Dangers of dermatillomania on scalp

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Hi everyone,
Just wondered to post here as the victim of permanent hair loss due to dermatillomania (addiction to scratching/rubbing/picking a body part - in my case the scalp).

I did this for several years in my mid 20's unaware of what it was and that it could have potentially been solved either beforehand or shortly after I got struck with this disease.

It's too late for me to recover physically from this but I would like to warn others about it while time is still on your side, like I wish someone had been there to help me (it is particular susceptible to people with Aspergers)

If you feel this addiction starting or if you are worried about developing it, please see a dermatologist within a month and your hair should make a full regrwoth recovery.

PS: Gold help my son (if I have one), because I will constantly sear the dangers of dermatillomania into his brain from about age 11- as well as bombarding him with other information about hair loss

In primatology, self-harm is called self-injurious behavior (SIB) and is associated with anxiety. The single most common denominator among animals that self-harm is isolation — social isolation. Primates bite themselves, parrots pull out their feathers and dogs and cats lick themselves. Such self-injurious behavior tends to occur in emotionally disturbing situations, particular those over which the individual has little or no control (like being locked up alone).

Bonobo apes were observed to pull their hair out leaving patches of hairless skin. In one case a bonobo mother actually pulled her child’s hair out. She did it for so long that the hair stopped growing back. This was not aggression, but “grooming gone wild”. Grooming is nature’s self-soothing strategy. Animals groom others as well as themselves, and that builds soothing social bonds. When the going gets tough, mammals groom. Many repetitive behaviors are variants on grooming. The behavior may get repeated endlessly if a mammal has a persistent sense of threat.

Aspies experience significantly more stress than the average person.

I guess stress can be a factor, but in my case it was just a combo of not moisturising my scalp properly, enjoying the scratching sensation and not being informed of the damage I would do if I continued this habit