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Hello I'm a 22 year old male,
I've had trichotillomania for just about as long as I can remember. I don't know when it really started. I think it was around when I was in second grade. I would spend hours in front of the mirror pulling out the hair on my head. I'd have large bald spots and my parents would see the large collection of hair all over the sink and floor and treat me like a freak or would get angry at me, sometimes threatening me by saying they would take my hands together or tape mittens on my hands if I wouldn't stop so I wouldn't pull. The worst part was when people noticed because they would draw a ton of attention to my bald spots. It's why I kept my hair long until I was older so people wouldn't see it.
As I got older my pulling migrated. I rarely pull my head hair. For a while I couldn't find the "perfect" place to pull so I moved around a lot. Sometimes someone making a comment on certain parts of my body would cause my hair pulling to move. My aunt once commented that I had nice eyelashes and that night I ripped out all my eyelashes.
By middle school I started to develope pubes and a beard and those hairs stood out a lot due to their thickness and dark color and I'd rip them out. Those areas became my favorite and still are a favorite. Around that time I started touching pulled hair to my lips. Something about the cool, wet feeling. I tried to stop pulling many times in the past and would go a few weeks only to have a huge pulling session out of nowhere that would undo all the progress I made. Also shaving was difficult for me because the stubble would make me want to pull more.
Over the last year I've had pretty good control over pulling my beard hair. I still however pull moustache hair, eyelashes, knuckle hair, and occasionally pubes. I pull knuckle hair and eyebrows intentionally so I direct the urge to pull away from my beard. With my eyebrows I pull only to maintain them although I occasionally go overboard.
I've pulled just about anywhere there is hair. I'd even use pliers to pull out hair in my ears. Nostril hair can be a favorite of mine but it doesn't grow fast enough for it to be a staple.
Last night I had a bad pulling session again after a rough day of therapy. I ripped out clumps of arm pit hair, pulled a ton of beard hair, back of my legs, and some head hair.
Anyways that's my son story over lol. Anyone else destroy their nails from pulling a lot or develop calluses?
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