OT - Any advice on how to stop pulling hair out when stressed/anxious?

[Gemmaaa94]

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[babyfairy]

i used to do this, too! it's called trichotillomania - it's commonly associated with anxiety disorders and specifically OCD. i used to pull out so much hair that i had bald patches on my head, and i had to clip back a lot of hair because it was so short that it looked strange.

a big part of the problem was that i usually did it without realizing it. it helped me a lot to ask other people in my house to let me know when i was pulling hairs, because then it made me want to stop. it also helped to keep my hair tied up in a bun or in braids so i couldn't really pull it out even if i wanted to. that or wearing hats, but since it's august, that might be a little too warm.

try to keep your hands busy if you can - honestly it also helped me to keep my nails painted because rather than pulling hair, i would just pick at my nail polish. try to train yourself to realize when you're doing it, too. it'll more than likely help you do it a lot less.

i still pluck out a few hairs if i'm stressed or anxious but now that i notice when i'm doing it, i know to stop myself. it's an annoying little habit to have but luckily you don't seem to have it as severe as some others do! (if you google trichotillomania, a lot of pictures come up where people pull out most of the hair on their head, eyebrows, eyelashes, etc. it can get pretty bad.) i hope this helps a little!