Bipolar Disorder Support Group

Bipolar disorder is not just a single disorder, but a category of mood disorders marked by periods of abnormally high energy and euphoria, often accompanied by bouts of clinical depression. This is the place to talk about your experience with bipolar disorder, learn from others' experiences, and find support.

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Support Post

mkwlhelmy
mkwlhelmy

Hi guys, i am overwhelmed with the kindness of this group! So welcoming and caring. I just wanted to ask one question to kind of help me not feel as alone. I have suicidal thoughts and self-harm actions, but my only way of coping seems to be pulling out my hair. I have cut myself before when times have gotten to rock bottom, but i more often pull out hair when i am experiencing an episode or a trouble in my life. I get so overwhelmed and am pulling out hair that i was trying to grow back out from being pulled. I wonder what people think when they see the tops of my hair sticking up. I try to pull from the bottom but the top feels so much better. If there is anyone out there with this same problem, please help me feel less alone. No one understands why i pull my hair besides my doctor and therapist. I just want to go at least 3 months without pulling, but it seems to happen 1-3x per month, sometimes more on the bad months. Is there anything to do besides pull hair or self harm that can feel as releasing and good as those are? Im lost and no one understands trichitillomania. 

Thor2008
Thor2008
I do self-harm also when I get depressed, I cut sometimes, and I diet excessively (75 lbs in 4 weeks one time). I am just looking for a way to feel physically what I am feeling emotional. One thing I did my last time depressed was to walk at night. It was quiet and I could feel what I wanted to feel when I was by myself. I would get tired but I kept going - around 15 miles on most nights. But I could be alone and I could feel all of those forbidden emotions. You could try that.

I understand trichotillomania.
SE1989
SE1989
Hi, I dont mean to take away from your problem. I understand completely. Have you tried occupying your hands with something else?
Sunshinegirl0228
Sunshinegirl0228
Hold ice cubes in your hands or rub ice on the place you want to cut. I used to snap a rubber band on my arm. My therapsit suggested that might help. But I was snapping so hard an so often that a large bruise formed on my arm. My therapist was shocked to see it and told me no more rubberbands
mkwlhelmy
mkwlhelmy
Thank you all, and no I have never tried an ice cube. I will definitely give that one a try!
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