Trichotillomania

is anyone here familiar with Trichotillomania, and what causes this? My sister has been pulling her hair and eating the ends of it for about 15 yrs now, mostly in the crown and sides, which has caused her to have bald spots. I ask her why she does this and always answers with an "I dont know". I am concerned that she will eventually go completely bald, or that the hair will just stop growing back. I didn't even know this was a condition till I read about it in Redbook the other day. If anyone has this condition or knows where I can get more information please let me know.
Sonialei@aol.com

I saw a Dateline show about this a few months ago. They showed women who had done this for years and their hair never grew back. They all had weaves or hairpieces or hats to cover the bald spots on top. Is she bald?

Do a search on it, I'm sure you'll even find a support group online. She's definitly not alone.

Habits are hard to break.

No she isn't bald, but you can definately see where her hair appears to be very fine and thin on the top of her head, and sides... and it's a shame, she has beautiful waist length hair. Im actually surprised that her hair continues to grow after so long. She is 26 now and has been doing it since she was 10. I am curious as to what causes this, I don't know if this is just a habitual (phsycological) disorder, or if it's a lack of nutrients or poor diet that causes this. Her's hasn't become as bad a problem as others i've read about that resort to pulling out other hair such as eyebrows, underarms or pubic area... her problem is her head of hair and she is now admitting to experiencing itchy eyes, which leads to pulling of the eyelashes. She is a very bright, strong woman who can do anything she wants, except break this cycle of constant hair pulling. I've done lots of searches online, but nowhere has it been cleared up as to why this happens, and whether its a physical or mental thing.

[QUOTE=Carley] I have trich too... well I had trich. Actually im not sure if you ever get over it I will probably always have i just have to controll it. I have had it for about 6 years now. Ive gone through period of time when I dont pull once for about 3 years even. My hair grew back fully but I had only pulled for about a year then i stated again fro about 6 months and stopped for another year and once agin my hair grew back fully. I recently started doing this again for a little less than a year when i decided i had had enough and have not pulled in 96 days. Im frusterated because mmy hair doesnt seem to be growing back at a normal rate...I have hair regrowth but nothign like i have expierenced in the past. It brings me to tears usually 3 times a week. It is so embarassing. Please try to support your sister, some members of my family know and no one supports me this is a hard disease to handle b y yourself so be nice to her. Dont call her out on it infrom of people, channces are she is already slef conscious about it. Dont make her fell abnormal because of it and dont ask her why...she doesnt know why she probably doesnt even know shes is doing it most of the time. SHe can get over this though....she just has to be strong. Im only 16 and dealing with this by myself...I imagine if i can do it than she can do it if she is 26 and has someone to support her. There isn't anything you can do but support her. Tell her to try clenching her fists when she wants to pull or giving you a dollar every time she does... the only thing that ever worked for me was self will to stop...she has to want to and im sure she does just help her as much as you can.
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Hi Carley,

Congratulations on the progress you have made in dealing with your trich. You are right...it is hard to handle this alone. There are more and more groups that are popping up to help and support fellow trich sufferers. I would suggest that you look for a local support group that you can connect with. If not, there are groups on the Web that you can visit for support via email groups.

Of course feel free to post here as often as you like.

Best wishes,
Karen Shelton
HairBoutique.com

Trich is a mental/emotional disease that is a facination with the "popping" sound hair makes as it is being pulled out of the hair folicle. YES- there are people who can help! Check into different sites for more info.

I had or have had it since fifth grade. And you're so right, Jhair, it's all
about the noise... that's why I always tried to get the thicker hairs on the
back of my part, top of my head. They were the thickest and made the
best pop... it sounds so weird to someone who has never experienced it.
but luckily, my mom made the judgment that it was only due to
boredness in class and said once I went to middle school where I could be
challenged and move around more, going to different classrooms, it
would "go away"... and it did! I still sometimes have an urge to pull out a
hair that looks thick, and I have no idea why, because I love my hair and
want as much as I can have. It's something that never leaves you.

But all of my hair grew back and I've never had a bald spot... just a bunch
of short hairs growing out for a while in the very back of my part during
sixth grade that was quite embarassing.

There is always help. I recommend not doing one activity for too long,
especially one where the hands are not used. If I feel the need to pull, I'll
play my oboe or guitar, or something where my hands are
CONTINUOUSLY in use. Not the computer because people have the urge
to pull when sites or applications are loading. THis method works with
other hand-related issues, such as nail biting or scratching due to
psoriasis/exzema.

Hope I helped!