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View Full Version : I Can't Leave My Scalp Alone....OCD?



Trish
27-11-05, 10:33
Hi

I'm not sure what this is, but i can't leave my scalp alone my hands are forever in my hair scratching at my scalp until it is so sore and bleeding. I been doing this for a few years on and off but more recently i am more aware of doing it.

I can remember when i was around the age of 9/10 (40yrs ago) i used to pull my hair out, even had a small bald patch, but can't remember what the doctor said about it at the time and my mum was given cream to rub in.

Do you think this could be OCD?

I have been diagnosed as having night PA's for the last 21 months.

Does anyone else do this?

Trish

'Life is not measured by the breaths we take, but by the moments that take our breath away'

mum2four
27-11-05, 10:52
I'm trying to find the same answer for my self right now lol.

I have been scratching my head for year and my tummy the main area's but i I'll scratch anywhere and is was getti ng extreamly intence and often for year's 6 to be exact lol. 3 year i realised it was not allergy realated and that i was scratching in sleep and try for 3 to stop my self with ouit sucsess. I;m on luvox and the intence need to scratch is gone but i still find my self scratching when i think.

kate
27-11-05, 13:25
Tricia,

Not OCD, no. More an anxious habit.

Kate

Trish
27-11-05, 13:37
Hi Kate

thank you for your reply.

I understand that it is more than likely a habit....but its like i have to do it, It's really wierd!!

lotus
27-11-05, 15:18
yes, skin picking, hair pulling, nail biting might be associated with OCD but only a professional can diagnose you

kate
27-11-05, 16:10
Compulsive skin picking and Trichotillomania (hair pulling) are different disorders.

OCD sufferers are plagued with persistant, recurring and unwanted thoughts about feared situations = obsessions, which they often attempt to fight with mental or physical rituals = compulsions.

Kate

Sus
27-11-05, 19:03
Hey Trish, I do the scratching thing too, have done for aaages but I like doing it so I never worry about it, eek. I also pull hair out, when I was about 10 I pulled hair on my parting out so much my parting was a really wide baldy bit. Still do it now, not so much on my head but I pull my eyelashes and eyebrows out constantly. I dont even notice Im doing it. And I dont know why, same as you it is a compulsion and I just feel I must must do it, cant relax till I've done it. Let me know if you find any miraculous cure. Sus, xx

mum2four
28-11-05, 08:17
Luvox has been my cure from the scratching OCD or not Luvox has worked for me. It target's unwanted repeated thought's like the urge to scratch.

soular
12-01-06, 11:48
Like a few people have already mentioned, hair pulling could be down to a few things. In my case it's down to Trichotillomania, which is an OCD thing. I've suffered from it since I was about 12. I once gradually pulled out nearly whole of my right eyebrow when I was younger. I had to grow my hair long to cover it (thank God I wasn't pulling that out as well!). Luckily the hair all grew back soon enough, but I still pull out hair from different areas. It sometimes goes away for periods up to a couple of years in my case. But then it comes back when I'm stressed and anxious. I think compulsions like this seem to comfort us. It's crazy but I find I can't stop myself, which seems to be a recurring theme with OCD!

Allie
15-02-06, 02:03
Trichotillamania is known to be related with OCD (lately when my thoughts are really getting to me I find myself pulling at strands at my hair to release the tension, and sometimes my hands are in my hair without realising it).

However Trichotillomania is also recognised as a condition in its own right seperate from OCD, and is part of a range of disorders known as impulse control disorders (simply meaning you just can't help yourself from doing it no matter how much you want to stop!) My sister has suffered with this for many years without showing any other manifestations of OCD. However, do ot be alarmed as Trichotillomania is most certainly anxiety based and is at its worst when you feel under pressure and I recommend that you visit your GP to get a diagnosis specifically for you as i am not qualified to make a clinical judgement on your particular case.

Try keeping a journal however, so as to ascertain any particular situations or thought patterns that cause you to pull you hair.

THE VOICE INSIDE YOUR HEAD IS NOT THE VOICE OF GOD. IT JUST SOUNDS LIKE IT THINKS IT IS! Cheri Huber