Published on 12, July, 2020
I stim by pulling out my eyelashes, sometimes my eyebrow hair too. I've done it for the past 10 years now and I understand that it's technically damaging my body when I do it. But I wonder if its worth trying to stop? I've resisted doing it ever since people around me started noticing and made me realize that it's not right, but it makes me feel so much better. I'd say its the one true thing comforts me. Nothing I have ever tried has made me feel better than that - fidget toys, textured items, safe foods, none has ever gotten me to a point where I feel like I can stop pulling. I've turned to putting vasaline on my eyelashes or wearing a glove/plasters on my fingers so I don't pull them out. But its getting to the point where even that isn't working and I'm starting to wonder if stopping is even worth it - what's the use in giving myself added stress about the fact that I can't stop if it seems unlikely that I'll ever stop? Does anyone have a similar experience or anything to say on the matter?
Yes I struggle with picking at the skin on my face, it has been possible to reduce the intensity a bit though by focusing over a wider area. With eyelashes I’d be concerned about the risk for eye irritation, given how sensitive eyes are- redirecting it to plucking your eyebrows (doesn’t have to be a total switch, just reducing the frequency of plucking the eyelashes specifically would be good). I’d guess (consciously or unconsciously) you tend to go for eyelashes as they’re a bit easier and thicker to pull, and produce more skin movement (so more stimulation)? Some other ideas:
If wearing gloves reduces the amount you pull them I would suggest to carry on with that - try not to guilt yourself if you do end up pulling them, sometimes your brain just needs that specific input. Taking steps to reduce the harm and frequency - even if other stims don’t regulate as much, if they can help you decrease the amount of time you are pulling, that’s still good.
I pick my skin on my lips and ears. I do it for years. Now I noticed that I have dark spots on my lips. They are getting bigger and darker. I have booked an appointment to a dermatologist. I’m deadly scared of having a cancer. I remember my granny telling me stop doing it because I may get cancer. But the problem is that you can’t just stop stimming like that. Maybe if I had a therapy helping me to change the way of stimming it could help.
I suppose it depends on the extent that you do it. I do it to the point that I have noticeable gaps on my eyelashes - at this point I have a few spots of eyelashes and that's it, the rest is completely bald or has small ones growing through. It's causing a problem with my family mainly, they think I look ill from it, but a mental health professional I spoke to did class it as self harm which made zero sense to me from the mental side of it because I didn't do it for the sole purpose of hurting myself. But if a professional has said it needs to stop, I suppose it needs to stop.
I pull out eye brows, eye lashes, ear hair and arm hair. Always have. Not enough to be noticeable to other people though.
Is it really causing a problem?
I was told that my rubbing my left eyebrow was trichotillomania and could be due to stress but I actually think it is a stim. I have tried but I always catch myself when Im relaxing watching tv.
I also dont know how to stop it