Trichotillomania Education
Hi, everyone, I'm Carina, and I've struggled with trichotillomania for six years.
Basically, trichotillomania, or "trich" as the community calls it, is the excessive desire and need to pull out one's hair. It can be through pulling hair from the roots or from stripping off eyelashes to picking at your eyebrows. It's a very difficult condition, and it can be very embarrassing. Post to this thread if you or someone you love is or could be suffering from trich. You're not alone.
Hi everyone! I also have trichotillomania, have had it for 6 years. I pull from all over my body, but especially my eyelashes. It was tough dealing with this whilst at school, doing my best to wear make-up around my eyes so you couldn't see there was nothing there, and arranging my hair so you couldn't see the bald patches. One thing that helped me was having a stress ball - I took it everywhere with me and it kept my hands busy and also, not wearing mascara - that really triggers it for me. Currently, the worst thing for me is ingrown hairs, they drive me insane and I have hurt myself before trying to get them out. Trich is hard, but I think it can and does get better. Good luck to all!
I'm not sure if it's the same thing, but I peel the skin off my lips constantly. It's really embarrassing because they end up bleeding and look horrible but I can't stop myself from doing spit even though my lips tend to feel sore after a while. And I agree, some people just don't see it and say 'juststop picking.' But it's not that simple and I've been trying really hard to stop. I think I'm doing quite well to be honest. :)
Heya @compassionateWaterfall10!
Trichotillomania is the urge to pull out one's own hair. What you've described sounds to me more like dermatillomania, which is the urge to pick at one's own skin. Obviously I'm not a professional and can'tdiagnose you with anything, but I thought I'd give you a little to investigate.
You can find some more information on it here, hereand here. I hope this is helpful! Any questions/worries/concerns feel free to PM me! :)
Aww thanks for that, I'll check those links out! :)
I have trich as well and I'm so glad that I've found a place to talk about it. For some reason I "need" the satisfaction of pulling out the hair, so I had to find distraction techniques that actually did something. I found that popping bubbles in bubble wrap works. Also, squishy balls with tentacles are nice because they are good for distraction and when things get bad, I pull off the tentacles instead of my hair.http://www.amazon.com/Pon-Squishy-Ball-Set-12/dp/B004WH60N8Good luck to everyone here with trich!
I started pulling recently due to stress. I don't know why, it just happened. Now it's like my fingertips and my scalp are attracted to each other like magnets, and pulling releases my stress. At times it's like I can't stop. I tried wearing hats, I'd take them off and pull. I tried distracting myself, and this weird feeling came in my fingers, like all the stress went to them, and I pulled then as well. I have no idea how to manage it and I don't want anyone knowing.
When I was very little, I believe starting at just 4 years old I began pulling. I would chew on my hairs or pull them out and then eat them. I don't really know why, it definitely wasn't for the reasons I do it now because every 4 year old is care-free and happy. Then at around 6 my parents told me that if I didn't stop eating my hair I would get a big hair ball in my stomach and go to the hospital. I stopped eating my hair and so I stopped pulling. It's been 7 years since I stopped and I had completely forgotten about my hair pulling phase. Then I saw a video about trich and I remembered all of the times I used to pull my hairs out. I remembered it feeling relaxing and so I pulled a few. I've also been struggling with anxiety lately so this felt like my way out. I know how stupid and selfish it sounds to be triggered by a video on trich awareness but I couldn't help it. I have quite thick hair so it will take people a while to notice but soon they will. Any tips on how to stop this before it gets to bad or better ways to relieve anxiety?
I have this disorder as well. I have no eyebrows and people comment on it all the time and think I shave them off. This disease started at the age of 7 but progressively got worse. I have not pulled the hair out of my scalp yet and I hope it doesn't ever happen. Its hard to quit its like an addiction and anyone I try to tell that to doesn't believe me.
I feel the same way
I pull out hairs on my body, rip hairs on my head to one length, chew and pick the skin around my nails (dermatillophagia) and nothing else on my body that feels rough like when I get calluses on my hands or feet. When I start to distract myself from one, I jump to another, but trich is the worst of all because it's the hardest to hide and I'm the most attached to my hair!
I have been having a hard time with pulling out my eyebrows.. I feel I have no support. Any advice? Haven't really found anyone on here yet
If you can get hold of any kind of fidgeting device it may help, like spinning rings, puzzle toys, a necklace, or bring wool with you to finger knit with. Disrupting the pattern if you can, by working out when you do it and trying to distract yourself at the time... Also helpful might be putting Vaseline on them, which while that may not be helpful while you are out, around the house it will make them slippery and hard to pull long enough to stop yourself.
I will try that. Thank you
I started to pull my hair when I was 11. I'm 26 now and I have a bald spot that I always try to cover up. I will tell hairdressers that I was born with it to avoid any more questions. But the truth is I can't leave it alone long enough to grow it back.
I have trich. No one has seen my head in over a year; I wear a hat all the time. It's just a cycle of tearing out all the hair on my head, moving on to my eyebrows for awhile, and when the hair grows back starting over again. I've given up caring if I have hair in the short-term, but I'm worried if it'll eventually just stop growing back. I've tried therapy and medication and I hated it and now I'm just stuck.
