Trichotillomania Rituals #1

POSTED BY: mspennylane

I think that most people have a little ritual that they go through when they pull so I thought I would tell you mine. When searching for the hairs, as I mentioned in my last post, I go for the hairs that are ‘kinky’, often they are thick but to me they always feel nice. When I pull them out I make them curly with my nails, like you would with a ribbon using scissors. Then I twirl them round my fingers to make them even more bumpy and I feel them in between my lips. When they stop feeling as bumpy I might do it again or I might throw it away. I don’t eat my hair, but many people do (this is known as Trichophagia which I write more on at a later date).

It might seem odd to many, but these are the kind of things that people with the condition do, in varying ways. At times having these rituals is very distracting and time consuming. For example, when I am reading I often have to put the book down so that I have both hands available to fiddle with the hair! I don’t know about too many other people’s rituals but I would like to, it’s all part of the understanding process.

This is part one of a series of posts every Saturday on how rituals associated with trichotillomania… This can also be found at Marmalade Skies, my personal blog.