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daydreamer84
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30 Nov 2010, 7:32 pm

I compulsively pick at my scalp....I have scabs and sores all over it from picking :oops: I have been diagnosed with AS and was told that I had 'OCD traits" but do not meet the criteria for a diagnosis of OCD. I was also wondering if skin picking (which is related to trichotillomania) counts as a "stereotyped repetitive behaviour", a symptom of AS.



Cash__
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30 Nov 2010, 9:27 pm

I had bald spots on my head from picking out my hair when I was a kid.
Completely OCD and anxiety related.



happymusic
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30 Nov 2010, 9:50 pm

The type of hair pulling that occurs with trichotillomania is almost like a panic/frustration response for me. I know if I've started pulling at my hair I've crossed an anxiety threshold somewhere. When pulling out your pair because of anxiety, the feelings are very negative where stimming because of ASD isn't necessarily so.

Pulling your hair for trichotillomania can be like an attempt to escape in that you are literally pulling yourself apart. it's a terrible crying feeling. I can only speak for myself, though.



Zen
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30 Nov 2010, 10:07 pm

I never did it when I was a kid, but I now have a permanent dent in my index finger from years of pulling out the hair on my chin and neck. I have to be constantly clean shaven to keep myself from doing it.



Alex_M
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30 Nov 2010, 11:05 pm

I have trich, and am diagnosed with both Asperger's and OCD.

My routine is to grab onto a lock of my long hair, up near my forehead scalpline, with my left hand. I then twirl it around and around until it becomes "hard". Then I grab the end of the lock and tie it around itself. Often, my hair gets tangled and then I have to untangle it - it is this process that provides physical and emotional stress relief.

As a result of this, the hair around my forehead and temples is thinning :(

I am definitely sympathetic to others with AS/trich out there!


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