eyelash growth

Obsessive compulsive disorder is a psychological condition that affects millions of Americans. one should not be fooled by its normality into thinking that OCD is an ‘easy’ concept. the truth is that the difference between OCD symptoms and normal, orderly behavior such as shaving one’s eyebrows, is perilously thin and does not rest on anything resembling absolute certainty or scientific clarity.

Before we even begin a discussion of a psychological issue we have to set the foundation, for it would be prohibitively unwise to begin speaking about this very complicated issue as if it were simply waiting to be delimited and fixed with a phrase. one may already begin to see the shape that this forbearance will take. the issue at hand is the fact that psychological disorders are, by their very nature, fundamentally indefinable.

What does this mean? This means, quite simply, that we cannot give a checklist or a blood test in order to determine whether or not a person is affected with psychological unrest because, in one way or another, the psychological unrest which we are seeking to identify in individuals are identified by the very people who they apply to: namely, us. So, instead of conceptualizing psychological unrest as one conceptualizes medical disorders, one should rather seek to understand the psychological as a separate (though equally important) field of inquiry. To wit, one will be met only with frustration if one attempts to locate the point at which obsessive compulsive disorder stops being an aesthetic choice and starts being a troublesome psychological defect.

Clearly though, one can point to a set of symptoms that typically distinguish individuals with and without obsessive compulsive disorder. for example, the proclivity to keep one’s eyebrows in a neat and orderly fashion is not one shared by all humans. A great number of people do not pay keen attention to the state of their eyebrows and eyelashes. Men, for instance, typically do not worry about either of these aspects of their appearance. This is not to suggest that no men worry about this part of their face just that, as a sample group, men are typically uninterested in their eyebrows.

However, many people do find great satisfaction and enjoyment in shaping their eyebrows. Whether through waxing, plucking, shaving, or professional care, a sizable population has, and will continue to have, great reasons to manicure their eyebrows. When done in moderation, this would be towards the aesthetic side of personal hygiene maintenance. no one would argue that manicuring one’s eyebrows on a regular basis is a sign of psychological abnormality.

On the opposite side of the spectrum is the obsessive compulsive disorder known as Trichotillomania. This too, often manifests itself as a proclivity towards the maintenance and manicuring of one’s facial hair. there are some general differences between the aesthetic concern with eyebrow maintenance and this disorder. Primarily, people suffering from this obsessive compulsive disorder, tend to pluck their hair out with their hands as a response to stress and anxiety and do so on a daily basis. there are individuals suffering from this issue who opt to use tweezers to remove their hair. In this instance, the only real behavior that differentiates the aesthetic from the neurotic is the fact that people suffering from this disorder engage in this hair plucking with far greater frequency. they do it more often.

This is how thin the line is between the merely habitual and the obsessive. one is done in moderation and one is done with obsessive abandon. truly, these criterion are nothing if not ambiguous and subjective. At what point does eyebrow concern become obsessive compulsivity? the surest and safest way to measure this is by simply asking: is this particular behavior hindering my success? is it lowering my quality of life? the answers to both of these questions will be personal and subjective, so one must be honest with oneself when approaching them.

Eyebrows – The Aesthetic and the Neurotic