LaurenG
For about four years, I’ve been pulling out my brow hairs impulsively with the pads of my fingers. I do the same with my eyelashes. Personally, I would assimilate the impulsive mutilations with a mental disability, but that’s a complicated territory. There are lots of mental disorders that can cause the afflicted person to self-mutilate absentmindedly in reaction to stress. The two I mentioned above belong in that category. There are also disorders characterized by excessive attention-seeking behavior, such as Histrionic Personality Disorder, where self-mutilation is only an aspect of the general manipulative interpersonal behavior. The gestures of self-mutilation vary from person to person, and each individual is a unique blend of race, ethnicity (cultural background), class, ge