Playing with hair...?

Ughghgh this is going to probably sound absolutely ridiculous but I have this problem with playing with my hair. I twirl it and play with it so much and put it into knots and then pull it out. It's something I've done since I was like 5 or something and the part that I play with all of the time is broken and looks horrible. My parents always yell at me to stop but I can't, its like I need to do it. I am always doing it, and I do it a lot more when I'm stressed out. Anybody have any ideas on how to stop? I've tried putting it back in a ponytail but I go absolutely crazy and have to take it out and play with my hair. HELP! I swear its like a compulsion or something and it is driving me crazy.