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I can't stand anything out of place on my body

Full Steam

Full Steam

The renegade master
V.I.P Member
I wonder if this is common?
I cannot tolerate anything that grows or tears, or builds up on my body, like;

A tear or a snaggy notch in a finger or toe nail.
Any nail that's too long, especially finger nails.
Eyebrow hair too long,
Ear hair at all,
Anything building up in my nose,
Hang nails (as soon as I find one I now at it and pull it out with my teeth, regardless of pain and blood, I cannot tolerate them for even seconds )
Long hair on my neck.
Sticky or dirty hands.
Spots, or scabs.

Just typing all that has made my tense, and I have an awful notchy nail right now.

I think my 5year old has the same as she picks her nails relentlessly.
 
It doesn't seem uncommon, to me.
Reminds me of over-grooming, in cats.
Excessive Grooming in Cats: Psychogenic Alopecia

It takes thought for me to get scissors or trimmers to
snip a hangnail. I used to pull them off when I was a child.
That wasn't a good technique.

I used to even off/smooth edges of my fingernails with my
teeth. A nail file works better.

A few times a year I have a bloody thumb because my
cuticle was ragged and it was too easy to 'cure' that by
tearing it off. Then for a week scrape the scab off,
repeatedly.
 
tree said:
It doesn't seem uncommon, to me.
Reminds me of over-grooming, in cats.
Excessive Grooming in Cats: Psychogenic Alopecia

It takes thought for me to get scissors or trimmers to
snip a hangnail. I used to pull them off when I was a child.
That wasn't a good technique.

I used to even off/smooth edges of my fingernails with my
teeth. A nail file works better.

A few times a year I have a bloody thumb because my
cuticle was ragged and it was too easy to 'cure' that by
tearing it off. Then for a week scrape the scab off,
repeatedly.
Click to expand...
Interesting.

Funnily enough, I've never thought of it as grooming, but I guess it is.

I wonder if the root cause was teasing at school....

I never could stand snaggy nails though, or sticky hands, so maybe there is an anxiety, grooming cause and a sensory one depending on the intolerable thing in question.
 
I can't stand snaggy nails, sticky hands, body hairs that are too long or scabs. I managed incredibly well with my tattoos, and didn't pick a single bit of it but I'm forever picking my arms. I frequently get spots on my head under my hair (always have, don't know why) and I can't leave them alone. I have one that probably would have healed about 3 months ago if I could stop picking the scab off.
 
xudo said:
I can't stand snaggy nails, sticky hands, body hairs that are too long or scabs. I managed incredibly well with my tattoos, and didn't pick a single bit of it but I'm forever picking my arms. I frequently get spots on my head under my hair (always have, don't know why) and I can't leave them alone. I have one that probably would have healed about 3 months ago if I could stop picking the scab off.
Click to expand...

I forgot about head spots, and I'm the same.

I always get them, but most shampoo makes them worse.

I use this now, which is much better.Dr. Bronner's Pure-Castile Liquid Soap - Almond

I don't ever run out or use anything else. I think it maybe sls that isthe worst.
 
Full Steam said:
I wonder if this is common?
I cannot tolerate anything that grows or tears, or builds up on my body, like;

A tear or a snaggy notch in a finger or toe nail.
Any nail that's too long, especially finger nails.
Eyebrow hair too long,
Ear hair at all,
Anything building up in my nose,
Hang nails (as soon as I find one I now at it and pull it out with my teeth, regardless of pain and blood, I cannot tolerate them for even seconds )
Long hair on my neck.
Sticky or dirty hands.
Spots, or scabs.

Just typing all that has made my tense, and I have an awful notchy nail right now.

I think my 5year old has the same as she picks her nails relentlessly.
Click to expand...


I thought all of that was normal.
 
I had a friend in school who would comment that I was always adjusting myself. He was right. Everything has to look just right or it drives me nuts.
 
When you say normal, are you meaning normal for ASD, or NT?

I don't see NTs doing this kind of thing, and I've had to excuse some of these things, like washing my hands straight after a messy meal. Most people seem happy with a napkin wipe, but I'm getting them washed as soon as I finish.
 
Momo said:
Sounds pretty normal to me. My biggest challenge in life: do not pick the zit.
Click to expand...

This was a massive issue for me in my teens, as I had acne. Then in my 20's my acne was worse than when I was a teenager, and my skin had scars from picking spots. Eventually I went on Roaccutane and I now no longer have acne and it sorted out all of the scarring too.

Full Steam said:
When you say normal, are you meaning normal for ASD, or NT?

I don't see NTs doing this kind of thing, and I've had to excuse some of these things, like washing my hands straight after a messy meal. Most people seem happy with a napkin wipe, but I'm getting them washed as soon as I finish.
Click to expand...

I know some NT's who would pick a spot (zit) on their face, because they don't want a big old white head on their chin or whatever and I would imagine there are NT's who would prefer to wash their hands after getting them sticky...but from my experience of NT's, most would not have the issues with these sort of things that people on the spectrum may have.
 
xudo said:
This was a massive issue for me in my teens, as I had acne. Then in my 20's my acne was worse than when I was a teenager, and my skin had scars from picking spots. Eventually I went on Roaccutane and I now no longer have acne and it sorted out all of the scarring too.



I know some NT's who would pick a spot (zit) on their face, because they don't want a big old white head on their chin or whatever and I would imagine there are NT's who would prefer to wash their hands after getting them sticky...but from my experience of NT's, most would not have the issues with these sort of things that people on the spectrum may have.
Click to expand...

That sounds right.

I don't do any of these things for a reason, I do them because it's too hard not to.
 
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