness . it even has a name, there is help for this one.