My daughter is 7 going on 8 and her father and I just ended a 13 year relationship. We were not living together out of the 13 years and we seen each other almost daily.
The problem I have is that since I left her father he stopped calling her! I looked at her the other day and her long eyelashes are gone she pluicked them out! And just morning I looked and the other side had been cut off! She is the youngest of 4 her sibiling are 24,21,and 20. She is bossy and has a hard time having friends and keeping them. She is very smart, intelligent, funny just a very good little girl overall. But I don't know why she is doing this, is it a phase or is it something that needs to be addressed? Socialily she has problems. PLEASE HELP
It sounds like Trichotillmania to me also. That's an OCD behavior where people pull their hair, eyebrows, or eyelashes out. You need professional help to break her out of this habit (and maybe steer her toward replacement habits to take the place).
Good luck!
C.
www.littlebitquirky.blogspot.com
Pulling out one's own hair (anywhere on the body) is called trichotillomania and there is a national support group called TLC (google the website). There is lots of help out there for people of all ages with this "disorder". Get your child help now before it gets out of control. This affects millions and millions of people, but nobody talks about it like cancer, etc. because it is inflicted upon one's self. I speak from experience. Good luck!!!
PS - There is a counselor in the Pittsburgh area named Joan Kaylor. She has been in remission from this for many years and has helped many people. TLC should be able to put you in touch with local support groups/counselors.
She sounds stressed out! Get her into counseling, she is taking this out on herself and you don't want her to do other things like cutting and god forbid she starts eating disorders like anorexia, bulemia.
It's something that needs to be addressed. You seem to have a sense that stress from your relationship has something to do with it. I suggest first you talking to her about it, and second you finding someone else for her to talk to outside the family. It can be a counselor, a psychiatrist or just an older family friend she could trust (who wouldn't be reporting to you.) There's something wrong, and someone needs to get to the bottom of it and help her out!
Hi, T.:
Get her a big brother or big sister from your area's BB /BG group.
D.
I just wanted to say that it could be something as others have said and there is a lot going on that counseling may help. However, when I was your daughter's age, I pulled out my eyelashes. I had heard the legend that you can make a wish on an eyelash and once I got started, it became a habit. It may be a similar thing with your daughter. Either way, such a significant family change is probably cause for counseling. Good luck!
it's not a phase, it's like nail bitting, an addiction. i have done it for years, but i have it under control at times. some people will pull eyebrows and the hair off their head, luckily i never seemed to catch that. i've heard therapy helps, and it is called Trichotillomania. I never went and i'm a successful adult, but i don't have a very addictive personality. just talk to her and see if she can stop herself, if not she may need help.
She may have Trichotillomania. Please get her some counseling. Good luck.
I'm so sorry your family is going through this. Your daughter may be developing a serious psychological problem that needs to be addressed by professional help immediately. Call your pediatrician, describe the issue, and ask for a referral to a therapist who specializes in trichotillomania. You also need to let her father know that his disappearance is causing her major psychological trauma. Get you and your daughter into family counseling immediately, even if her father won't do it.
I pull mine out this started in my teens and till this day i'm 30 I still have the need to pull them out with my fingers sometimes with tweezers.They do grow back there have been times were there was only a few left this often happens when I can't sleep so I pluck them in bed while lying there I also have a habit of rubbing my feet together for comfort and fall asleep.I need to mention to you that I suffer from depression I was ____@____.com is self inflicted behavior have you asked why she is doing this to her eyelashes?
Anxiety. Ask a specialist about it, because if she does it long enough, her eyelashes won't grow back.
Maybe you could try a bribe with something she really wants to get her to stop. When my daughter was really young, I got her to stop biting her nails before it became a really ingrained habit.
Consult a board certified child psychiatrist. It may be Tricletellemania, but if it is classified as an SIB (self injurous behavior) and she has social issues already, she may need some intervention. You have two reasons to see one, and that she has just experirenced a life changing slpit between you and her father may be a trigger, but this could also be something that is more nuerodevelopmental. You need a medical professional to help you, ASAP.
M.
Hi T.,
My daughter is 6 and just started doing this. She doesn't pull them all out at once, but in random clumps. I've done so much research on trichotillomania but came across another mom in this situation who was told to try the natural supplement N-acetyl cysteine. She gave it to her daughter (who pulled out her eyelashes for 2 years) and it stopped. I'm buying mine today to start giving to my daughter. Google it, there's lots of info.
Good luck!
