Hair and Thumb Sucking...

[LostHERmind]

I admitted today to a friend that I, and always have since birth, suck my thumb(used to be a soother until I was ten or so, and I am still tempted to buy another one sometimes) and play/twirl my hair. They know about some other stuff going on in my life- like some... instabilities and the like. But this is an all the time thing. Happy, sad, scared, mad, sick or healthy. I know precautions and such- like when I am sick I wash my hands much more than usual, I always wash my hands after coming home just in case I give in, and I always make sure I never get hair knotted around my fingers that might cut off circulation or rip out hair (dont want bald patches on my head).

I've tried keeping my hair short to stop that habit. And it sometimes works for a day or two, but then I just start not sleeping as well and get more frustrated when I'm tired and want to twirl/run my hand through my hair. The thumb thing, well, I've obviously had to go through times I can't suck my thumb (ie in public or at sleepovers)- in those cases I bite my hands/fingers lightly, bite or suck my lip if I'm desperate or alternately play with my hair to have that as a distraction (because holding a bit of hair off my face seems normal, right lol). As for sleepovers, I try to sleep last or just prepare to have a really crappy night.

I'm 19, by the way. Yeah. Closer to 20 now even. I have no problem with this. I have it mostly hidden- the hair thing is really all I tell people about or they notice, and I'm careful and everything. I really really love falling asleep this way. I sleep better, I'm not as agitated, and it makes me feel better when I'm sick or upset. I don't really want to quit- because that would be HELL for a long while- it was nearly two months or more of little sleep to sleepless nights and lots of crying when I got rid of the soother.

I just want to know, I guess, if anyone else close to my age does this, or has a similarly 'childish' addiction. And I also wanted to just rant a little about how my friend said "Well, thats sort of proof you aren't... I don't want to say developing.... Maturing is the word, properly." That really irked me. So yeah, sorry its a long post, but I'm usually so quiet about it...

[Childish Giggle]

There's nothing wrong with your "maturing". Its just a way to cope up with stress or just habits that we develop due to various reasons.

So, after reading about the hair thing, I was reminded of this post I once saw-
http://www.teenhelp.org/forums/f14-m...chotillomania/

This post was about trichotillomania. After reading it I googled "hair twirling" to see if both are related, turns out they are. Here's what I found-
http://trichstars.com/hair-twirling
http://www.hairpisodes.com/2009/01/hair-twirling.html
http://www.wisegeek.com/why-am-i-add...r-twirling.htm

You can google it yourself and check out the other sites too if you are not satisfied with these.

Then about the thumb sucking,
http://www.thumbsuckingadults.com/ Check out this site. Its actually a kind of support group for adult thumb suckers.
and http://www.oralcareindia.com/patient...umbsucking.asp is detailed information on it.

Apart from this I can relate thumb sucking to oral fixations which actually is the problem with me.
http://www.earlyinterventionsupport....lfixation.aspx Check out this site.

You can read these and figure out the reason for your actions. It should be because of emotional problems most probably because you mentioned about some instabilities. You can see a counselor or a professional so that someone can help you more with figuring out your problems and finding a solution for them.

[Dr.Bobby]

You know, thumb sucking and hair twirling in adults is really much more common than you'd think, a lot of adults do it. As long as you can control it in situations that might prove socially awkward, it's probably an OK thing to do in private.