when im nervous i.......

[Buby]

hello everyone.

when im nervous, i pull out my hair. not juat from my head from from the tops of my fingers and from my arms and legs. ive got small but sort of noticable patches where hair is missing on my legs, it looks like ive shaved in just one place. i try taking my mind off of it, like writing or doodling but as soon as i take my mind off of that i start to pull again.

any suggestions to keep my mind off of it?

Rachel

[Brownie]

Hi rachel,
I can't really help you too much as far as keeping your mind off of it just a couple, But i do things that are similiar i pluck with tweezers, my legs and my arms, it takes my mind off of the panic but it is such a bad habit. I also bite on my nails constantly it seems to help but yet another bad habit, so i know how you feel. I found that having a tennis ball or what i have is a rubberband ball that i found at a store which really helps, I either throw it up in the air or i take some of the rubber bands off then put them back on it does really help and you can do it anywhere you are. I hope this didnt sound stupid and i hope you try it out, ya never know it might work!;)

-Christie[:I]

[Buby]

cheers Christie.

i tried to make a rubberband ball, but they are soo hard. and mine was more oval than round! i will try it thanks.

hugs rachel

[Meg]

Hi Rachel ,

It's called trichotillomania. I've had a lady been emailing me about her son with it.
I'll ask her to post.

The secret is keeping your hand busy fiddling with something else. Some people chew pens, some flick blutac, some have some exec gadget handy like a baby rubix cube . For some chewing gum is enough.



Meg

Watch your thoughts, they become your words...
Watch your words, they become your actions... Watch your actions, they become your habits... Watch your habits, they become your character... Watch your character, it becomes your destiny...

[cathannan]

Hi
Meg mentioned I emailed her about my son. He is 13 and has had trichotillomania on and off since he was around 7. It was much worse then and I had to keep his hair very short so that he could not grip it to pull it out. As I knew nothing about this, I panicked at first but found a site on the internet which described and named what he was doing and related it to nail biting - i.e a subconscious habit. He is much better during school term as he is busy and having taken advice from Meg he regularly chews gum.
Here are some things we've tried:
Try wearing an elastic band (or beads on elastic)around the wrist/ankle as this can be pulled as a substitute.
Exercise - anything to keep your hands busy.
Wear a hat.
Wear a plaster on you pulling fingers.
Learn guitar! (or any musical instrument)
Focus on where your hands are - e.g every time you look at your watch turn the page of a book, at the end of a tv prog say to yourself "do I know where my hands are?"
Keep a chart or calendar awarding a star for a good day-giving the child an incentive(trip to the cinema/swimming/toy/new clothes) when a set goal(10 stars for example) is reached. (This is good for small children.)
Live one day at a time........no recriminations, no worries.
Any habit can be broken but it takes determination.
Check out a web site called www.stoppulling.com
Another thing which you can try is Emotional Freedon therapy EFT - this involves tapping various points. See their website at www.emotionalfreedom.com
The main thing in life is to learn to relax - easy said I know. Yoga and Tai Chi are good exercises to learn as they teach you how to do deep breathing which can also be beneficial.
Hope this helps.


Cat

[stimpy]

Hi Rachel

I've been a hair puller, finger picker, nail biter, cheek and lip biter for years. It's something I've always done since I was little. In fact I don't ever remember not doing it.

I'm always playing with my hair, wrapping it around my fingers and getting it in a knot. My mum was always cutting my fingers free, as I got older I just pulled the knotted hair out. Steve goes mad. "I've just vacuumed in here and there is knots of hair all over the floor".
I'm forever picking or biting the skin on my fingers. The more I pick it the worse it gets and the worse it gets the more I pick at it.
The Dentist is always telling me to stop biting my cheek and grinding my teeth together.

They are things I do mainly when I am worried, stressed out, tired or bored.
I have to admit, I've never pulled hair from anywhere other than on my head, and I've never done it to the point where I have had a bald patch. Although I do pick at, bite and cut skin from my fingers until they are sore and bleeding.

Most of the time I'm fiddling with my hair and biting my cheek without even noticing I'm doing it.

I had no idea these things were a medical condition, I thought it was just a few bad habbits I had.

Love and Light
Liz xxx




Panic Monster & Scatty Excentric

[DawnUK]

I actually had this when I was little too, a similar age to your son. I would pull out hairs on my head one by one, then fiddle with them, all without realizing. My Mum always used to tell me to leave my hair alone, but my family only realized how bad the habit was when I went swimming with my Nan, and emerged from the water with a big bald patch on my head! [:I]

I also used to bite my nails for years and years. Stopped both habits now though, although personally, i'd rather pull my hair out and bite my nails than have panic attacks :(

[nomorepanic]

Cat

Just wanted to say thanks for taking the time to register and post on here. It is much appreciated.

Nicola

[nomorepanic]

quote:Originally posted by stimpy

Although I do pick at, bite and cut skin from my fingers until they are sore and bleeding.


Me too Liz

My nails are a disgrace and I keep meaning to get false ones but the skin around them needs to feel first :(

Nicola

[uryjm]

Me too. If I'm not biting my nails, I'm biting my lip and I was doing it long before panic attacks appeared. My mother's side of the family are all "worriers". Do you think there is a genetic element to panic (I'm pretty sure there must be.)

Jim

[Meg]

Yes there is Jim

let me find the figures..

Yes , it's often inherited. There is a school of thought that some of this may be down to learned behaviour. ie. if you see Mum panicking you learn that behaviour too.

In studies of patients with anxiety, 18% of first degree relatives also have the same disorder , compared with 2% of distant relatives; 60% of patients have at least one relative with the same disorder, compared with 15% of control patients.
In twin studies it's 45% for both identical twins to suffer and 15% for non identical twins.



Meg

Watch your thoughts, they become your words...
Watch your words, they become your actions... Watch your actions, they become your habits... Watch your habits, they become your character... Watch your character, it becomes your destiny...

[Laurie28]

My mother is a very anxious person and does loads of 'crazy' things I think i must have picked up alot of my anxiety from her!!

But the anxiety has STOPPED me biting my nails as I was scared of what i had touched and there was no way I was biting them!!
(There is a bit of good in everything eh!!)

Love
lucky

[uryjm]

Interesting stuff Meg. Can't wait for the next family get together! Rememeber that song by Tahisha Tikarem (or something)? Altogether now, "There's a good tradition of love and severe panic, 'round by the fireside.":-)

Jim