How To Stop Skin Picking and Hair Pulling In 4 Steps 

Same t h I've done it to where Mt. Finger look weird or infectedn

Me too!! I hate this habit so much 🙁

Me too! I used to bite my nails when I was younger, but now I just pick/bite only the skin on my thumbs really bad. I don't even realize I'm doing it

🙋‍♀️ here also. With me, it may be part of my adhd and meds have helped a lot (but not stopped it completely). I started filing the skin with a nail file, since I recognized that it's a tactile/texture based thing. Also handcream (which I hate, I use bodylotion for extremly sensitive and irritated skin, because it dries fast).

Same

this is great and i have been thinking about this, you just pushed me to try this

❤️

I do this at well, lotion also seems to make it harder for me to feel the irregularity’s one the skin and makes it harder to get ahold of skin. Replacing some picking time with a skin care routine (if able too, compulsions make it hard) is refreshin.

Love this! Thank you for sharing, I'm gonna try the lotion trick

I use a nail file on the bits of skin around my nails, especially in the car. I can use it without paying much attention and it keeps my fingers out of my mouth and off my face.

I’ve had TTM since I was a teen too, and I haven’t been able to kick it either. My sister had it as a kid too, but hers “stopped” as suddenly as it started. The most current research suggests a genetic link, so maybe there’s a reason we both have trouble overcoming this disorder that has nothing to do with willpower.

@@nmvwilliams That's interesting about the genetic link, I'll have to look into that. My therapist encourages me to see my TTM and DTM as aspects of my OCD, and I believe they're classified as OCD spectrum disorders in the DSM5? Unfortunately for folks like us, very much not issues that can be solved by willpower. I started picking when I was 3-5, and spent about 30 years trying to stop by willpower alone. It never worked. But ACT and mindfulness therapies have helped me pull & pick much less over the past 5 years or so. I doubt I'll ever be able to stop entirely, but it feels really powerful to have some control over it now. And way less depressing than thinking of myself as a "failure" because I couldn't just will myself to stop. I really wish more people understood these disorders existed so they wouldn't pressure us to "just stop", "just use willpower to quit", etc. I think being told we ought to be able to just control ourselves can be quite harmful to people like us, especially when we start hearing that message as kids or teens. I have to admit, I hope your sister knows how lucky she is that hers didn't become a chronic issue! I imagine she does, though. I'm sorry yours didn't stop like hers did. What a dream come true that would have been, hey?

Mine was since I was 6. I don’t do it as much but I live at 40 with no eyelashes and spots in my hair. I’ve learned to hide them but I hate it

I’m certain that there is a genetic component to trichotillomania or maybe even body focused repetitive behaviours in general. My little sister has always had trich and I recently developed in in 2019 after my brother suddenly passed away. I then found out that another sibling of mine who passed away before I ever met him would pull out his hair as well.

the way i kicked it was cutting my hair off. probably not the best solution but now i really can’t pull my hair. i hope i get used to not having hair to pull so when it grows back, i won’t have the urge to start again

I experienced the same changing environment works

Same so it has to do with our environment I am been pulling since I hear my neighbors making noise again or when my daughter estranged me left for few months working abroad boredom and toxic people and environment when iam going to India I don’t pull I feel alive and loved and love my freedom stress is the trigger fear of abandonment too so not surprise iam borderline too my scalp itches too I bought antifungus shampoo but overall iam pulling my fingers are pyranas I can’t help it

Same!!

I agree. When I visit my daughter I don’t pull my hair nearly at all, because I’m worried about leaving hair everywhere. So I focus on not doing it there and I don’t.

It is totally stress for me, and the American lifestyle is so stressful!! I blame capitalism.

Please how were you able to manage it?

@@ajegisylviaochuole2319 Understanding that trichotillomania is a coping mechanism because Trichotillomania is a comorbidity of trauma. I started trauma therapy. Also treating myself with the love, kindness and patience that I deserve.

You're worth it !

@@soblue315 Thank You 😊

@@jenniferbates2811 are you on and adhd meds like adderall?

I totally relate to this! I hate that I get scabs on my face but I feel better when I pick it in the moment

I feel a huuuuuuge amount of relief when I rip the scabs off my scalp. I don’t have bald spots from it so they’re very hidden.

@@gnarthdarkanen7464 And Bag Balm, the old fashioned stuff, is good too. Plus it smells so it's a deterrent.

@@pamclare6222 Clever idea, at least for "chewers"... as it were. there are likely other products... Rosebud salve (if you've heard of it) among them... I guess, it really depends on how far you want to research or go for whatever product, at least... versus the helpful and healing aspect and advantages of one over another. ;o)

@@gnarthdarkanen7464 Rosebud salve? I like that idea. Bag Balm also deadens pain, so there's that -- it's very handy to have around!

I’m so glad you’re joining me from India 😊

@@DrTraceyMarks You'll helped me immensely since the past two years after my Mom's sudden passing away due to a cardiac arrest It'll be three years of being connected with you. You're such a Queen ! Thank You for all the tips and tricks and the comfort you provide to all who suffer from these diseases/disorders we shy and hide out with

Nope. I have it too

Good luck to you! And I adore your username

Wow. It’s so nice when people who notice something about you are compassionate rather than judgmental and rude. She sounds like a great person to work with.

What a nice person to be compassionate instead of making you feel uncomfortable. Good luck with everything :)

I found the same. I love my acrylic nails.

Fighting a compulsive desire to bite your nails is hardly fixed by getting fake nails. Just like the compulsion to pull out hair isn't stopped by buying and wearing a whig.

Funny, I was a compulsive nail biter until my teens when I started painting my nails... then I stopped because the nail polish taste and texture brought me back to my senses. But then due to work I can`t have long, decorated nails anymore, I have to wear them short. Also due to work I need to sanitize my hands all the time, so the skin is always flaking and dry. The nail/skin biting came back with a vengeance, I can't stop it :( When I realize, the skin is already torn and bleeding. It's maddening.

@@lameduck3105 couldn't have said it better myself LOL - I wore acrylics etc for 30-odd years...even had weekly appointments to keep up with the repairs needed to disguise the damage :-0 Positives incl more layers to break thru before reaching my real nails and nail polish and art could disguise, or at least deflect attention from, the damage and infection underneath. Negatives incl the horrific and permanent injury caused to nail beds from repeated forced removal of the acrylics from compulsion and, saddest of all, I was just as (if not even more so) embarrassed - shamed - disgusted by the damage to the acrylics which made compulsive inspections more frequent resulting in more smoothing (which leads to less smoothing, as we all know :-( Now my poor nails, cuticles, and callouses are so shocking (sad) that I want surgery :-( I continually monitor review avert distract wear gloves and creams - it all works :-) until triggered :-0 then all those hours days and weeks of abstinence are gone in a snap (or pick or tear or blade, knife, clippers, etc LOL) My advice? Try anything, try different, try again and commit to self-compassion...I don't do it to distress myself or pi$$ myself off; it's a compulsion :-( and I'll beat it, one day :-/

Well for me it works actually. It's a way to remind myself not to touch them.

I had no idea other people felt this, I feel the exact same!

Same!

I have really coily baby hairs and I'm literally addicted to pulling at them...

@@tammy5466 Me too. It's kind of a relief to know I'm not the only one who looks for hairs like this just to pull them 😅

Me too! I love feeling the course hairs. It’s kinda comforting sometimes. When I find a patch I feel so excited to pull them out… 😬

Me too!!! But with my face. I always have my nails done now 😆

Thank you, it's really helpful to know that using this method doesn't mean resigning oneself to acrylic nails for the rest of one's life. That's been my hesitation to try it, since fashion-wise, fake nails aren't really my jam, so I haven't liked the idea of having to wear them indefinitely. But if I can just use them as a temporary tool to break the habitual part of my picking, that changes everything! Especially since I've identified that a good part of my problem is that it's become deeply habitual, and I need a tool to help cut out my tendency to almost mindlessly pick at myself first thing in the morning. (I think it helps soothe my stress over facing the day, so it's hard to kick the habit.) This might just be my key to doing that more successfully. Thank you again so much for sharing your experience! 💚

I pick my scalp too. I hate having fake nails though. But something to consider

This used to work for me be I can still pick with the nails now

Thank u so much

Please stop HOPING one day will come. GO GET HELP NOW. Pulling and picking are MORE THAN ANNOYING HABITS. People DIE from infections!!!!!

Out of boredom my best friend picked. Eventually he got BADLY INFECTED. THEN. HE. DIED😢

Keep going bro

My daughter has the same condition. 26 years...she has a non profit organization to help with suffers...like her. Its good to hear that you have overcome the condition. GREAT NEWS!!

@@tammyg8031 May I ask what your daughter's organization is caused? What a wonderful thing for her to create!

@@poison_plays INSTRUCTIONS ON HOW TO VOTE SUCCESSFULLY: Vote by going to link and then click on heart ❤️ icon. It will ask for you to sign up. Once the sign-up is done then you have successfully voted for The Trich to Stop nonprofit organization a chance to win a $10,000 grant.

@@poison_plays my daughter will reply to you...

Same! 😬

Same here. Sometimes before I know it,there will be a pile of hairs on the floor beneath me n I'm like OMG. I think sometimes I don't even know I do it or how long/how much I've done it.

i'm 12 (F) I've had trichotillomania for almost a year. I pluck out one hair at a time and then run it through my teeth, then throw it on the ground. there is so much hair everywhere and i'm so scared. i don't have bald spots and my hair is still thick, but it's starting to thin out and i made my parents believe it was covid. currently the only one that knows about it and i dont know how to confess. please send help

@@kittiq I’m sorry sweetie, I know how hard it can be. I cut off all my hair and wear wigs now and that’s helped me 💕

@@tyra33ashanti thank you!! awe, you are so sweet. i could try a wig, but since i play around with my hair and run it through my teeth, then i'm disgusted by running wig hair through my teeth- but that is a good suggestion and I'll try it. i just don't know how to tell my mom about it ;-; and my dad is never home and when he is, he tells everything about my life to my evil, selfish grandma

Same 😬

Same, I pull my hair so much. When I am Stressed or just problem solving. It’s relaxing

Omg, so similar here. It is such an absent minded behaviour - until I have the right hair in my fingers… and by then it usually is too late to stop the pull.

@@TheMcKenzieHaus unfortunately it is 😐

@@fromhgwaii it is exactly like that. And if you don't pull that hair out, a certain kind of anxiety starts not good

It may sound silly... BUT you might try taking up any craft that involves glue... just ordinary paper or wood glue, nothing too serious... Figure out some kind of model or decoration, and make it... origami, maybe and a touch of glue to help some of the things keep together... or to add complexity to paper air-planes... JUST DO NOT WEAR GLOVES OR WASH THE STUFF OFF... Let the glue dry, and then peel it off... I'm a wood-crafter... I often do fine joinery and build various sizes of models and mock-ups using no more than wood glue to hold them together... I also pick scabs, especially the heavy, scaly ones that pull when they get dry... Now, A&E Ointment or Bacitracin will soften those, so they don't pull so bad... AND Carmex will help seal them so the daily elements don't dry them out as quick... BUT the habit's a thing... Except when I have PLENTY of glue-spots on my fingers and knuckles to peel off... AND the worst it ever causes is the occasional hair removal... SO satisfying... No, I don't just slather my hands/arms in glue and wait for it to dry... (haha) That would drive me directly out of my mind... BUT being "too busy" on a project to bother washing the glue off... AND liberally swiping the stuff with a finger or thumb whenever I clamp parts together and get "squeeze out" assures I get little gobs and streaks up and down... Always need the "business finger" available and clean for the next bit of squeeze-out, SO... back of the hand, a stripe on a forearm... AND sometimes, when I've run out of clamps... I play the glue between thumb and fingertips a few minutes instead of rushing to the bathroom to wash up... only allowing myself to go get coffee to wait for "set time" when there's a nice film dried in place (obviously so it's safe to handle food or drink... lolz)... AND I can sit quietly with a trash can nearby and pick and peel harmlessly, because of course... "It's dried. Can't wash that off NOW... " (haha)... Now... I used to pick at EVERYTHING... plucked hair off my hands and arms... picked any scab that was sufficiently dried to do so... even ripped skin out with fresh scabs... even antagonized the cat(s) when I'd run out of scabs (healed?) to get some new ones... BUT with the satisfying sensation of some old fashioned glue removal... I have stuff to show for the craft I learned, AND I'm not causing myself any worse harm MOST of the time... Sometimes, there's just a nasty, thick, heavy scab and it's near a joint... and pulls... AND YOU KNOW as well as I do what that's going to do as soon as I shower... I love HOT showers and stand under the water a LONG time... haha... ...I'm a bit of a mess... BUT maybe it's a bit of progress... and hope. You CAN'T discount hope. ;o)

Me too, I've been picking since I was 3-5. It's hard to believe sometimes I haven't "gotten over it" by 39. But at least I understand now that it's truly not that simple, and never was, despite what other people told my as a kid. I love that Dr. Marks is covering this topic. This video is so helpful, and I'm so thankful to her for making it. Her manner is so nonjudgmental, I feel safe hearing her talk about things like this.

Oh wow big brother really is watching 😳😊

Kind of thought the same thing. As long as the surveillance supplies helpful hints, who am I to complain? 🤣

I know. Sorry it took so long for me to make. 😊👌🏼

Thank you!

Why not go out and get REAL HELP? Seek.professional psychiatrists or psychologist. Good sound therapy coupled with the proper meds beats just yapping about the problem on You Tube.

My trich began at age 12. My parents would drop my sister and I off at my Uncle and Aunt who fought like wild animals. My sisters nose would began to bleed (Maybe she just had a nose bleed and that is what I recall) and I remember pulling the first hair and getting that white bulb root. It was the most satisfying things I had ever felt at age 12. It actually was both painful and pleasurable. I pulled till I had many thin areas of hair, mainly on the top of my head. I would collect the hairs I pull as a way to deter me from pulling again. That did not work well. My doctor said as long as I was not eating my hair he did not want to put me on meds. He prescribed learning origami, particularly unit origami, where you make the same piece many times to complete one unit of something. Indeed this helped tremendously. I have learned to fold many beautiful and complex models of origami. But I must be careful not to allow frustration in folds I can't get because I could begin to pull due to that. But otherwise learning to occupy my hands is something that helps. Ha, you are not alone. My family thought I was crazy when I told them how it felt "oh so good" the pain and pleasure all mixed into one. My hair has permanently thinned in the top, but thank goodness I have kinky hair which can hide the sparse mixture. Only if I blow dry and straighten it can you tell I have picked one to many hairs. 😊

EarthAngel Rather than talking about it....here's an idea.....GET HELP. Seek out a caring professional and take the proper meds❤

@@joannaedwards6325 I am getting help and I don't need poison to mask my issues. I'm not sure if you thought your response was helpful but it wasn't. Please be mindful of who and what you are saying to people you don't know, especially when it comes to trauma and mental health. Have a nice day.

👍🏽

Greg, how did you do it? I've been trying for decades with no luck.

Congratulations on eliminating the nail biting. I can see how the hangnails would be hard to resist And it’s hard for them to go away unless your patient enough to let them grow out. But if you can conquer the nail biting you can do this too. 👍🏽❤️

When I see a guy with hangnails, more often than not, it is someone who doesn’t keep his cuticles pushed back. Since I make my own hangnails 🤦‍♀️, there is a pair of nail clippers in every room and vehicle.

You might be a late-comer, but it's never too late or early to start recovery

You remind me of myself! I am 66 and didn't know this disorder even had a name until I happened to read an article about hair pulling, I was in my late 50s! In my senior school picture I have long bangs because I had no eyebrows! I am reminded every time I look at that picture. My family always telling me growing up, stop pulling your hair, I still hear that to this day,we are all in this together! :)

@@sandraolson1022 I am finding that when I am creative and busy with it, I don’t think of pulling my hair. I went through a 3 month dull drum aimless phase, not having any art goals to accomplish. It created a lot of stress inside me. I felt lost. Am now taking an art class, I have lots of paintings and new skills that I want to learn and accomplish, so am feeling fulfilled. Daily yoga, even if for 15 minutes has also really helped calming the inner stress.

@@beeARTcanada that's great!🙂

Please go GET PROFESSIONAL HELP. Pulling out hair and skin.picking can LEAD TO INFECTIONS THAT CAN KILL YOU!!!! There are medications that can help with OCD. This condition is more than a painful habit....IT CAN BE DEADLY!!!!

Please keep trying to get PROFESSIONAL HELP . There are anti OCD meds that can help you. Do your best to STOP THIS DANGEROUS HABIT. Infections happen then you lose a foot or a leg and perhaps DEATH! My boyfriend picked at his feet. He got infected and almost lost his leg!!! They operated but the wound in his leg DID NOT HEAL and then HE DIED. STOP IT NOW!!!!!