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Sami Muirhead: realising too late in life that the twirl of a curl may damage health

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Soon I will be purchasing a wig, thanks to bald spots from my habitual habit of twirling my hair.

I have done this around the clock since I was literally in a cot as a baby.

People ask if I hair twirl because I am tired/angry/bored/insecure and I never know the answer.

This obsession is called trichotillomania and my hair-pulling disorder brings me much comfort, but it also means my brain never relaxes.

And of course, it is resulting in massive hair loss.

But it is one of my many quirks in life and I have come to realise of late that the best of us have some crazy habits we have done since we can remember.

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My gorgeous work buddy Tracey uses matching pegs when she hangs the washing out – meaning, when the mum hangs blue jeans out, she uses the blue pegs; grey towels mean grey pegs; white skirts are paired with white pegs.

Sarah confided to me that she blows her nose before every meal.

Elly needs to watch something she has watched many times before to get to sleep.

Jordi has a spoon in her coffee cup at all times.

Todd takes his shirt off to go to the toilet, even when it is a public loo.

Whenever Matt opens a can of drink, he twists the ring pull 90 degrees to the right before taking a sip.

Taz listens to Taylor Swift in his headphones to mow the lawn.

Lisa taps the top of a can of fizz exactly three times with her fingernail before having a drink.

Blowing your nose before every meal is a bit different. Picture: Shutterstock

But my friend Terri possibly takes the cake when it comes to quirks because every member of her family has their own little twist on life and its routines.

Terri’s daughter Jade needs to have her pillow facing the right way and rubs the corner of the pillowcase between her fingers to fall asleep.

Terri leaves a few bites of food on her plate or the last few mouthfuls of drink in the glass.

Rob has all the labels in the cupboard facing out.

And Jarrod always sits on the right-hand side of the table or couch.

Phew! All these idiosyncrasies are making me want to pull my hair out.

Wait. Too late for that!

Sami Muirhead is a radio announcer, blogger and commentator. For more from Sami, tune into Mix FM.

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