for those who do SH by pulling hair, picking at skin etc

[Blueberry]

this could be an interesting thing to watch:
https://www.bbc.com/news/av/uk-51879695/coronavirus-why-we-touch-our-faces-and-how-to-stop-it

Since I SH by pretty much constantly pulling the hair on my head and eyelashes out, it really interested me anyway. It may be a way to calm myself that's gone a bit wrong, but hard-wired in my brain since before birth.

There are ways to try and teach yourself not to though - mentioned and shown in the video.

[Blueberry]

Came back to watch this again.

Touching our faces is hard-wired in us. It happens even in-utero. When we touch our faces, we are subconsciously touching pressure points which connect with the para-sympathetic nervous system, which calms us down and soothes us internally.

One of the suggestions for helping yourself not do it is join your hands and intertwine your fingers. I notice how hard it is to keep them this way, even when I'm just listening.

I'm not sure quite how I got from face to hair, except that I tend to either pull my hair down close to my face and then run my fingers through it or I plain start with the hair close to my face. Anyway, I know there's a pressure point right on the top of the head, so maybe there are in other places on the head rather than just face.

[MountainGirl]

Thank you for the video Blueberry. Quite interesting. And I didn't know there is a pressure point on the top of the head. I'll have to look into that. In general I don't self harm, but in recent weeks because I have been so frustrated by the medical people treating me like a statistic or the product of an algorithm that I did launch into SH. I stopped taking my thyroid medicine and now the blood test shows I'm waaayyy into the abnormal field and the doc is freaking out. I guess it's childish but I am so fed up with being controlled by my HMO and treated like a statistic instead of a person that I suppose not doing the twice daily med routine gives me some feeling of control. Maybe that's it. But I'll go back to the routine starting today. I don't think any real harm has been done and the level of medicine can be brought under control without too much difficulty I have found in the past.Sometimes, like now with this episode I actually annoy myself with such behavior. And if I'm annoyed with me I wonder how irritated others are!!

[Blueberry]

I did launch into SH. I stopped taking my thyroid medicine and now the blood test shows I'm waaayyy into the abnormal field and the doc is freaking out

Are you referring to stopping taking your thyroid meds as a type of SH? I do think that's something different than taking your hands and doing yourself a physical injury or doing it with your mouth - like nail-biting, especially for people who can't stop. I used to nail-bite actually, but that I did manage to stop sometime in childhood or teens (I'm not sure exactly) but with pulling out my own hair it's like I have no control. I certainly don't decide I'm going to pull my own hair out. I have discovered that I sometimes do it in order to dissociate (it's calming and then I kind of drift off) and sometimes when I give it a vicious painful tug, it's in order to come back from dissociation.

I do sometimes stop taking my meds though, in fact just today I'm back on my thyroid meds too after a hiatus of about 2 weeks I have an under-functioning thyroid and I do know that not taking those meds leaves me more tired than I already am thru general exhaustion, EFs, depression etc. It also leaves me feeling cold, which is something else which robs me of energy and makes it harder for me to want to move at all, like even get out of bed. It turns into a downwards spiral - not very helpful. It is a type of self-harm, a way to make things worse for myself, trip myself up, but whatever aspect of me is having trouble taking the meds, it's not actually in order to make things difficult for myself. It's the other way round - things are difficult so I don't take my meds. Like the past 2 weeks I needed to go to the doc's for a prescription and I was too exhausted to go! Yes, it can be that bad. Finally managed today and I went and took my thyroid med at noon, which is later than I should, but I just wanted to get back on it finally.

And I didn't know there is a pressure point on the top of the head. I'll have to look into that

I know that from EFT, Emotional Freedom Tapping, aka Tapping. One of the spots you tap on is the crown of the head.

[MountainGirl]

Yeah, I also have Hashimoto's , hypothyroidism. So I know what you mean about the symptoms. I also get very cold
and tired when the meds aren't right. I just find it irritating all the restrictions - don't eat this, don't eat that, take the meds at this time twice a day , go get your blood test etc etc. I just get fed up with it sometimes, which I think is different from your situation. It sounds like going off the meds for you results from being overwhelmed. I just get annoyed with the routine and figure the heck with this.  But as a doc once said to me, "If you have to have an autoimmune disease, this is the one to have since it can be well controlled." Yes...I guess...with a fair amount of close attention. Well , glad to hear you're back on them. So am I. Good for us!!