Hello,
I think I had this when I was a kid. I have always chewed my nails and pulled out my toenails (I know , gross!) sometimes even until they bleed. I still do this. I tried everything to stop- at this point it is like my eye color, I just gave up changing it. When I was 10 years old my mom got me a perm at a fancy salon. The perm straightened out after 2 weeks but I had some wavy hair left in the back of my head that you couldn't see. Well, I took to touching that hair alot and puling on it and putting it in my mouth even twisting it around my ears until it snapped off my scalp. (I was a nerdy kid, ok?) Anyway, eventually I could feel all the bald spots on the lower part of my scalp and since I had lots of hair to begin with (although very straight) no could really notice except me and of course my mom. She told me that if I continued that everyone would be able to see eventually and the embarressment of that possibility helped me to stop although I did it for more than a year. I didn't know there was a name for it as a disease. I also did all kinds of pica stuff when I was younger than that like 7 years old. I ate aspirins and licked white-out! Very dangerous , my mother would have had a cow if she caught me! according to stuff I read about this many times the kids outgrow it. It took lots of talking from my mom and distraction to get me to stop. I still remember how compulsive it felt to pull my hair out. How I imagine smokers feel! I believe that this is self soothing behavior. Everyone does this of course especially children but in some people it can get out of hand and there is no way to know why most of the time. My own 11 year old daughter has her own self soothing mechanisms which involve rubbing baby dolls and stuffed animals, eating (I'm very glad she loves green salad and celery!) and getting luxurious massages on her back from her mommy! I have also worked as an interpreter in phsychologist sessions with children who have pica. I think that positive renforcement as well as negative attention and distraction are great tools that parents can use to help kids like this. I agree with Lutheran girl that God's help and church elders is key in guiding you. I hope any of this rambling may be helpful! It just sounded so familiar when you described this, I couldn't help it!
Maria
