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12 year old - no realising
Hi,
My 12 year old son has been pulling his hair for over a year now, but is not really aware of it. He is ashamed of his bald patches, and for a few months (in winter), he was wearing a hat to cover his baldness. I asked him to count the number of times he is pulling in a minute or 5 minutes and I also count; his estimates are about 1/5-1/10 of reality - if he pulls 10 times during a time frame, he says he pulled once or twice only.
Can you please guide me to 1. to make him aware and 2. help him stop this habit.
Thank you.
Hana
I don't think there is another way to rid your son of the habit other than talking to a cognitive behavioural therapist. I hope you live somewhere where you're able to do this. Usually these impulsive behaviours stem from anxiety or stress, relating to something that the person doing it might not even realise. It might be an old trauma, issues with perception of the self, or anxiety about the future.
But stress toys and hobbies might be a good start, getting to a therapist might take a while.