Does anyone on the spectrum do this too? Or is it just my habit?

[Mark Smith]

I do something similar to this. Except instead of stuffy animals, I pick skin off my hands and around my fingers when I’m either bored or stressed out. There have been several times where I’ve bled from doing it but it’s reallu calming for me at the same time.

 

[DCA]

I pull at my own hair often. These days its not too bad, but when I was in Jr High School (between 8th or 9th grade) it got so bad I developed a bald spot on my head. So imagine all the stuff you have to deal with as a teen, plus being on the spectrum, plus a habit like that.

I also have a compulsion to pick at scabs or those little nodules of skin you sometimes get. Even on my partner, which I try hard not to do!

 

[Gayda Collins]

I don't do that, but I've had a bad habit of (yuck!) picking at scabs. I try to avoid this. Related, I 'pick' at plants. Specifically, if I see dead or dying leaves or perhaps even branches, I will remove them -- kind of like deadheading the geraniums.

 

[the_tortoise]

Could you make a little pillow from faux fur or just carry a piece of faux fur fabric around, pull all the hairs out of that?

 

[Chance]

I pull my eyebrows out - does that count?

I have really long eyelashes for a guy and they bug me so I pull on them and people tell me to stop it - why did I just tell this???

I used to so this to one of my stuffed bears as a kid. It’s something my mom has pointed out numerous times. I recently found the bear in my mom’s attic. This thing isn’t just missing a tail, it is practically bald. I loved nearly all its hair off. I have heard of other kids rubbing off tails or carrying a stuffed animal around until it is dingy and needs to be replaced, but I took it to the extreme. It hardly looks like a teddy bear anymore.

I had a blanket called "donk" who knows why it was called that... That was just what I called it??? But they finally washed it so many times it basically shredded after being patched up... I didn't like any other blanket... Just Donk! So it was a sad day went Donk was no more. : )

I bite my nails. Its simply (as I understand it) anxiety relief. I also cannot stop biting my nails and sometimes its to the extent I have no nail left on some fingers. My girlfriend calls it self-harm (which I suppose it is) but I cannot stop and to want to do it, but not do it, increases my anxiety hugely. So picking fur off cuddly toys sounds a nicer option than bleeding fingers lol. All I would suggest is don't try stopping as the stopping is far worse an experience. But maybe that's just me.

I always have minor (or major) cuts and scratches from work or farming. I hate the scabs so I pick them off too early only to have to live with another scab... I cant stand ANY white showing on my finger nails so I clip them really often sometimes it makes my fingers sore because I little fingernails on big fingers in the first place... Just weird as usual. : )

 

[WittyAspie]

I have really long eyelashes for a guy and they bug me so I pull on them and people tell me to stop it - why did I just tell this???

My eyelashes are so long they touch the equipment when I go for eye exams. I can't stand it. All these women spending money to make their lashes look longer and I want mine cut.

 

[Jena]

NTs have stims, too, not just people with ASD. They nibble on pens and pencils, jiggle their legs, chew fingernails, pull or twist their hair, play with rubber bands, pull off the little balls of yarn that form on sweaters, keep marbles or worry beads in their pockets, jingle loose coins in their pockets, and all kinds of other things. Maybe NTs are better able to disguise it or control it when they get older, but they definitely have stims to calm themselves down, too. It's not just an aspie thing.

I had a paralegal who kept a cigarette light in her pocket and constantly "scrolled" the little wheel on the lighter that makes the spark that ignites the fuel with her thumb. One night she was sitting at a bar with friends while wearing a fuzzy acrylic sweater and scrolling her lighter in the sweater pocket. All of a sudden her sweater burst into flames, the bartender leaped over the top of the bar and rolled her on the floor to put out the flames. That pretty much cured her of doing it in her pocket. LOL.

Have you thought about getting a plush furry toy to use exclusively for your stim so you won't use your other stuffed animals or dog? It could be dedicated to solely to that purpose and you could throw it away and get another one when it is bald.

I have tried thinking about that, but again I get too overattach to my stuffed animals and even if I get one to do it too I will feel terrible about it especially if it's a cute and cuddly one.

 

[Jena]

I used to so this to one of my stuffed bears as a kid. It’s something my mom has pointed out numerous times. I recently found the bear in my mom’s attic. This thing isn’t just missing a tail, it is practically bald. I loved nearly all its hair off. I have heard of other kids rubbing off tails or carrying a stuffed animal around until it is dingy and needs to be replaced, but I took it to the extreme. It hardly looks like a teddy bear anymore.

oh good I thought I was the only human being on this entire planet that did this to stuffed animals. The thing is, I used to never do this, I wouldn't even step on my stuffed animals or throw them when I was a kid cause I felt like they had feelings too... I forget which stuffed animal I started the pulling with but one time I accidently pluck out fur and it was a clump of it stuck together and that felt so satisfying that I just could never ever stop. You wanna know what would be cool? If someone invented a stim toy where you can pull out clumps of fur like that (like not thin threads but like clumps) The issue is I overdo it I mean my stuffed animals are not bald (except one has few bald patches and if you look closely there are few spots on some of them that are bald) WHICH I HATE SEEING MY STUFFED ANIMALS BALD BUT I LIKE PICKING FUR SO BADLY. T-T. The issue is when I do it I end up hurting my finger. Like my side finger hurts and is kind of rough to the feel idk how else to describe it. And in the process my fingers get super dry when I do it. But it's so satisfying but hurts at the same time cause I aggressivly pick at it. (im pretty rough when I do stuff like this the more tense I am the more rough I am with handling toys and plush so then I end up hurting my poor finger that isn't healing cause I keep doing it every day for hours. Sorry for rambling just glad I am not the only one that has done this.

 

[ilovetochat87]

Okay so I have a extremely bad habit at picking fur off of stuffed animals and my dog (it doesn't hurt him dw he still got plenty of fur on him no bald spots at all double coat). Anyways I am despreatly trying to stop this habit. My fingers start really hurting and the skin around the nail peals a little bit when I do it too much.
I notice I get a satisfication feeling when I pick off fur off of my stuffed animals (especially in the clump type), it's soothing and satisfiying to me But damanging my 303 stuffed animals. I love my stuffed animals, and everytime I do this I feel guilt and horrible cause I don't wanna do it to them. I can't find anything on picking fur off of stuffed animals online, and wondering if anyone else does this and get a satisfiying feel to it or is it just me? I really do not know how to stop this, everytime I feel a little bump in the plush I get anxious and need to pull it. Not sure if this is a Asperger's thing or not, or if it's something else entirely? Or just a bad habit???Like okay I'll be doing it for hours on end.... and then I'll finally realize I am doing it and stop only to resume on a different stuffed animal. I really do not know what to do.

P.S no giving up my plush is not a option I have big attachment to them

That is a very autistic/asperger behavior to do. that's why you see children on the spectrum going through the Walmart or something with their parents and all they want to do is stick their arm out to the side and just feel the linens and the carpets and the toys . Like with blankets or scarves that are wool thst produces real heavy fuzzy lumps especially when you stick it in the wash and then it just shreds, it's real easy for us t have a extreme over compulsive desire to pick all of the little fuzzies off or when you get a pimple it's an over compulsive desire to pop your pimples even though it's gross and disgusting we don't see it that way we just see it as something that's fair and it's of noxious and it needs to go and it's just an OCD that we cannot control . Or a scab. just the way it is.

 

[ilovetochat87]

Continued: whenever I get a hangnail I'm very big about picking them even though you're never supposed to pick a hangnail because you can't just pull it out like you think it will pull and pull and pull and become longer and longer and longer and now you've got a hangnail that once was a millimeter long hanging off the very end of your fingernail now it's 6 inches long and now you have a giant hole 6 inches long going down your finge you did get the hangnail off finally but you left a 6 inch long gash in your dinner now. in the moment when we behave like this we don't see that popping a pimple is a bad idea because now you're gonna have a giant red spot on your face where there was a pimple because you've irritated your pores and your skin and you now are gonna have a scar that takes forever to heal and if it's on the very bottom of your lip or under your eye or something now you're gonna look really stupid with a giant spot on your face that looks like a bee sting or a canker sore and people are gonna think what happened to your face because it's huge and sticking out for everybody can see it or you're gonna have the 6 inch long gash on your finger and people are gonna wonder what happened to your hand we don't think about those things when we're in the moment having an extreme OCD moment and I don't think there's anything we can do about that medically it just is what it is . But when we are doing stuff like that and we're noticing hey this is going on I need to stop it in that moment try to do what's called mind over matter which is focus on anything and everything possible besides that behavior think about a hot dog or a chair or whatever you can think about to make yourself forget about that thing and distract yourself to the point that you're so much focused on something else that you don't want to do that anymore . You have to train your brain. It's extremely difficult but you can do it sometimes the moment is too hard and sometimes you can do it if it's not an extreme moments of OCD . I used to be terrified and very disgusted by lotions or baby oil or any kind of other oil even cooking oil or slimy Rommie before it was cooked I would have to wear gloves when I would put lotion on my back or anybody else's that were wearing gloves when I'm cooking because the slime would literally make me want to vomit because it's a sensory thing and slimy things are like the worst for my sensory overload and I had to remind myself when I put lotion on it isnt the end of the world and I'm not gonna die and I will live to see another day even though I touched it and I would try to do it and then I couldn't it was a nice idea to try to convince myself of that but I still couldn't do it and then I would close my eyes and say hurry hurry hurry hurry and distract myself or I would close my eyes and have the radio on and try to focus on the radio or I would sing to the song on the radio I would try to see if I could put the lotion on faster than 60 seconds and then once I did it I would say hooray I'm brave and then I would like to rub my hands against each other and try to get the rest of the slimy that's kind of left behind as much off as I can or if I have to I will wash my hands with soap and water and try to get the slime off more or I will use the back of my hand but not the palm of my hand because I don't get that weird feeling as much but I've learned different techniques like that but I have learned to focus on other things not let myself get over focused on it and I can do it I cook bacon one time and I was really proud of myself and I called my mom like mom mom I cooked bacon for the first time by myself and she goes ummm… sooo? 0.o I said no I touched the slimy meat and I didn't die and I learned I can wash my hands after word and I'm still alive and she said OH, oh... I get it I understand now the sensory thing that's very brave of you. I said I've been teaching myself to focus on other things in mind over matter and when I focus away from the subject it doesn't bother me and I can control it. can control the way I react to i and the way I feel to it. I would recommend trying that. had motor Tourette's for a whilewhen I was in elementary schoolafter taking Ritalin in fourth grade. When I was in fourth grade it was the 90s not a doctor on the planet as far as we knew had ever heard of Asperger's and they told me I had ADD and ADHD and gave me Bridalin it made me sick it made me not eat hardly anything ever and I was irritable and a biotch And I would sleep 12+ hours a day and we had to stop this cycle and we also noticed I had motor Tourette's I would just do different types of twitching Behaviors and my mom had to try to explain to me that I didn't really have Tourette's it was a side effect of the medication and I'm not taking it anymore and I only had it for a couple months and the Tourette's is all psychological because by the medicine because Ritalin is like giving a child crack adult levels of crack to a child. But it was a very serious side effect getting threats and I could not convince my mom enough how bad the direct had gotten even though it was just a side effect but I Puryears told myself knock it off this is all in your head you don't really have this problem stop it and I couldn't and then I could and then I couldn't and eventually I told myself knock it off. This ludicrous behavior you only think you have a problem with threats but you don't knock it off and I did and I never went back there but it was a very severe Side effect that screwed me up for year all the way up until I was 15 I thought I got control of it and then it would come back and mind over matter works you have to train yourself it's not an overnight thing you have to train yourself make yourself knock it the hell off. may take you years to figure out exactly how to do the mind over matter and make it successfu but I would suggest going to someone that you trust a professional that can show you how that works and how to be successful at it but if you can manage it it works you just have to tell yourself knock it off this is behavior that is not acceptable stop yourself and if you have to smack yourself get over it knock it off the water in your face whatever you can do to distract yourself or whatever needs to be done to tell the brain cells do something else like reinforcement this is that behavior let's reinforce good behavior what you're doing is a bad thing let's focus on a good thing here and it works if you do it and you're consistent with it if you find something that you don't want to be doing anymore and you know you need to stop it it works and that's why fidget toys work . That's why they work because you're focusing on something else if you can find the right one that works for you it's wonderful because you're focusing on a different thing then that behavior when that happens if you're finding yourself becoming over compulsive and it's not something you can control how are you try get something else like your fingers physically focus on a different task so they're not capable of doing that behavior because they already have a different task that they are currently focusing on. that helps I mean if you ever want to know anything about why we do what we do or if what you're doing is normal in general or if you're wanting to know is what you're doing and Asperger thing or you just want to chat I'm here for you I'm 29 I was diagnosed at 16 but let me tell you I spent 95% of my life after being diagnosed literally involved to an OCD level without burgers anything and everything because I wanted to change myself I wanted to be different I didn't want to be a statistic I didn't want to be what they told me I would be or what I could be or what I wouldn't be I wanted to be what I was I wanted to be the exception to the rule when it came to my disability so I know a lot about things and I can help you if you ever want to know anything if anybody in this chat website want to know something ask me I'm a good person to go to and I can share my life story how I've overcome the odds of so much and literally I'm the only one with Asperger's that I know of that's as high functioning as I am that still qualifies for Asperger's because I'm the only one I know of just about anywhere that's done what I've done to overcome a lot of my deficiencies. I'm here if you need me.

 

[KaceyMc]

Here's an idea! Go to the fabric store to the remnants and Overstock clearance, feel around for something that suits you. Buy a yard, pick it clean and then throw it away. You don't have to feel guilty about your animals and you can still keep your calm on!

 

[tree]

Here's an idea! Go to the fabric store to the remnants and Overstock clearance, feel around for something that suits you. Buy a yard, pick it clean and then throw it away. You don't have to feel guilty about your animals and you can still keep your calm on!

Maybe make saddle blanket kind of things
for the animals.

Then OP could carry them around, pick & pull
and strip the blanket fur, instead of the toy's fur.

 

[ilovetochat87]

Okay so I have a extremely bad habit at picking fur off of stuffed animals and my dog (it doesn't hurt him dw he still got plenty of fur on him no bald spots at all double coat). Anyways I am despreatly trying to stop this habit. My fingers start really hurting and the skin around the nail peals a little bit when I do it too much.
I notice I get a satisfication feeling when I pick off fur off of my stuffed animals (especially in the clump type), it's soothing and satisfiying to me But damanging my 303 stuffed animals. I love my stuffed animals, and everytime I do this I feel guilt and horrible cause I don't wanna do it to them. I can't find anything on picking fur off of stuffed animals online, and wondering if anyone else does this and get a satisfiying feel to it or is it just me? I really do not know how to stop this, everytime I feel a little bump in the plush I get anxious and need to pull it. Not sure if this is a Asperger's thing or not, or if it's something else entirely? Or just a bad habit???Like okay I'll be doing it for hours on end.... and then I'll finally realize I am doing it and stop only to resume on a different stuffed animal. I really do not know what to do.

P.S no giving up my plush is not a option I have big attachment to them

No one here is saying you have to feel guilty. That's who you are and you shouldn't be ashamed. I mean if you're doing drugs or something yeah that should be shameful you need to knock that up kind of thing or if you I mean there's other things where you need to knock it off and whatnot but you can't control the fact. You cannot control the fact that you were "born" this way. now if you want to talk about that subject you want to get into that I mean autism speaks is a great advocate for there is something wrong with us and we need to be eradicated from our bodies. that's not the case sure we have sensory issue and at times can be extreme and at times not but everybody has issues we just do them differently at different levels but we all on the spectrum have the same issue we all get overstimulated we all get very sensitive when we get our feelings hurt we all love very intense we all get kind of claustrophobic in large crowds we all get nervous about things we don't know where don't understand y'all have trouble with recognizing when we are talking too loud and we don't understand sarcasm etc. etc. the list goes on and on and on and on and I'm not gonna list all of them but you get the point. It makes us who we r. We can't change it bc it's not something that "happened" to us. It's not like cancer that goes away with medicine or treatment. We can put aspies/auties in a hyperbaric chamber but it won't make it "go away" we have it forever. It's an extension of us. I still have it tho I learned to overcome most of it. I learned to control my literalness and my fear if slimy /oily things. But I still have a diversion to it sometimes. But it shouldn't be something to eat you up either. You shouldn't be afraid or ashamed of being smarter than the average Joe/Jane or of being literal because let me tell you I'm proud of that stuff.

 

[Appleslime]

Okay so I have a extremely bad habit at picking fur off of stuffed animals and my dog (it doesn't hurt him dw he still got plenty of fur on him no bald spots at all double coat). Anyways I am despreatly trying to stop this habit. My fingers start really hurting and the skin around the nail peals a little bit when I do it too much.
I notice I get a satisfication feeling when I pick off fur off of my stuffed animals (especially in the clump type), it's soothing and satisfiying to me But damanging my 303 stuffed animals. I love my stuffed animals, and everytime I do this I feel guilt and horrible cause I don't wanna do it to them. I can't find anything on picking fur off of stuffed animals online, and wondering if anyone else does this and get a satisfiying feel to it or is it just me? I really do not know how to stop this, everytime I feel a little bump in the plush I get anxious and need to pull it. Not sure if this is a Asperger's thing or not, or if it's something else entirely? Or just a bad habit???Like okay I'll be doing it for hours on end.... and then I'll finally realize I am doing it and stop only to resume on a different stuffed animal. I really do not know what to do.

P.S no giving up my plush is not a option I have big attachment to them

I don't do that but I love picking my leg and arm hairs out one by one. Sometimes I can do it for hours x

 

[tree]

I don't do that but I love picking my leg and arm hairs out one by one. Sometimes I can do it for hours x

With just your fingers?
Or with tweezers?

 

[Appleslime]

With just your fingers?
Or with tweezers?

tweezers. It was meant to say plucking not picking x

 

[tree]

tweezers. It was meant to say plucking not picking x

OK.

I was thinking, if you could pull hairs out, one by one,
for hours, just using your fingers, you'd have some
seriously strong fingers, and advanced fine muscle control.

That would be hard to do, compared with using the
mechanical advantage of tweezers.

 

[Appleslime]

OK.

I was thinking, if you could pull hairs out, one by one,
for hours, just using your fingers, you'd have some
seriously strong fingers, and advanced fine muscle control.

That would be hard to do, compared with using the
mechanical advantage of tweezers.

Nope..... I'd lose patience and end up doing goodness knows what! Prob have no skin left!

 

[tducey]

I have this habit of curling my hair as well as if I get a loose part of my nail, I like to pick that off as well.

 

[Mary Anne]

It sounds like you have Trichotillomania

Trichotillomania (hair-pulling disorder) - Symptoms and causes

“Trichotillomania (trik-o-til-o-MAY-nee-uh), also called hair-pulling disorder, is a mental disorder that involves recurrent, irresistible urges to pull out hair from your scalp, eyebrows or other areas of your body, despite trying to stop.

Hair pulling from the scalp often leaves patchy bald spots, which causes significant distress and can interfere with social or work functioning. People with trichotillomania may go to great lengths to disguise the loss of hair.

For some people, trichotillomania may be mild and generally manageable. For others, the compulsive urge to pull hair is overwhelming. Some treatment options have helped many people reduce their hair pulling or stop entirely.

Symptoms
Signs and symptoms of trichotillomania often include:

• Repeatedly pulling your hair out, typically from your scalp, eyebrows or eyelashes, but sometimes from other body areas, and sites may vary over time
• An increasing sense of tension before pulling, or when you try to resist pulling
• A sense of pleasure or relief after the hair is pulled
• Noticeable hair loss, such as shortened hair or thinned or bald areas on the scalp or other areas of your body, including sparse or missing eyelashes or eyebrows
• Preference for specific types of hair, rituals that accompany hair pulling or patterns of hair pulling
• Biting, chewing or eating pulled-out hair
• Playing with pulled-out hair or rubbing it across your lips or face
• Repeatedly trying to stop pulling out your hair or trying to do it less often without success
• Significant distress or problems at work, school or in social situations related to pulling out your hair

Many people who have trichotillomania also pick their skin, bite their nails or chew their lips. Sometimes pulling hairs from pets or dolls or from materials, such as clothes or blankets, may be a sign. Most people with trichotillomania pull hair in private and generally try to hide the disorder from others.

For people with trichotillomania, hair pulling can be:

• Focused. Some people pull their hair intentionally to relieve tension or distress — for example, pulling hair out to get relief from the overwhelming urge to pull hair. Some people may develop elaborate rituals for pulling hair, such as finding just the right hair or biting pulled hairs.
• Automatic. Some people pull their hair without even realizing they're doing it, such as when they're bored, reading or watching TV.

The same person may do both focused and automatic hair pulling, depending on the situation and mood. Certain positions or rituals may trigger hair pulling, such as resting your head on your hand or brushing your hair.

Trichotillomania can be related to emotions:

• Negative emotions. For many people with trichotillomania, hair pulling is a way of dealing with negative or uncomfortable feelings, such as stress, anxiety, tension, boredom, loneliness, fatigue or frustration.
• Positive feelings. People with trichotillomania often find that pulling out hair feels satisfying and provides a measure of relief. As a result, they continue to pull their hair to maintain these positive feelings.

Trichotillomania is a long-term (chronic) disorder. Without treatment, symptoms can vary in severity over time. For example, the hormonal changes of menstruation can worsen symptoms in women. For some people, if not treated, symptoms can come and go for weeks, months or years at a time. Rarely, hair pulling ends within a few years of starting.

When to see a doctor
If you can't stop pulling out your hair or you feel embarrassed or ashamed by your appearance as a result of your hair pulling, talk to your doctor. Trichotillomania is not just a bad habit, it's a mental health disorder, and it's unlikely to get better without treatment.”