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  • Q&A with Australian Health Practitioners

    Why do I obsessively pick at my leg hair?

    Related Topics
    Anxiety Mental Health Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD)
    I think it started in 2008 when I was bored and thought it would be funny, but since then I've completely destroyed my legs, I have scars and wounds where have to get antibiotics.

    I'm too embarrassed to go out without pants on, and I HATE how I feel and look, but its like I love doing it, it makes me feel… successful and calm? But I want beautiful legs again. What's wrong with me!?
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    Dr John Mahony

    Cosmetic Physician

    Dr John Mahony studied Medicine at Sydney University 1980-1984 graduating early 1985. Internship and residency years followed in the Illawarra, covering general medical and surgical … View Profile

    Firstly, hopefully a psychologist will help you sort out why you have picked at your leg hair and will help to give you strategies to avoid similar behaviours in future. This is your first priority and I'm afraid not something I can help with.

    But once those strategies are in place, you might find laser or IPL hair removal will clear up the remaining hairs, especially if you have dark hairs on fair skin. Lower leg hair, in particular, responds very well to this treatment (much better, for example, than back hair on a male).

    There are also various strategies for scars. Scars cannot ever be eliminated completely, but most can be improved in appearance. You just have to find the right doctor to help.

    But, I emphasise, cleaning up the appearance of your legs is very much a second approach once you have addressed the behaviour that caused the leg problems. Otherwise, the psychological mechanisms that caused you to damage your legs may prompt you to continue this behaviour or something similar, causing damage elsewhere.

    Get the psychology of this sorted out first. Fix the underlying problem.

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    Anthony Berrick

    Psychologist

    It doesn't sound like there's anything wrong with you at all. You've just become stuck doing a behaviour that made sense at one time, and doesn't make sense anymore.

    Obviously, for whatever reason, the immediate consequences of the behaviour feel great - as you said, "I love doing it, it makes me feel... successful and calm". But you also said that you hate the longer-term consequences because of how it makes your legs look, and the impact that has on your ability to live life to the fullest.

    What you've described then, is a behaviour that has been positively reinforced so strongly in the short-term, that even very negative long-term consequences don't seem to have much impact on it. And so you feel stuck.

    The real question is how you get rid of this behaviour (assuming you want to). A psychologist would do something called a functional analysis of the behaviour and come up with a behaviour modification plan to help you change it. This might involve things like learning to notice the thoughts and feelings that arise before you start the behaviour and replacing it with an alternative incompatible behaviour.

    See if you can find a psychologist with experience treating trichotillomania (i.e. hair-pulling) and skin-picking using behavioural therapy. These are actually surprisingly common issues, but people rarely talk about them publicly - which is a real shame because there is effective treatment available.

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