Hi Jess have you researched Trichotillomania?
Trichotillomania, the compulsive urge to pull out one's own hair, is recognised as a disorder leading to noticeable hair loss, distress, and social or functional impairment. Trichotillomania may be present in infants, but the peak age of onset is 9 to 13. It may be triggered by depression or stress.
It is classified in DSM-IV as an impulse control disorder with pyromania, pathological gambling and kleptomania, and includes the criterion of an increasing sense of tension before pulling the hair and gratification or relief when pulling the hair.[1] However, some people with trichotillomania do not endorse the inclusion of "rising tension and subsequent pleasure, gratification, or relief" as part of the criteria;[1] because many individuals with trichotillomania may not realize they are pulling their hair, patients presenting for diagnosis may deny the criteria for tension prior to hair pulling or a sense of gratification after hair is pulled.[3]
Trichotillomania has been hypothesized to lie on the obsessive–compulsive spectrum, which is proposed to encompass obsessive–compulsive disorder, nail biting (onychophagia) and skin picking (dermatillomania), tic disorders and eating disorders. These conditions may share clinical features, genetic contributions, and possibly treatment response; however, differences between trichotillomania and OCD are present in symptoms, neural function and cognitive profile.[1] In the sense that it is associated with irresistible urges to perform unwanted repetitive behavior, trichotillomania is akin to some of these conditions, and rates of trichotillomania among relatives of OCD patients is higher than expected by chance.[1] However, differences between the disorder and OCD have been noted including differing peak ages at onset, rates of comorbidity, gender differences, and neural dysfunction and cognitive profile.[1] When it occurs in early childhood, it can be regarded as a distinct clinical entity.[1]
Because trichotillomania can present in multiple age groups, it is helpful in terms of prognosis and treatment to approach three distinct subgroups by age: preschool age children, preadolescents to young adults, and adults.[3]
I sometimes pull the hair out of my eyebrows if I am anxious, and my nails are smooth on top were I constantly run them either across my lips or rub my thumbs over them. And I also repetively stroke strands of my hair. But I don't pull out the hair on my head....I can imagine it must be very stressful for you. The elastic band thing never worked for me, but I guess running your nails over your lips is harmless, you could try that. (I don't mean the tip, but the flat surface)
Trichotillomania is often not a focused act, but rather hair pulling occurs in a "trance-like" state;[4] hence, trichotillomania is subdivided into "automatic" versus "focused" hair pulling.[3] Children are more often in the automatic, or subconscious, subtype and may not consciously remember pulling their hair. Other individuals may have focused, or conscious, rituals associated with hair pulling, including seeking specific types of hairs to pull, pulling until the hair feels "just right", or pulling in response to a specific sensation.[3]
I copied this from wikipedia.
