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Find someone he trusts and talk with them. See if they can get him to “snap out of it”. Otherwise, if you see him cutting or something worse, call 911. You should not take this as lightly as your mother does and I’m glad you’re not. He is too young to be feeling this way.

The disease you are referring to is Trichotillomania.

From Wikipedia:

Trichotillomania (TTM), or “trich” as it is commonly known, is an impulse control disorder characterized by the repeated urge to pull out scalp hair, eyelashes, facial hair, nose hair, pubic hair, eyebrows or other body hair, sometimes resulting in noticeable bald patches. Trichotillomania is classified in the DSM-IV as an impulse control disorder, but there are still questions about how it should be classified. It may seem, at times, to resemble a habit, an addiction, a tic disorder or an obsessive-compulsive disorder. Due to social implications the disorder is often unreported and it is difficult to predict accurately prevalence of trichotillomania; 2.5 million in the U.S. may have TTM, with a 1% prevalence rate.[1]

TTM seems to strike most frequently in the pre- or early adolescent years. The typical first-time hair puller is 12 years old, although TTM has affected people as young as one and as old as seventy. A form of TTM that affects very young children appears to occur in males and females at an equal rate and seems to be more benign in nature.[citation needed]

As far as treatment, wikipedia says:

or HRT, has been shown to be a successful adjunct to medication as a way to treat TTM.[10] Many patients who pull their hair don’t realize that they are doing this; it is a conditioned response.[citation needed] With Habit Reversal Training, doctors train the individual to learn to recognize their impulse to pull and also teach them to redirect this impulse. As a part of the behavioral record-keeping component of HRT, patients are often instructed to keep a journal of their hair-pulling episodes. They may be asked to record the date, time, location, and number of hairs pulled, as well what they are thinking or feeling at the time. This can help the patient learn to identify situations where they commonly pull out their hair and develop strategies for avoiding episodes.

Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors are effective in the treatment of obsessive-compulsive disorder and are commonly used in the treatment of trichotillomania. Clomipramine treatment was shown to significantly improve symptoms when tested in a double-blind study.[11]

Fluoxetine and other similar drugs have limited usefulness in treating TTM, and can often have significant side effects.[12] According to F. Penzel, antidepressants can even increase the severity of the TTM.

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As with most medical questions, I would certainly recommend seeking professional help to deal with this treatable problems. Mental issues should never be dealt with casually, or without help. Your mother must be made to understand this.

The only thing you can do is to try. Therapists and specialists are trained to deal with this kind of situation. Few things to remember:

1) You are not alone, nor is he the only one suffering, you can get through this, others have!

2) You love him and want to help him, that’s half the battle right there.

3) Don’t try to face it by yourself.

4) The best thing you can do is stay calm, and be the supportive rock that he can stand on while he gets through this. I know it seems ridicuous that a twelve year old would be going through such pain, or feel as if he has incredible stress, but our minds are complicated places, and the only way we can learn more is by helping those in need.

The therapist will know what to do as far as medication, and ADHD is still a widely undiscovered, and overdiagnosed problem. It could all be part of the same situation.

I say try professional help, if that doesn’t work, I’d be very surprised.

People cut because the pain inside is too much to handle or it justifies the pain that they feel.