Is it normal to not know how to be able to stop pulling lashes?

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6 Comments

I've been pulling my lashes, hair, and eyebrows out since I was eleven or twelve years old. I've stopped pulling my hair and eyebrows out at age thirteen, but my eyelashes, well, I've had horrible relapses. Sometimes I pull becaue I'm stressed about something, sometimes I go into these phases where I stare off into space and just pull and pull and pull. Then there's points where it's almost emo like-the pain feels good. I know it's bad and I can't stand being uglier, but lately, the pulling has become worse. My boyfriend attempts comfort in telling me millions of others are suffering from this so called OCD Trickatilamania, saying that its normal. But I can't beleive the boy that says my hair looks good before I brush the nasty rats out in the morning, so I'm asking you all. Is it normal to not know how to be able to stop pulling lashes?

Voting Results
35% Normal
Based on 62 votes (22 yes)
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Comments ( 6 )
  • 423
    13 years ago

    You need help. Professional help.

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  • hotchickie81
    14 years ago

    Definitely OCD. I'm sorta the same way. when I get really stressed/bored, I pull my hair out... and I bite the skin around my finger nails. It's so annoying and frustrating. It often happens in cycles for me too.

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    • [Old Memory]
      13 years ago

      I hate that, I do that to my fingers too. I absolutely hate it. I sometimes wear band-aids but it never works. It'll get close and then I'll make a mistake and go back to doing it.

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  • stanley_fedoraless
    14 years ago

    Well, it's a disorder, which kind of does imply that it's not normal. But he's right that millions of people have it, about 1 in 100 people will have it at some point in their lives.

    There are treatments that can help a lot--a kind of therapy called habit reversal training seems to be the most successful one, there are also some medications that can help.

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  • HeartShapedBox<3
    14 years ago

    Oh my God, I do the same thing. It's like a cycle with me though, if I stop pulling my lashes I'll pull my eyebrows and vice versa.

    When it gets really bad I get calluses on my index fingers from my thumb nail digging into my finger during the constant pulling and have to draw my eyebrows on and buy fake lashes.
    I doesn't really hurt unless I miss, I'll go for a lash and pinch or sometimes cut my eyelid with my fingernails but I do have this wave of something when I get the particular one I was going for.

    I'm not sure why I do it but I'm pretty sure it isn't normal. Growing your nails longer might help, I find it a lot less comfortable and a little more difficult to pull when my nails are too long. That's not concrete though and we should probably both seek help.

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  • mtnw
    14 years ago

    you are right that you do need help in stopping. i suggest professional help. i am sure any doctor, seeing no eyelashes, will be able to point you in the right direction.

    we all have to learn how to deal with stress. i don't think you've made a good choice in how you do it. good luck

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