Hi, I suffer from trichotellanemia & pull the hair on my scalp. I stopped for a few months & let a lot of it grow back but it started hurting terribly! It "feels better"-- physically, not psychologically-- as soon as the painful hair is pulled. I no longer wish to pull the hair there but it hurts so bad I have no choice. Has this happened to anyone else? What can I do?
Anonymous
Favorite Answer
Hi,
I’m sorry to hear you’re struggling.
I think you should check out this website called http://www.recoveryourlife.com/forum/
It’s a very understanding and supportive website that deals with many problems including self-harm, depression, eating disorders (including overeating), addictions (such as drug and alcohol) anxiety (&& panic attacks, including anxiety disorders like OCD), suicide attempts, feelings and thoughts, bullying and abuse (including sexual and emotional abuse), trauma, and general mental health problems such as personality disorders, bipolar disorder, post traumatic stress disorder, ect.
You can post about your problems and gain advice and support, it’s full of caring people who are going through the same things as you are in a complete non-judgemental atmosphere, you feel a lot less alone and you don’t get stupid answers or the old ’snap out of it’, ’stop being stupid’ comments you get on Yahoo Answers. You can also reply to other people and give them support, advice and share your stories and makes tons of new friends that you can open up to and trust. Already there are over 34,000 registered members.
They have an ‘Introductions’ forum where you can tell everyone a bit about yourself when you first sign up, you get very warm-welcoming messages to help you settle in and find your way around the site and answer any questions you may have.
They also have ‘General Chat’ forum where you can talk about things that aren’t related to mental health, such as polls, humour and chit-chat. Also, News & debates forum where you can catch up on all the news, and give your opinions.
The website also includes ‘Fun and Distractions’ Share jokes, funny sites, quizzes or useful distractions to help you relax and distract yourself with.
Also they have separate forums for certain things, such as Eating Disorder Support, Self-Injury Support, Mental Health Discussions, Ranting && Venting, Serious Discussion (such as suicide), Moving Forward (recovery based), and much more.
They even have a ‘Shop’ where you can buy bracelets that represent recovery with Self-Harm and Eating Disorders. Also, they have a ‘Games Arcade’ where you can play games to keep yourself distracted such as Pac-Man and Super Mario.
The website also contains lots of information, how to get help, beating urges, articles to read, advice, first aid, chat (like msn with others who are suffering), Live Help (one-2-one counselling - these people are not trained counsellors, but people who are normal members of the site but go that little bit further to help others), Supporters who can e-mail anytime, day or night to gain emotional support (again not trained professionals).
The site is free, but to in order to have access to everything available on the website you have to sign up, which only takes a few minutes. You don’t have to be a certain age to join (even if you’re 40, you can still sign up, they have a ’veterans corner’ for older members, including advice on topics more relevant to adult life such as university, long term relationships, child-care and employment) The site is open 24/7, all year round.
A lot of people have said that Recover Your Life (or RYL for short) is a community where they feel they belong to, they are able to open up and be themselves and don’t have to hide. They come on RYL everyday as a means of escaping their problems to have a break and be able to breathe knowing it’s full of people who care and who want to help - without the worry of them telling their friends or family.
So please have a look, I think it could really help you - especially if you can’t talk to anyone in ‘real life’ or have no one to turn to.
Hope you feel better soon.
(PS. You do not have to be currently ‘recovering’ to join)
?
It's natural. I do not know why it occurs even though. But individuals with curly hair is most likely bouncy and stretchy like that. My hair is particularly wavy and curly in a few elements, so if I tug on it, it is going to stretch and leap again into form. Don't commute ;)
Jess
My friend and brother have that problem. Maybe it hurts because you got a in-grown hair? But I really think you should tell your parents about it, so they can help you not pull your hair out.
Good luck!