trichotillomania?

[ohnna-lee]

Quote:

Originally Posted by argyle_socks Same here. I don't really know why, or even what compelled me to start doing that, that was a hard time for me and I have tried with some success to black tht period out of my mind. But, if you pull so much with tweezers, why don't you try something like freezing your tweezers in a block of ice? Because then if you really need them for something like your brows, you have them, but you won't be tempted to just grab them and go to town. I dunno. Ive been pulling for 12 years (more than half my lifetime!!), but I've got it (most) under control right now. I'm on medication, but I think that also has to do with my other problems. I also keep my hair short. Why doesn't your cousin try a pixie cut or something? I pull mostly from my head, but I also pull a lot from my pubic region. Since I've pulled down there so much, someof the hairs have stopped growing back. That isn't a problem right now, but if I ever have a serious boyfriend, I don't know what I'll do.

I pretty much keep the area bald, when it grows back then I start with the tweezing, men don't really pay too much attention to that area. If they are getting some they are pretty happy, not too much conversation goes on about your landscaping.

I used to use Tendskin to get the ingrown hairs but it always tore me up, (I realized that when you tweeze you can catch the skin when pulling sometimes and it scars) I finally found Bliss ingrown remover pads and it does really help lift the hairs without scaring (and quick too, because you know I am impatient). The reason why I bring this up is because usually when you are down there with tweezers I have found that I will go after the hairs under the surface and it really changed the appearance. So I have to give my reccomendation.

I have been doing this since 18, I'm now 34. I still have episodes...

 

[vocaltest]

i've been trich since i was about 12 (20 now). it started because my eyelashes kept falling out, and i'd start fiddling with them because they just kept falling out, then i'd start pulling them, and it all went from there. i've caused bald patches on my eyelashes, but thankfully i haven't pulled all of them out. they still keep growing which is good. i usually do it when i'm stressed or bored. i also always pick at mascara at the end of the day too which doesn't help. if i get a 'good one' as it were i sometimes run it against my lips or face. sounds weird but yeah.
recently it moved onto picking at my split ends on my hair... i'd rip off the split ends completely in chunks. never whole strands of hair though.

i think mine kinda began when i was little... it sounds odd but obviously all our bodies are covered in tiny hairs, and i'd pull at the little ones on my cheeks. i don't know why, i think it felt funny so i kept doing it.

i'm not as bad as i used to be. whenever i start to pick at my eyelashes i mostly tell myself to stop, but i still fiddle with them.

 

[IDontKnowMomo]

Trich is a disorder that seems to run in my family. Plenty of people have it, and I've had little bouts with it. I always tend to pull from around my hairline, and at the nape of my neck, so the damage isn't too obvious. Just looks like I have a lot of baby hair around my hairline and I have longer hair so the back is covered up. I also get very tempted to pull out my eyebrows very often, but, luckily, I've always been able to restain that urge because my eyebrows are very sacred to me.

 

[Lily_Lyla]

Quote:

Originally Posted by NutMeg I pull out hairs from my eyebrows and eyelashes. Every once in a while I pull out hair from my head and eat it. I also pick at the hair growing in on my legs and bikini line with tweezers... which leaves scars. I don't generally show my legs because of it. Ick. It made me nervous just writing that.

I feel so much better now!
Thank-you for your honesty!


I'm 70% bald as I pull out my hair. I pull from my head, eyebrows, eyelashes, pubic hair, underarms.
I ingest the follicle and the whole hair.
In 2006 I had to have a hair ball the size of 1 1/2 tennis balls removed from my stomach.
In 2007 I had to have a hair ball the length and width of a large full grown ma's forearm.

I've been pulling since I was 9, I'm now 17.

Even though I've had surgery and therapy it hasn't stopped the eating.
I try so hard to break the routine but to no effect.

I now wear a wig and am really frightened that I'll be left with permanent bald patches.

 

[k.a.t]

^Wow, sorry to hear you've had to go through all that, maybe trying a different therapist might help? or haven't they ever mentioned any kind of medicine to help with the pulling?

Good luck in finding something that helps, it must be frustrating for you..

I went through a phase of pulling out my hair at the crown area, I have no idea why I suddenly started but it felt good so I just kept doing it to the point where I was beginning to get a bald spot there..when I saw this I forced myself to stop immediately although I still found myself doing it sometimes without even realizing. Eventually I just stopped altogether (I was scared people would notice, and 2 of my friends did so I think that helped to scare me into stopping) and the hair grew back, though it grew back very thin

Now I occasionally find myself pulling out my eye-lashes, specially when I wear mascara, I just get this urge to first 'pull' off all the mascara (which means eyelashes come off too) and then I pick at any loose ones until they fall out. I can stop myself most of the time but I have noticed that my eyelashes are nowhere near as full as they used to be due to the pulling..

Like NutMeg mentioned I also find myself tweezing out in-growing hairs on my legs which leaves scars and can hurt

I do this with my arm hair too..

Let us know how it goes with your cousin, good luck!

 

[ghostsinsnow]

Wow.. I'm shocked so many people on the site have trich. I've had it since I was around 8, over half my life now. It's been a huge problem for me. I've gotten teased to the point that I started homeschooling. I stopped for over a year once, but since it takes so long for the hair to grow back(especially after it's been constantly removed), I got teased during that time and it led me to continue the habit again. It definitely affects me greater during stressful situations. I had gotten my hair to a really good point, but once my long term boyfriend and I broke up for awhile, I was so stressed that it became out of control. I've worn extensions in my hair for the last two years and it does help, but is a crutch at the same time. It makes it more difficult for me to pull my hair out, but also if I do pull it out I have the extensions to cover it up. It's a very sensitive subject for me, however I've luckily been able to talk to my close friends, family, and boyfriend about it and they all understand.

As far as your cousin goes, depending on where the spots are/how large they are, she could get some extensions from Sally's to cover them up. The one's I use are about $12.00 a pack and you can glue them in or glue on clips to make them clip ins. One thing that helped me stop a few years ago was whenever I felt the urge to pull, put my hand to my head, or pull I wore a rubber band on my wrist and would snap it if I did any of those things. It kind of makes you snap back into the reality and give your brain the message that it's wrong to do. However, I do relate with the others who said they do it without realizing it, it happens to me as well=/.

Good luck with your cousin, I really feel for her and hope she can overcome the disorder.

 

[caffn8me]

Trichotillomania is a condition I wouldn't wish on anyone. It's poorly understood by many in the medical profession (some won't even have heard of it) and there is no "cure" but there are lots of treatment options.

I have just come across a good UK site which has lots of information and discusses different treatment options. Have a look at Trichotillomania UK which has some interesting suggestions for self help.

I don't have trich myself although I do know what it's like to have a long term condition which seems to defy treatment. I've been suffering from moderate to severe depression for several years and nothing so far has worked but I haven't given up hope that one day I will be able to put it behind me.

I do find myself more interested in plucking my eyebrows when I am less depressed and am quite obsessive about it. If I can feel a hair growing out of the area I want I simply cannot wait to get in front of a mirror and pluck it. If I don't have a mirror or tweezers I can usually do it with my fingernails. Right now my eyebrows are a real mess (which means the depression is bad).

I can certainly understand the irresistable urge to pluck or pull hair out though. I'd just like to offer my support and encouragement to anyone who suffers from this often misunderstood condition.

Good luck!

 

[MsChrys79]

Quote:

Originally Posted by NutMeg I pull out hairs from my eyebrows and eyelashes. Every once in a while I pull out hair from my head and eat it. I also pick at the hair growing in on my legs and bikini line with tweezers... which leaves scars. I don't generally show my legs because of it. Ick. It made me nervous just writing that.

I saw a story once on the news about a girl in India who ate so much hair she had to have a mass removed and I read one about an american girl who ate her hair and died......something to ponder. your hair contains bacteria not a healthy thing to ingest....I hope this is something you will eventually ovecome. (absolutely no sarcasim just sincerity)

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/425609.stm

http://www.hindu.com/2007/03/24/stor...2403060200.htm

 

[NutMeg]

To clarify, pulling the hair from my head is not something I do often, and eating it happens even less often. I don't think it's a huge problem at this point. What is a huge problem is the scarring on my legs and bikini line. I used to love showing my legs, and for the past few years I just haven't wanted to. I see the hair underneath the skin and HAVE to get it out. My opinion is that it's a combination of getting ingrown hairs, of having damaged folicles from doing this so much which "stand out" to me, and having tweezers easily available.

I have tried "hiding" the tweezers (although obviously I still know where they are), thinking that if I don't see them a lot I won't be tempted. It doesn't work. I don't want to out-right get rid of them because my eyebrows grow so fast that I need to pluck them every other day or so to keep them looking groomed. I have very intense eyebrows, and I just could not handle them being grown out.

I have a long term boyfriend who sees me naked on a fairly regular basis. I know he notices the scars, although he's only brought it up once. I passed it off as ingrown hairs, but I don't think he really bought it.

I have never associated myself with trich until I read this thread. Reading it makes me feel like crying. Reading some of the links about trich is like a light going on.

 

[nunu]

I've been trying to stop pulling my hair out but lately i've been pulling it out like there's no tomorrow, i'm surprised i even have hair left

 

[Holy Rapture]

Guys, I don't have trich myself, but when I read this, I realized how pained you all might feel at times

Somebody here had suggested the use of hair extensions. I read an article somewhere yesterday that Hair extensions lead to baldness! The sticking of glue or clips to the natural hair causes follicle damage which in turn, leads to baldness. I remembered this thread all of a sudden and thought should share. I'm really not sure it helps

Please take care y'all ... I hope it all gets better for all of you ...

 

[caffn8me]

There are hair additions which are safer for trichotillomania than extensions - see Lucinda Ellery. Of course, any hair additions system will fall apart if its hairs are pulled in the same way as natural hairs.

 

[nunu]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Holy Rapture Guys, I don't have trich myself, but when I read this, I realized how pained you all might feel at times Somebody here had suggested the use of hair extensions. I read an article somewhere yesterday that Hair extensions lead to baldness! The sticking of glue or clips to the natural hair causes follicle damage which in turn, leads to baldness. I remembered this thread all of a sudden and thought should share. I'm really not sure it helps Please take care y'all ... I hope it all gets better for all of you ...

No wonder my hair started falling out (and still is) when i had clip on hair extensions last year

 

[Holy Rapture]

Quote:

Originally Posted by nunu No wonder my hair started falling out (and still is) when i had clip on hair extensions last year

Oh, Nora what did your doc say about that ?

 

[loveisdisco]

I was started when i was 7 or so when my mom noticed I had a huge bald spot on the back/side of my head. I told her what was going on and she also noticed I had almost no eyelashes. I went to a doctor and got a referral to a therapist but I never did end up going, not sure why.

Fast forward until I was 16 and I had no eyelashes or eyebrows, not a lot of hair in most spots (I covered this with a lot of backcombing) I also had huge wounds on my legs where I would pink at "hairs" that were below the skin, and bald patches on my arms and bikini area as I would pick at those as well. At this point I was being taken to a psychiatrist as I also only weighed 83 pounds and was having terrible panic attacks. I could only go to school and home without having a total meltdown. I was treated for anxiety and depression until I was 20. I probably should still be but its really hard to feel like a person when you are that heavily medicated, and I no longer have panic attacks.

I do still pull out my hair on my head but usually only a few times a day. I don't have any bald spots or anything anymore, just really sparse lashes and brows. I do still pick a lot at areas that aren't so visible to the public as well.

I really slowed down a lot when I was medicated (and after) but it was probably only because I was so stoned all the time that I couldn't really manage to do anything. I slept a lot.

 

[KarlaKayM]

My husband has this disorder...he never kew what it was called until I told him.....he seemed very uninterested to kow that lots of people suffer from this~

He pulls all of his wiskers out with a tweezers ALL the time.....it is AMAZIG to me just how much time he spends grooming....he does this in other areas of his body but mostly just shaves the other areas or shaves them down.....he always say that he tweezes his facial hair so he doesn't have to shave but I know that isn't true.....he also say he likes the pain (I am confused about that) Is that common?

I can't tell you how many tweezers he has gone through in his lifetime and then they get lost.....now he is using mine which I get mad about because verytime I need to tweeze my brows they are never on my vanity. He gets really mad if I hide them and wo't give them to him......(confused about this too) He doesn't like to talke about this at all.....he does seem to do it more when he's stressed but also does it when he doesn't even know he's doing it~

I am glad to know others who are suffering with this~

 

[nunu]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Holy Rapture Oh, Nora what did your doc say about that ?

I didn't see anyone about it. I'm still struggling though.
I do it more often when my hair is blow dried and when i am stressed out.
Sorry for the late reply, i just came back to this thread.

 

[alankrita singh]

hey i am alan from india ......hmmmm i can feel what she feels because m one of the sufferers...it is very painful for the person who is tricho becoz others consider people like us as a source of entertainment people laugh at me and i am unable to prevent them from doing so...i pluck my eyebrows and lashes ..many have noticed and made fun of me even my close ones ...... i want u to reply on my mail..coz i cant share it with anyone except someone of the ame category.. i am in twelth class about to complete it m scared what will i do in this unknown world.. i tried my best so many times to stop my hands from plucking for a month or few i was successful but of no use ...welll stay away from lonely places becoz there you may be more prone to plucking your scalp's hair and be social ..before all pray to God for giving u the power to overcome your desires,..do meditation and get into a bit of counselling do reply....