Trichotillomania- More Than Just a Bad Habit

Trichotillomania is a hair pulling disorder that is painful, frustrating and often chronic in its sufferers. Statistics suggest that around 2.5 million people living in the United States alone will be affected by the disorder in their lifetime, but it is hard to collect accurate statistics of the disorder as so many people live undiagnosed.

Trichotillomania can affect anyone, but is more common in people with anxiety disorders, and especially obsessive compulsive disorder.

What causes trichotillomania?

Like with most mental illnesses, there is no single cause. Hair pulling disorder can affect anyone, but research shows up to 60% of people with trich also suffer from some other mental illness. Most commonly desperation, anxiety disorders (Obsessive Compulsive Disorder especially), impulse control disorders and substance abuse disorders (addiction). These mental illnesses may put you at a higher risk of developing trichotillomania, but there is still no single cause.

You may have parents who both have trichotillomania and never develop it, or no parents with it and still develop it. Although a family history of hair pulling disorder may put you at a higher risk, more research needs to be done.

Sufferers of trichotillomania face a lot of negative comments, making their struggles even harder. I spoke to a trich sufferer like myself, Hollie*, who had a lot to say about the impact the lack of awareness of trichotillomania has on other sufferers.

"No matter who you are, with trichotillomania, you'll always face some kind of negativity. If you've pulled all the hair off your head, people think that making fun of you will help you stop. If you're an eyebrow puller, people will laugh at you. If you're a leg hair puller, people will tell you that it's not a problem, and if the hair you've pulled from your hair doesn't leave visible bald patches, people won't believe you or think you're 'bad enough'. There's just so little understanding, no wonder so few people feel comfortable openly talk about it."

But help and understanding is out there. Support groups, therapy, medications if necessary. Diagnosis and seeking help is the first step, and it can be managed.

No sufferer of any illness deserves to feel invalidated. Whether you've pulled 10 hairs or 10,000, you matter, and you deserve help just as much as anyone else. Trichotillomania isn't just a 'bad habit', it is a real, and serious mental illness.

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With up to 4 percent of the population suffering from trichotillomania, it is shocking how little the disorder is talked about. Sufferers often face harsh comments due to lack of education and understanding. The first step in being able to help is knowing what not to say to someone with trichotillomania. "Just stop pulling." If it were as easy as "just stopping", really, nobody would have hair pulling disorder. There are causes and reasons that bring a sufferer to pull, and telling someone to just stop can be embarrassing, hurtful and even drive the sufferer to pull more. "You've ruined your hair." Telling a sufferer of trichotillomania that they're ruined their hair, or look bad as a result of their compulsive hair pulling, is damaging and unnecessary. Trichotillomania is draining and hard enough to cope with, and making someone feel even worse about the effect trich has had on them isn't helpful at all. They probably feel b...

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