hair pulling

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Does anyone else pull their own hair? I've done it since I was about 7-8. I then make the pulled hair into small balls that I stim with. I also suck my own hair. I think this is some kind of a tactile stim and also a way to deal with stress. But I'd like to stop sucking my hair, since it's not healthy. Any ideas?

I used to suck my hair. I don't know what stopped me doing it, but it probably happened when I got my hair cut shorter (too short to reach my mouth). I didn't start it up again, when my hair grew.

I am pulling the dandruff flakes from my head. Whenever I do that, hair inevitably pulls together with said flakes, although this is not my intention.

Hair pulling is a form of self harm.

I'm not too sure about that. I self harm too, and I do it for compleately different reasons than I pull my hair

I am a human service major who has focused many if not most of my papers, projects, reports on self harm, anxiety, depression, addiction, those kind of things and actually did a 10 page paper on how hair pulling is in fact a form of self harm. If you want to believe it or not its your choice but here is a bit of the research i was able to get together that gave you a lot of the information on it in a short little post.

Hair pulling is actually a form of self harm and it has its own name which is Trichotillomania. by definition Trichotillomania is is the compulsive urge to pull out (and in some cases, eat) one's own hair leading to noticeable hair loss, distress, and social or functional impairment. It is classified as an impulse control disorder by DSM-IV and is often chronic and difficult to treat. as according to many definitions.

Hair pulling: Just another form of self harm? or a disorder in itself?

states that
"In 1986, Favazza (author of Bodies Under Siege: Self-mutilation and Body Modification in Culture and Psychiatry) distinguised self harm into three catorgaries; Major self harm (eg castration, which is rare and seen in psychotic patients mainly), Sterotypical Self Harm (eg head banging seen in autistic children) and Superficial or moderate self harm. This last category includes cutting, burning, skin picking, bone breaking, hitting, small overdoses and pulling your own hair out.

Then in 10 years later in 1996, Favazza breaks down the superficial/moderate self harm into compulsive, eposodic and impulsive self harm. Trichotillomania comes under compulsive. Favazza also states that this type of self harm has different roots (no pun intended there!) to impulisive self injury.
Impulsive self harm is when someone engages in harming themselves, for example cutting, and has difficulty controlling the impulse to cut. They identify themselves as a self harmer whereas eposodic self harmers will self harm now and then and not feel so ‘addicted’."

I do, though somewhat 'episodically.' From both my scalp and my face/beard. Used to to be my scalp when I was younger and wore longer hair and was without facial hair. Now I wear my hair shorter with a beard, so the beard is getting all of my attention. So, for me, hair length seems to play a part. As a man, I realize that I (unfairly) have more flexibility in this arena than my female counterparts.

As to what to do about it (if adjusting hair length isn't an option), I imagine one needs to see if anything specific triggers the offending behavior, then minimize said triggers and develop coping mechanisms. I'm still actively pulling hair, so I cannot help you with any concrete ideas, unfortunately. At least not any that I'm supremely confident in, beyond hair length and hats.

I will say that I'm increasingly convinced that I have OCD issues, in addition to Aspergers. I understand that increased levels of obsession/compulsion can be normal for Aspies, but I feel I may have 'more' beyond what is 'normal' for people with Aspergers. I'm about to test this theory when I talk to a therapist this week (for the first time in many years).

Beyond this, all I'm doing is trying to take better care of myself and lower my overall stress, mostly through diet and exercise.

Hopefully something I said will be of use to someone. Regards to all.

I would also say trichotillomania. I have it. I generally have it under control (I have to sit on my hands a lot!) but when I become anxious or distressed, I notice my hands have crept back up to my hair and are twisting away! I had a bald spot for a little while but then things evened out and it grew back. Now things are bad again so I cut my hair really short as my dyspraxia means I struggle to pull it when it is short!

I used to. Not anymore, however. Even though mine is long for a guy, I leave it alone.