Beebs

Lily, thanks for the info. I know so much already though since I've had this disorder since I was in 1st grade and now I am 20. I went through fazes of pulling hair on my head and everywhere else imaginable. I am still pulling eyelashes and brows as I said b4 but I have learned to do my make-up so well that most people have no idea. And my boyfriend does understand (he also has impulsive problems too). I guess it's been so long and I quit pulling my hair and a few other things that I wish I could just stop with everything. I know there are a lot of others with this disorder. For instant my brother has this but not to the extreme that I do and so did a lady my mom used to work with. I know I have a lot of self-esteem issues even though many people say that I am very pretty (blonde hair, green eyes, skinny) it's just I don't feel that way about myself. I am much better since I found my boyfriend (we moved into our own condo together, have 2 puppies and love each other so much) and we've been together for about 2 years. We've talked about getting married but for my wedding I want to be able to have at least eyelashes and I will be starting esthiology school (make-up, facials, etc) in a month (another reason I need my eyelashes and eyebrows). I just feel so overwhelmed it's almost making me want to pull more. I guess I wish it was easier. But nothing's easy, right?! But anyway thanks again for the support & advice & I wish the best of luck to the both of us to overcome this disorder.

I can't believe your boyfriend would say that, especially if he knows you have this ICD. I know that when I pull on my eyelashes and eyebrows my boyfriend will ask "What are You doing?!" I usually say nothing but I just can't help it. And even though my boyfirend is very understanding it is still hard when he asks me to stop for him and that if I love him I'll stop. I want to so bad but I just can't. Every day it's a battle

Unfortunately I suspect you to have this ICD. All I can give you for advice is don't let it get worse. I started out doing very little then it got worse. Be careful and keep an eye on the problem - I don't want you to end up like me and the others.

I personally think there are different extremes to this ICD (Trich). You are just lucky to be on the low end. Me and many others, unfortunately, are on the high end. But then I guess, I wouldn't consider someone who plucks their eyebrows, to their ideal shape, to have this ICD. I pluck my eyebrows but the problem is I go too far with it (thank god for eyebrow definer/pencils). So I guess you may or may not have this ICD. It mostly depends on if the pulling gets out of hand at times and/or you get pleasure out of doing it and/or it makes you feel better.

To Answer your question... I have been doing some research on Trich since I have this disorder and I finally have a name for it. Apparently it is considered an ICD (Impulse Control Disorder) it is in the same category as compulsive gambling/drinking. The problem is researchers don't have a lot of information yet and won't know all there is to know for about 20 more years. But they do know that most people that have had it since they were 12/13 still have it at the age of 40 or older. These statistics are kind of hard to hear but at least we know we're not alone. One more quick piece of info is that depression doesn't seem to cause this disorder but more the disorder causes depresssion. Psychiatrists try to perscribe medication and try all sort of ways to get you to stop but they don't know enough to actually give you the treatment you need. Sometimes it helps if my boyfriend runs his hands through my hair, while we're watching TV. I try and get him to do this on a daily basis. I guess that goes along with what researchers have said "Everyone likes having his or her hair played with/ brushed etc., and this is because when the hair shaft moves, this triggers a release of endorphins, and the same thing happens with trich. It is the endorphin release that is the reason for removing hair when under pressure or in stressful situations as it calms us down. Trich is very hard to get over for this simple reason. I mean, why would you stop doing something that calms you down in unpleasant situations?" I have also tried to wear a rubber band around my wrist and every time I would start to pull I would snap it (I heard it has helped some people that cut) but that didn't really seem to work. I have also gotten one of those spin rings and tried to just sit there and spin it every time I wanted to pull but again that didn't seem to work. So basically I found the treatment for me is to just keep trying to stop and hope it works one day. I have stopped different parts of this disorder but I still have some quirks. Hope that answers your question...if you want to know go to the "hair pulling disorder" forum.

I have problems just like everyone. My problems are different than yours and yours are different than other peoples. I have had a hair pulling disorder (kind of an OCD called Trich) since the 1st grade (if you want to know more go to the hair pulling disorder forum). I have, or had, 2 older brothers and the oldest, which was like a second dad to me (he was 12 years older than me and around more than my working dad), died when I was in 5th grade. My other brother went downhill from there and ended up in jail twice, the second time for a year. He now is married has 3 kids and is probably going to get a divorce and it sucks since I love my sister-in-law (she is almost my best friend). Through all that was happening I was alone, no friends (I looked horrible because of my hair pulling problem), and my family was such a wreck that they weren't there for me either. I got into highschool and smoked pot, drank hardcore, and partied a ton. Then after I broke up with my emotionally abusive boyfriend of 2 years just after graduating highschool and I basically turned into a hore. I hated myself and I just wanted someone to love me I thought sex was the way to go. I walked in on a guy that I had been dating for 3months and found him about to get it on with a different girl. After all this I ended up getting a very bad rep of being "Easy" in my small town so finally I just picked up and move to a new city and state. I started over and you know what finally I am happy. No things aren't picture perfect like in the movies but I am ok with that. I live with my boyfriend (my soulmate) of a year and we have 2 puppies and we are moving into our very own condo next week. Trust me you will find that "right" beautiful loving guy but you have to go through a lot of Sh** to get there. It sucks but the best lesson I've learned is "everything takes time" not matter what it is. It is probably one of the toughest lessons to learn and deal with. Now I almost killed myself on many occasions but I don't know how or why but I never actually went through with it. I am glad to be alive, even though I am very self-contious, I still have my hair pulling problem, my bro and sis-in-law are almost done, and things aren't exactly the way I planned they would be. If you see you are not alone in feeling alone. You are at that age that feels like the world is closing in on you or you feel like you are just watching your body live your life. I've been there and so have so many others. What I have to say is DON'T GIVE UP it isn't worth it there is better things to come, I know from experience. I never went to a therapist or got help, I was never on medication, I did this by myself. If you need to talk more I am here I am not far from your age, I am almost 20 and I've been there. I hope I've showed you some sort of hope.

I have problems just like everyone. My problems are different than yours and yours are different than other peoples. I have had a hair pulling disorder (kind of an OCD called Trich) since the 1st grade (if you want to know more go to the hair pulling disorder forum). I have, or had, 2 older brothers and the oldest, which was like a second dad to me (he was 12 years older than me and around more than my working dad), died when I was in 5th grade. My other brother went downhill from there and ended up in jail twice, the second time for a year. He now is married has 3 kids and is probably going to get a divorce and it sucks since I love my sister-in-law (she is almost my best friend). Through all that was happening I was alone, no friends (I looked horrible because of my hair pulling problem), and my family was such a wreck that they weren't there for me either. I got into highschool and smoked pot, drank hardcore, and partied a ton. Then after I broke up with my emotionally abusive boyfriend of 2 years just after graduating highschool and I basically turned into a hore. I hated myself and I just wanted someone to love me I thought sex was the way to go. I walked in on a guy that I had been dating for 3months and found him about to get it on with a different girl. After all this I ended up getting a very bad rep of being "Easy" in my small town so finally I just picked up and move to a new city and state. I started over and you know what finally I am happy. No things aren't picture perfect like in the movies but I am ok with that. I live with my boyfriend (my soulmate) of a year and we have 2 puppies and we are moving into our very own condo next week. Now I almost killed myself on many occasions but I don't know how or why but I never actually went through with it. I am glad to be alive, even though I am very self-contious, I still have my hair pulling problem, my bro and sis-in-law are almost done, and things aren't exactly the way I planned they would be. If you see you are not alone in feeling alone. You are at that age that feels like the world is closing in on you or you feel like you are just watching your body live your life. I've been there and so have so many others. What I have to say is DON'T GIVE UP it isn't worth it there is better things to come, I know from experience. I never went to a therapist or got help, I was never on medication, I did this by myself. For people that only have one thing to say, "Get Help", they just don't know what it is like to be in this situation. They either don't remember what it is like to be 17 or they are in the 1% that never experienced this. If you need to talk more I am here I am not far from your age, I am almost 20 and I've been there. I hope I've showed you some sort of hope.

I don't have a lot of advice but I guess I would think you could just go to a different doctor and if you live in a small town go to a surrounding area town. Then you have nothing to worry about with this info getting to your family or friends.

Is your period normal - the way it always is every month?? If it is normal then you are not pregnant. But on another note I don't know if you have ever heard of pre-cum? That actually contains a lot of sperm and it come out long before the guy, fully, ejaculates. So even though he didn't fully come, it is still possible to get pregnant.

I know I just posted but I have a little more to say. I don't twirl my hair but sometimes it helps me to stop pulling for a while if my boyfriend runs his hands through my hair, while we're watching TV. I try and get him to do this on a daily basis. I guess that goes along with what researchers have said "Everyone likes having his or her hair played with/ brushed etc., and this is because when the hair shaft moves, this triggers a release of endorphins, and the same thing happens with trich. It is the endorphin release that is the reason for removing hair when under pressure or in stressful situations as it calms us down. Trich is very hard to get over for this simple reason. I mean, why would you stop doing something that calms you down in unpleasant situations?" I have also tried to wear a rubber band around my wrist and every time I would start to pull I would snap it (I heard it has helped some people that cut) but that didn't really seem to work. I have also gotten one of those spin rings and tried to just sit there and spin it every time I wanted to pull but again that didn't seem to work. Also I know what it is like to try and keep this secret. My parents told all my family without me knowing and told some of their friends - it's embarrassing you know. I have also cried many days and nights because of this. We don't ask to be this way and it just isn't that easy to stop. Myself I have only told 2 of my past girl friends, my ex-boyfriend when we were together (2 yr. relationship) and my now boyfriend. Some people think it is so weird or they just don't know what to say. But I feel as long as my family and my best friend (my boyfriend) know, I don't need anyone else to know. One other interesting fact is that my brother that is 8 year older than me (the one that is alive) also has a hair pulling issue I am not going to say what but I used to do this also. So is this genetic??

I am almost 20 years old and like I said in my first post...I remember I first started pulling when I was in 1st grade. Actually it happened much like you "KissMe_KillMe"...I was sitting at my desk at school and I started pulling a little on my eyebrows, realizing that many came out without any effort. But then I just started pulling harder and the next thing I knew I had gaps in my eyebrows. I did this for a while but probably not more than a year and I stopped for a while. I thought that it was when I was in 5th grade, after my brother died, that it got bad. But now that I think about it, it actually got bad about 6months to a year or so b4 my brother died because I remember him knowing about it. When I talk about it getting bad I mean I didn't have eyebrows (I wasn't old enough to know how to pencil them in), I didn't have top eyelashes (didn't know how to use eyeliner yet either) and I had clumps of hair missing. I can totally relate to you "KissMe_KillMe" about having to wear the same hairstyle and always ask if it looks ok. But now I only pull eyelashes and eyebrows but I still have to ask if my eyebrows still look ok...in 9th grade I learned how to pencil in eyebrows and use eyeliner so I would look "normal" and as most ppl know eyebrow pencil rubs off and/or washes off. I constantly carry around an eyebrow pencil and eyeliner in my purse just in case. I've done basically every type of hair pulling and actually I am so used to it that I none of it hurts at all anymore. But I am happy to have stopped pulling the hair on my head which I think I quit somewhere between 8th and 9th grade. I don't mind the eyebrow thing much since I have perfected the penciling in so well even my hairstylist thought they were real until I told her otherwise. I stopped pulling my top eyelashes for about a month ago but I couldn't stay stopped so I am still doing that but all my bottom lashes are there (for some reason I can stop pulling those whenever I want). I have never been on any medication and I went to a shrink once but that did no good either. Basically you have to wake up one day and just stop. I am working really hard on it but it just isn't that easy. I guess my advice for you "KissMe_KillMe" is not really anything all I can give you is hope...I stopped pulling the hair on my head so if one person can stop without drugs or therapy I would think anyone can.

I have been doing some research on Trich since I have this disorder and I finally have a name for it. Apparently it is considered an ICD (Impulse Control Disorder) it is in the same category as compulsive gambling/drinking. The problem is researchers don't have a lot of information yet and won't know all there is to know for about 20 more years. But they do know that most people that have had it since they were 12/13 still have it at the age of 40 or older. These statistics are kind of hard to hear but at least we know we're not alone. One more quick piece of info is that depression doesn't seem to cause this disorder but more the disorder causes depresssion. "Everyone likes having his or her hair played with/ brushed etc., and this is because when the hair shaft moves, this triggers a release of endorphins, and the same thing happens with trich. It is the endorphin release that is the reason for removing hair when under pressure or in stressful situations as it calms us down. Trich is very hard to get over for this simple reason. I mean, why would you stop doing something that calms you down in unpleasant situations? Also, pulling your hair out generally doesn't hurt, depending on the area." At least we know what it is and why we do it? Now all we have to do is find a way to stop.

Wow I knew that other people had this disorder but I didn't know so many. I remember I first started pulling when I was in 1st grade but it didn't get bad until I was in 5th grade when my brother died. Does anyone else pull out hair other than on their heads? I started with my eyebrows and eyelashes then went to hair on my head. I stopped pulling out the hair on my head a quite a few years ago but I still pull upper lashes and eyebrows. Actually I found that my one brother that is still alive also has somewhat the same problem as me. Plus my mom knew someone she worked with that did this also. I am just wondering if anyone has stopped pulling all together and could give help to stop indefinitely?