Trichotillomania (Hair Pulling) Support Group

Impulsive control disorder is the inability to resist an urge, temptation, or impulse, even when it may cause negative effects to the self or to others. If you or a loved one suffers from impulsive contorl disorder, join the community to find support and share your challenges with others who know what you're going through.

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Help Please!

marissacooper47
marissacooper47
I am 14 years old. I started plucking my eyebrows when I was 11. My mom noticed and hid all the tweezers. That's when I started just picking at them and pulling the hairs out. Now I barely have any left. When they start to grow back, I just pull them out again. I have found myself doing this when I am stressed or just bored. My parents think I just shave my eyebrows, but I don't. I really want to tell them I need some help, but my dad is always in the hospital. I don't want to stress them out. I just want to know if there is any ways to keep me from picking at them or help them grow back. I know a lot of you are going to say that I should use an eyebrow pencil and draw them on, but I can't. I am Apostolic Pentecostal (my religion) and we don't wear makeup. Any advice would be great! Thank you!
panthera
panthera
Hi! I have the same problem, pulling out my eyebrows when I'm stressed and bored. It's extremely frustrating, both that I do it, and that other people don't understand that we're not doing it on purpose.

I know you don't want to stress your parents, but I think talking with them would help your stress around this issue and could help you work to calmly find ways to curb your pulling. Talking about it to get their support could help you stay conscious of the behavior.

Barriers, such as bandanas or hats which cover your eyebrows, can help if you have a particular place or activity in which you often pull. I try to do that, but I know I don't wear those when I'm around other people. You could also find something else to do with your hands. I've seen on this forum that some people knit, or else you could play with a ball, string, rubber band, etc.

Hope you can stay conscious and distract your hands to keep them down! I'm trying too!
marissacooper47
marissacooper47
Thank you so much. I might try doing something to keep my hands busy. My main problem is just when I am at school, I will just start pulling them out when we are taking a test, doing a worksheet, or just sitting there.
katalinaoflicht
katalinaoflicht
Can you wear a bracelet or wristband at school? I have a rubber one I got somewhere for free and during a test I twirl my fingers around it. No one notices, and it keeps my free hand busy while I write. If I'm really stressed, I tie my fingers up in it so I can't pull.
In the end, though, it gets frustrating because I still have the urge to pull and that starts distracting me from the test or paper and then I usually decide it's not worth it and pull because I know I won't do my best if I'm fighting the urge. It's a struggle to find something that will relieve the urge to pull, not just the behavior. (I'm a compulsive (not subconscious) puller, though, so I know a lot of people don't have this awareness of thought.)