This thread breaks my heart. I'm sixty years old now and I haven't pulled out my hair in over 35 years but I remember the anxiety and shame that went with this problem. As I recall, I was about 8 or 9 years old when I started doing this and the fifties were not exactly the age of enlightenment, medical help was nonexistant. My mother dealt with this problem by embarrasing me in front of my friends. Any one who has this problem is ashamed enough, pointing out your odd habit to friends is beyond cruel.

On the upside however, once you stop your hair grows back. It will never be like it was and the process is slow but it comes back. All I can say is thank goodness for the sixties and big hair.. wigs and falls do the trick if your a girl. I suggest getting the boy a buzz cut for the summer. If he can't get at it he won't pull it out.

But the problem goes way beyond a quirky little habit. I pulled my hair at night when I was in bed. In the morning there would be a pile of hair on the floor that I would gather up and flush down the toilet. I remember the self hate that goes with not being able to control your impulses. You make deals with yourself, God, nothing works. What set me off was stress. My mother was verbally abusive and even in my early twenties spending any time with her would set off a bad night. I moved out of the house a month after graduating high school and putting distance between us did help quite a bit. And the drug which stopped the problem forever was valium.. I was taking valium for an entirely different problem and this was a wonderful side effect. It took about six months during which time I didn't have the urge to pull and actually I remember being amazed that I didn't even think about it. It was a tremendous relief. I stopped taking the drug and the urge has never returned. And it was not replaced by another ocd. This was in 1972 and I am not advocating valium, there have got to be other drugs available to the child now.

My heart goes out to the boy. This is not good for his self esteem. But I also know that keeping his hands busy will not redirect his anxiety. I haven't seen or spoken to my mother in years. She was also nasty with my daughter so I have no regrets about the estrangement, it was a healthy decision. Hopefully this problem will go away as swiftly as it came.