Hair problems (first post)

I have a pulling hair disorder that has been going on since I was 10, I am now 13. My hair is different lengths on the top and on the right side of my hair; however, I kinda slowed down this past year but still having a week of just pulling. Well, this past week I have stopped pulling my hair and got on NOCD ( ERP therapy), but I fear that me pulling my hair will come back the second I close my eyes. My mom has been by my side for the last year and a half being my biggest supporter, she even made a hair appointment for me today to see how I can hide my spots I have been pulling! It was nice and all and I feel a little more confident, it’s just not my style I tried to curl it but it is too short for how I want it to look. And the more I tried to fix it the more sad a got, I even watched my mom in the corner of my eye feel bad for me as a stood there tearing up over my hair. And as I finish my first post I read it to my mom; however, when I finished she told me something that made me have hope in my journey of not having to pull my hair. She told me that instead of being quiet for the rest of the evening, I went on this app and told my feelings instead of hiding them. Thank you for reading my first post it means a lot to me!

katied445

Date posted: 15h

(Disclaimer/question before I answer -is everyone using the community forum a teenager ? I am browsing posts and get that impression . )Anyway I am 39 so not sure if you’d prefer an answer from someone closer to your own age. But I have struggled with ‘body focused repetitive behaviors’ since I was close to your age - maybe around 15. I started by picking at my scalp , I would find little bumps and pick them until they bled. I also picked at acne or just little tiny imperfections on my face until they bled . It has gotten really bad at times. Sometimes the face picking is so bad that I can’t even cover it up when I go out in public with makeup because the wound won’t scab over or heal . During Covid it was a relief that I could wear a face mask in public many days when the picking was so bad. The best fact that has helped me is that learning that animals in the wild do not do this (pick at or destroy their own body deliberately) but it is very common with confined animals - pets who live in houses or zoo animals . So, if a human is doing this it is for the exact reason an animal is doing it - because they feel confined or isolated. For me, high intensity exercise, lots of it, or having a supportive group of people /friends I am around regularly, helped me the most- and not being around toxic people who made me feel stressed . Throughout my life the picking would inevitably get worse when I was less physically active , and less social - or around stressful or cruel people who were draining my energy and making me feel unsafe - like certain co-workers.

Bestgamer16

Date posted: 14h

Thank you for sharing.

Evita

Date posted: 15h

This is touching, thank you for sharing! That is fascinating that confined animals can have similar actions, and I can see how that fact can help people with hair pulling, and skin picking disorder. I want to say that there is a mix of ages on the NOCD.( I have seen a lot of posts from older people than teenagers.)

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