i am a 36yr old single mom with mental illness several dx starting with ptsd, in addition ocd, panic do, social anxiety major dpn d/o but my concern is my 8yr old son has been diagnosed with adhd and takes tenex for it he also has learning disabilities but i believe its due to anxiety and ocd he picks his skin and pulls his eyelashes and i have experienced this myself but i am so worried about him i need help with this issue cuz he is suffering and so am i please help
Q: My 8yr old son had adhd and learning disabilities but my biggest concern is he pulls hes eyelashes out and picks his skin is there med for ocd and how can i help him to stop
Answers (3)
9/25/11 8:52pm
Thank you for your question and welcome to ADHDCentral.com.
I am not a medical professional and would not be able to give you medical advice.
Merely Me previously posted an article on this topic, ADHD and Compulsive Picking at Skin or Pulling out Hair and from the number of comments this post received, you are not alone. This, as Merely Me points out, is more common than we think.
She provides a few different treatments for compulsive hair pulling, such as cognitive bheavioral therapy, hypnosis and wearing a rubber band and snapping it every time you want to pull your hair (in this case, your son).
She also provides some resources to find out more about this and the treatment options.
I would certainly suggest speaking with your son's doctor about his behaviors and see what he recommends as well.
Eileen
9/27/11 10:53pm
Most likely, you're son is like me. I had the same issues starting when I was his age, and I still do, but only because I just figured it out. There's a specific name for this obsessive compusion. It's called trichotillomania. It's actually not all that uncommon, quite a few people have it. Many people with trich (as it's occasionally called) also have panic, ocd, and anxiety. (As do I.)
Phycological treatment or seeing a doctor is recommended, but there are support sites and groups such as Trich World and TLC.
It's EXTREMELY hard to stop pulling, I can tell you that first hand. If I can put this into perspective for you, it's like having a REALLY bad ant bite on your eyelid and the ONLY way to make it stop itching is to pull your eyelashes out in that spot. And for one slight moment, the pain is gone, the itching is gone. But then it comes back, making you want to pull even more. Same thing for hair, eyelashes and the skin picking.
9/27/11 10:58pm
Just to add a liiiittle bit more on that. A few techniques to stopping might be some sort of toy that busys both hands. Yarn, wrapping yarn around fingers, playing with it, that's what I prefer. Sometiems, wearing gloves. Bandaids on the fingers. Finger puppets, sometimes taking a shower whenever the urge occurs or ice/ water soothes the feeling a little bit. It's hard to say, I'd suggest a replacement behavior...or whatever they call it when you find something else to replace a habit. I'm sorry I couldn't be of more help, I'm still trying to figure this out myself but if I find anything that works for me I will let you know. Although, I'm a little less than twice your son's age, I'll look into it. Best of luck to you both!
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By loriquickedwards— Last Modified: 09/27/11, First Published: 09/25/11
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