Pulling out my hair

I have been doing this for years and it is driving me insane. I do not pull out clumps. I started because I saw my mom pulling her hair when I was bout 10 and asked her about it and she told me she was just pulling split ends out. I became fascinated with spilt ends and sometimes that is why I pull. But mostly I pull at night when I am tired and I don't even realize I am doing it. I enjoy the "snap" of pulling the hair and then pulling apart the hair by the split ends. I have ADHD and take meds and find I do this mostly when my meds have worn off for the evening. I am thinking about trying hypnosis. Has anyone had success with kicking this habit? My hair has always been thin and I can see the toll it is taking on my hair lately, but I don't pull out clumps or anything, so other people can't notice. But I am worried as I age and my already slow hair growth continues to decline that it will become very noticeable soon. I welcome any suggestions or ideas. Thank you.

Hello highnrg1: The Skeezyks has been a long time hair puller... but not so much on the top of my head as on other areas of my body. Since I'm male, I have quite a few options...

It is true that pulling hair on your head can, over time, cause you to develop bald spots... places where hair simply will no longer grow. There used to be, I presume there still are, videos on YouTube related to this topic & what people who've developed bald spots do about them. I'm afraid I don't have any suggestions for how to stop this practice since I've never been able to stop it myself.

Thanks, SKEEZYKS. It's nice to know someone else struggles with this. I really hope I can find something to help me stop this once and for all. But in the meantime, knowing that someone else is going through the struggle helps, too.

Wow, I do this exact same thing! I almost want to say there's something simultaneously soothing and fascinating about unraveling a strand of hair into smaller fibers. I don't know if that's symbolic of something or if it's a meaningless quirk.

Mine started when I was a kid. My parents divorced when I was five (I was caught up in an ugly custody battle for several years afterward), and prior to that I had to witness a lot of fighting and substance abuse in my household. I think the hair pulling may have started as a self-soothing mechanism. I also have OCD. It's mild now but was really bad when I was a child. Trichotillomania is widely recognized as a symptom of OCD. It's a compulsion.

Fortunately I've never developed bald spots. I have, however, broken the ends of my hair in certain sections to where it looks raggedy and shorter than the rest of my hair and my hairdresser has to trim the rest to help the damaged section blend in. I've tried to stop cold turkey but have never been successful for more than a couple days. My hands find their way unconsciously back into my hair, I find a split strand that I want to unravel, and I tell myself "okay, just ONE." And of course I relapse totally from there.

It's almost like an addiction. Like trying to quit smoking or drinking. I've often thought about trying to wean myself away from doing it. Like giving myself designated periods of time when I can touch my hair and then making those times shorter and further apart until it's prohibited entirely. Maybe that's a method you could try. If you find yourself more inclined to pull hair at night, give yourself a 20-minute (or whatever) block of time where it's "allowed." Once the time is up, you're not allowed to pull your hair until the following evening at the same time. Something like that.

Of course if you think hypnosis may be worth trying, go for it. It's shown promise in helping people overcome addictions like smoking or compulsive eating. Cognitive behavioral therapy may be beneficial as well, especially given your history of anxiety. Look for a therapist that specializes in CBT. That would be my suggestion.

I hope this has been helpful and that you don't feel quite so alone.

Thanks, Persephone. I am going to try the "allowed" time with a timer and then maybe put on a hat and gloves after that…or a headband and clips in my hair sometimes reduces as well. I think my hair may be thinning more as I age as well and is also not growing back as quickly, too. My hair is not showing "bald" spots, but I am definitely noticing "thinning" sections.

If it continues to worsen, I may look into hypnosis and sure will share here how that goes if I do.

Thanks everyone!

Same here. My dermatologist told me I have androgenic alopecia (aka female pattern baldness). I'm in my mid-30s and thought I was too young for that, but she says it can affect women as young as their late teens/early 20s (!). Heredity sucks. I recently started Rogaine. Hopefully it'll help regrow some of my hair or at least stave off further loss. Anyway, that's given me added incentive not to pull at it. When I can't fight the compulsion, I make sure to stay away from the hair on top of my head knowing that it won't grow back.

I hope the "designated time" suggestion helps you. Let us know.

I was visiting my daughter and son-in-law the past few days and being very busy seemed to help for the most part. I still find myself struggling when I can't sleep, when I start to habitually pull and just don't notice right away. The other night the "timer" worked okay. But last night I forgot that and started again. Not horrible, but more than I would have liked before I noticed and stopped. Thanks for suggestions and encouragement. It's an ongoing battle.

Being busy definitely helps me. That and being around other people (whom I would rather not witness me pulling at my hair). When you're having trouble sleeping, perhaps you could get something like a strand of "worry beads," which are kind of like a rosary, so that you can keep your hands occupied with something besides your hair. Not sure if that would help. Or wearing a thin pair of gloves to bed if it's not too warm. Just a thought.

Glad to hear the timer worked the other night. Keep at it!

OOh. I like the idea of worry beads. I have used gloves and they help at times, but like you said, pretty hot this time of year. Perhaps I can find a thinner pair to try, too. Thanks so much!