I laced my braid with thumbtacks as a self defense tactic

I (28F) was 24 years old in 2012, all my friends had shoulder length hair or longer, except me. Several events through out my life have led to me having panic attacks, and a big source of those panic attacks was my hair. I will spare the details, but I have been assaulted multiple times and each time, they grabbed my hair. I decided I wanted to go completely bald. I had never had hair shorter than chin length, and all my friends and family told me I was being irrational and it would ruin my life. But I went through with it in 2012 when I got my undercut.<br><br>Fast forward to today, I have had many different hairstyles and colors, most of them being very short. I am very happy with my decision and I do not regret it, despite the balding I am experiencing now (I am ok with it, I am a 28 year old woman with female pattern baldness, I am doing everything I can and I am at peace). <br><br>But on to the confession...<br><br>In middle school and high school, I was not allowed to cut my hair that short. In my senior year of high school I decided to grow out my hair again and get a pixie cut. But I was not allowed to do that, so I got a very long bob with bangs. I was still afraid of being hurt or assaulted because of my hair, so I decided to get a little crafty. I had just gotten a pixie cut with long bangs, so you could say my bangs were a little longer than your average. I would braid it, and push thumbtacks into the braid, as many as I could, while still being concealed. I would wear my bangs like this every day. It was my self defense tactic. If some one were to attack me and I felt threatened, I can pull the braid out of my hair and whip them with it. I have had this in my head for years and I finally decided to tell someone about it. My husband is concerned for my safety when I do this. But it gives me peace of mind and a sense of safety.