TTM Rituals (not for the fainthearted!)

Associated Rituals performed by people with trichotillomania

Cracking knuckles

Pick scabs on head

Picking - (skin, cuticles, nails, zits)

Eating the zits/blackheads etc.

Nose picking

Picking fleas

Biting of inside of cheek

Pulling out grass and pressing the inside out

Compulsive hair cutting

Pull skins of lips.

Bite fingernails, cuticals, caluses, crack EVERY joint regularly

Bite toenails (especialy HATED by Hubby)

Rub the cat vigerously to get a hand full of hair which I can blow off and watch "float" away.

I have a "ritual" to add to your list - I bite my knuckles as well. I have favourite ones - usually the index and middle fingers. They end up with hard callouses on them which I then bite off.

Thumb sucking

I also pick the "sleep" from my eyes when I wake up. The hard kind in the corner of my eyes, and the long, slimy, stringy stuff that gets behind my lower eyelid. It has become part of my morning routine when getting ready. I enjoy the cool, clean feeling of removing the sleep. I like to pull the slimy kind out slowly, feeling it come out, watching it to see how long it gets as it comes out of my eye. Often I eat it.

I also like to feel my earlobe between my index and middle finger. I like to feel it where those 2 fingers make a V, where they meet my hand. I clean my ears thoroughly with a Q-Tip daily. It drives my crazy if I have to miss a day.

Grass picking

When someone is laying out in the sun for a long period of time and the person is burnt. Their back is peeling. I love to peel off the skin. 

I used to chew constantly on my hair.

I sucked my fingers (I had small hands and my thumb was too small) until I was nine.

Often, if I get blood, a scab, or pus on my fingures I will then eat it.

I also love to go into my yard and pull weeds out of my yard. I will sit on
my lawn for hours doing this.

Especialy if I have a pimple in my hair. I'll pull out all the hairs around my pimple, then I'll scratch the pimple till it bleeds. When the blood hardens, I pull off the scab. Eventually, with all the picking, the scab grows. Then I have to pull off any hairs that are close to the 'new' scab.

What else do we have in common?

Our heads itch

Perfectionism (not me, though - I'm too lazy)

It doesn't hurt when pull

Trichsters all have these additional things in common as well....

1) We are all really really bright-I mean near genius level! The articulation and insight in everybody's posts blow me away

2) We also have an abundance of creativity, probably fostered and nourished by our successful attempts at camouflaging the effects of our trich. Inside all of us are master make-up artists and high fashion hairdressers!

3) We are all simply gorgeous!! Every pic I have seen of fellow trichsters is of a beautiful person

4) We have fantastic senses of humor---We all are experts at recognizing the ironic nature of trich in our lives, and have a sharp comedic talents.

5) We are compassionate , loving, and supportive people. While I hate having this disorder, the silver lining is that it has brought me to you-being a part of this community has been a wonderful experience!