thumb sucking

[Parents! Get help here!]

Just curious if there is a link- does anyone else have an adult child who sucks their thumb?

[co.jo]

Just curious if there is a link- does anyone else have an adult child who sucks their thumb?

Our objective is to better understand the struggles our child faces and to learn the skills to improve our relationship and provide a supportive environment and also improve on our own emotional responses, attitudes and effectiveness as a family leaders

[Verbena]

Yes, DD28 did up until the time she moved out at 26.  I'm guessing she still does.  Her bottom teeth look like she still does.  She pulled out her hair for the first time at age three and began doing it regularly around age eight.  She suffers a lot of shame and embarrassment over the situation with her hair, but she cannot stop. 

[Thursday]

My SD pulls her hair too (trichotillomania). And now that I think about this, when she pulls her hair out her face has the same expression you would see on a child (or an adult) sucking their thumb... .

And she also has a lot of shame about it, if someone catches her and points it out she gets a shamed look on her face... . and often, she won't be able to stop while still being observed and the shame face changes to an angry face usually with a full pout on her lips.

I always thought of thumb-sucking as self-soothing but the hair pulling is more like to have something to do rather than accepting boredom and the resultant possibility of "thinking too much about stuff I am uncomfortable thinking about". It is also something she does when acutely stressed... . then the hair pulling is less mindless and more dedicated and urgent seeming.

What do you think? Is thumb-sucking in an adult more than self-soothing?