Eyelash Pulling Problem? What the hell is wrong with me!

[D_Fluoridia Bidet]

Well I was wondering does this seem weird? I pull my eyelashes slowly where it doesn't hurt at all. I usually get about 2-4 lashes out of my eye. I don't pull them where it hurts like all hell I just slightly pull down on them until they slip into my fingers. After that I collect them in a cup. I have been doing this since 2005 but I just started collecting them in a cup back in January of this year. I use to count them and the last time I counted I had 275 eyelashes in a cup I stopped counting it got annoying. My best friend told me they will have a hard time growing back if I continue to damage the hair growth or they will stop growing period.

I was just thinking if anybody has this problem as well? Or something similar like pulling the hair on your head? I don't know what causes this phenomenon sometimes I don't even realize that I am doing it. WTF?

 

[IntoxicatingToxin]

Well, in response to your first question, yes it seems weird. :biggrin: And your friend is right, about them possibly not growing back. Why would you want to remove your eyelashes?!

 

[D_Fluoridia Bidet]

I don't know Meg, it's just the weirdest thing that started happening to me. I just started pulling them out for some reason. I feel satisfied and when I don't get any eyelashes I get angry and try again later? I mean really I don't know if it's just me or do other people do this too?

 

[IntoxicatingToxin]

I'm not sure if I'm making this out to be more extreme than necessary, but does this help? lol. Compulsive Hair Pulling: Understanding and Treating Trichotillomania - Psych Central

 

[B_Think_Kink]

There is a disorder in which people pull body hair. Now I'm not accusing you of having it. Just that this is the first thing I thought of and I'm linking it for you to look into. Here.

 

[D_Fluoridia Bidet]

I just read everything and that was educational, I guess I have a form of anxiety that has no cure other than to have people to slap my hand away from my eye? I didn't think it would be this bad and now I know it's a form of OCD?! eeeek!

 

[socoken]

Ive been doing the eyelash thing since i was a kid, so 15 years now or so. As a guy, almost every woman I date says she wishes she had my long lashes. So, I dont feel like pulling my lashes has affected me adversely.

 

[snoozan]

I agree with T_K, that was my first thought as well. However, if it's not affecting your daily life negatively, it's subclinical and more of a quirk than a disease.

I have a terrible habit of picking the skin around my nails. I've done this for at least 12 years. Oddly, being on Prozac stopped it, but it didn't help the mood episode the Prozac was originally for, so I stopped taking it. The skin picking is not something that bothers me enough that I feel a need to get treated for it. I figure when I try to stop and can't, that's when I worry about it.

The counting and saving of the hairs do sound like some sort of OCD. However, if this is the only thing you do that's like that, don't sweat it too much.

As always, a doctor and/or mental health professional would probably be the best person to discuss this with if you're really concerned about it.

 

[HazelGod]

I'm not sure if I'm making this out to be more extreme than necessary, but does this help? lol. Compulsive Hair Pulling: Understanding and Treating Trichotillomania - Psych Central

Awesome response, TMM...I was going to post the same. My mother has battled this compulsion all her life, including two cosmetic surgical procedures to close a bald spot in her scalp caused by it.

It is definitely a known disorder, and you should seek treatment before you cause any damage to yourself that would require surgery to repair.

Some eyelashes are ready to drop and will pull out freely...this is normal. Fixation on (and collection of) them signals a different issue altogether. Get help before it develops into something truly destructive.

 

[Not_Punny]

Wow, Crissy -- better hurry up and move to one of the coasts! It's the air in Houston! :biggrin1:

I have no worthwhile thing to say other than the supposed "fact" that it takes about 28 days of consistency to change a habit. Maybe cultivating a new habit would help.:wink:

 

[guiltrip]

meh theyre just eyelashes, I say pull them all out if you can.

 

[Quite Irate]

You should look into the clinical descriptions more and see a specialist (if you can). Long term eyelash pulling will cause permanent damage if it persists. That being said, what you have may be as simple as a zinc deficiency. Try going to the store and buying some zinc tablets - take them regularly and see if it improves.

 

[huw ginnit]

In a couple of threads now you have talked about things developing from normal actions into something more, , you talk about your obsession with vitamins and called yourself a vitamin freak..something that has raised questions about your behaviour to yourself. You are now starting to ask questions about your own behaviour so it seems to me you know things aren't as balanced as they might be.

These small "things" are termed by people who know as "rituals" many people have them, hand washing, checking switches before leaving the house, tapping... in many cases they are normal actions, but when the individual takes them to another level, a level they have no control over, it's what can be seen a the onset of Obsessive Compulsive Disorders.

I think you need to take advice from your Physician. Talk to a professional about the causes of the rituals, and about the period around when you first noticed them happening, and do it soon before these minor problems stop you living your life fully.

As a child of someone with OCD, I know how frustrating it can be and the anxiety it causes to those who care for you. You sound to be in early stage, you're aware that the compulsion is there and that it's not "normal", there are lots of things that can help but you need to see someone.

 

[DC_DEEP]

I don't pull on my eyelashes hard enough to dislodge the healthy ones, but every couple of days, I do get rid of the loose ones.

Crissy, please keep an eye (so to speak) on your tendency toward the obssessions and compulsions.

Most of the posts before mine (except the childish one(s)) have good advice.

 

[SpoiledPrincess]

You should ask Frank969 if he wants to have a competition, he can fill his spunk jar you can fill your eyelash cup and the first there gets a prize.

Seriously as some of the other posters said you seem to be prone to obsessive behaviour and should speak to your doctor about it. Pulling your eyelashes out will damage the roots and you'll end up with no eyelashes.

 

[dreamer20]

... Pulling your eyelashes out will damage the roots and you'll end up with no eyelashes.

Oh dear!

At least you can still look glamorous with these ones::biggrin1:


http://www.lpsg.org/830825-post8.html

 

[sbeBen]

Well I was wondering does this seem weird? I pull my eyelashes slowly where it doesn't hurt at all. I usually get about 2-4 lashes out of my eye. I don't pull them where it hurts like all hell I just slightly pull down on them until they slip into my fingers. After that I collect them in a cup. I have been doing this since 2005 but I just started collecting them in a cup back in January of this year. I use to count them and the last time I counted I had 275 eyelashes in a cup I stopped counting it got annoying. My best friend told me they will have a hard time growing back if I continue to damage the hair growth or they will stop growing period.

I was just thinking if anybody has this problem as well? Or something similar like pulling the hair on your head? I don't know what causes this phenomenon sometimes I don't even realize that I am doing it. WTF?

Yes I also pull at my eyelashes and I look to see how many I have pulld out. Never thought about keeping them though. It doesn't bother me if I dont get any. I also pull out whiskers that grow unusually high up on my face and away from my main beard growth and I get annoyed if I can't pull them out. I used to pull my head hair out as a teen and don't know why but solved this now by having a very short crop so I can't even grab them.
Crissy, how would you feel if you threw your lashes out? I don't think it's a good idea to keep them (says me who is going to start a cum-jar!):biggrin1: