Thursday, August 11, 2011

A Bad Habit to Break--Spin Cycle

Jen has given us bad habits for this weeks Spin Cycle.
Habit:

  1. An acquired behavior or pattern regularly followed until it has become almost involuntary:  the habit of looking both ways before crossing the street.
  2. Customary practice or use:  Daily bathing is an American habit.
  3. A particular practice, custom, or usage: the habit of shaking hands.
  4. A dominant or regular disposition or tendency; prevailing character or quality: She has a habit of looking at the bright side of things.
  5. Addiction, especially to narcotics (often preceded by the).
Habits in and of themselves are usually either good or bad, some better than others..  A bad habit is usually only self destructive to varying degrees.  Drugs, tobacco(in any form) and alcohol are obviously very bad, but there are those that are less detrimental to a person--nail biting, scab picking, hair twirling...
Yeah, hair twirling. Hair twisting, tying knots in my hair.  That's one of my most identifiable bad habits.  It's something I have done since I had hair to twist around my fingers.  Something about the feel of the hair--smooth or sharp, depending on the knot I am twisting--satisfies something in me.  I do it when I'm bored, tired, nervous (especially nervous), reading, really whenever I am doing something that does not require both hands to do.  Hair twisting is one of the reasons I nibble on sunflower seeds when I read (then I could go into my whole salt habit and how that's not good for me either.)  I can occupy both hands by nibbling and not twist my hair off.   I can tie knots so bad that I end up just breaking off the knot.
Yes, my hair dresser notices.  It was so bad in high school that there was an obvious spot that was shorter than the rest of my hair.  I have since tried to spread out the places I tie knots/twist my hair, but it is still a bit shorter on the left than the right.  It's hard to find ways to occupy my hands all the time.
Bruiser has the habit of playing with his hair.  When he is tired he will twist a strand around his finger and feel the hair that is pulled tight.  He has done this since he could reliably reach his hair.  Strange the things you see reflected in your kids.  They get good habits, but also the bad ones.  Just goes to show that sometimes the bad habit is not really learned, but is just there from day one.
Go see Jen for more spins on bad habits.  It's a good habit to have.

small cycle





9 comments:

  1. My best friend is the same way with her hair. She's also a smoker so the only time she's not playing with her hair and twirling it, she's usually got a cigarette to occupy her. Your relation of Bruiser picking up on it does make me wonder if this sort of habit is nature or nurture. Did he pick it up from you or is it programmed into him? Interesting stuff, why can't they run studies on THIS instead of which colors monkeys prefer?
    You're linked!

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  2. Well. I don't believe it. There is another human being who twists her hair into knots! I don't know whether to say "I'm sorry" or get all excited! I've had this same habit since I was a little girl- and that was a LONG time ago!

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  3. I think some habits are definitely just born into us. Im a nail biter...so is my mom and so was my grandma...both of my girls are too. They have done it since they were old enough to figure out how to do it. Its something I have been working really hard at quitting. I can quit for about a month or so and then I do it all over again!

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  4. I started twirling my hair as I read this...hmm I think I have a bad habit to- though I don't tie knots

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  5. Ahh, another hair twirler! Elliot has been yanking out her hair for almost a year and actually has a bald spot on the back of her head it's so bad. The worst part is that she eats it... gross, I know. She does it as a soothing behavior (when she's tired/upset) but the thought of putting my kid under the knife to extract a ball of hair from her stomach terrifies me.

    At least you don't eat yours?!? There's an upside!

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  6. This is a habit that I've never developed. I have plenty of others.

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  7. I think that's a cute little bad habit. My own hair is so thin that I can't risk losing even one strand more than I already do every day, so as a practice I don't mess with my hair much. But I always thought the girls who played with their hair in school were cuter and trendier than me. : )

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  8. My six year old twists her hair, just like you, and pulls out the knots. She gets bald spots, and I've talked to two different pediatricians about it, but the don't seem to be too concerned. They both tell me it's self-soothing behavior. She's done it since she was a baby...she started by twirling my hair when I was nursing her!

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  9. I wonder if some habits run in families. We have no hair twisters in ours, but I'd trade a couple bad habits we have for this one ; -)

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