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I'm so HAPPY to have stumbled upon this site!
Submitted by MaryJane on Sat, 05/09/2009 - 09:50
Hi all!
While sitting at work one night and trying to discreetly pull out my eyebrows until it "felt right" I decided to google hair pulling; that's when I stumbled upon this site.
I have been pulling out my eyebrows for as long as I can remember (I'm 24 now) and have found myself feeling quite embarassed at times when I have been caught. For years I watched my father do the same repetative motion and wondered why he was pulling out his eyebrows; why would a sane person do something so abnormal. Then, one day while I sitting at the table doing my homework I noticed I was doing the same thing! It took me a while to realize that I pull my eyebrows too (I also pull out my eyelashes, but no where near as bad as my eyebrows).
I have NO idea why I do this and it's as if I don't have control over my body, because once I start I can't stop until I get that "right" feeling. Usually by the time I have that feeling, all my eyebrows are gone. The family Christmas picture shows a bunch of smiling faces and a girl to the right with no left eyebrow. I want to stop doing this! It's really embarassing, especially when it happens at work (I'm a concierge at the front desk for a condominium). Sometimes people ask "What happened to your eyebrows?!?!" I can't tell them "Oh, yeah that, no worries; I'm crazy and I pulled them all out!"
I didn't know that there were other people out there or even a name for this condition; I suddenly don't feel so alone in the world. I don't know if there is a cure for this, but if anyone has a suggestion as to what I can do to at least get it under control that would be great.
Thank you so much for your time and listening to me ramble. Have a great day everyone!
Hey MaryJane, I've got this
Hey MaryJane,
I've got this the same way you do: it's all about the brows. Your remark about the family photo made me laugh...that's totally me. I'm blonde, so if I draw in the mess I've made, I look like Madonna in the 80's: blonde hair and huge dark eyebrows. I recently bleached them so it wouldn't be obvious...it's better than trying to draw them in. The best of all alternatives would clearly be to stop. I get my nails done all the time, but that doesn't stop me! When I get really desperate to get it under control, I go out and buy those gigantic bandaids that are intended for really big boo boos, cut them in half and put one over each eyebrow. Obviously, I only do this when I'm home alone, otherwise I would be thought totally insane. I'll catch myself messing with them, but the gratification factor is gone because, of course, I'm not actually getting to the eyebrow; eventually, I find myself doing it less and less. Will power sounds great, but most of the time I don't even realize I'm into it until I've done some serious damage.
I don't know what I think about WHY I do it. I read one guy who thought it was a fungus...I don't think that's my story. I do it when I'm bored. Sometimes I find it actually helps me go to sleep. How strange is that??? I sucked my thumb as a kid, and I wonder if it's just an obsessive behavioral thing.
I'm really glad to have found you. Apparently we who favor the brows are the oddest of an odd bunch; I think we're pretty unique. I've never gone after my hair, but now that I know the disorders are related, it scares the hell out of me. What if I go after my hair? It's bad enough with the brows. I'd like to have a haircut without bangs someday.
When my allergies act up, I start pulling on my lashes, but thankfully, that's pretty rare.
Let me know how you're doing; it feels weird to be talking about this.
Hey hon. YOU'RE lucky. I pull
Hey hon. YOU'RE lucky. I pull hair from my SCALP ok? yeah.......bald lady over here. Well, it doesn't look so bad.......i've only had trich for three years and i've been pull-free for five days. anyway here's a tip for you. GET YOUR NAILS DONE. It will help greatly