Hi, my younger sister is 14 years old. She is anxious, and has a habit of pulling hair out. Is there anyone else with trichotillomania?
Hi, I suffered from trichotillomania as a kid. I was very shy, perhaps too much. Every time someone yelled at me, I would start pulling my hair, eyelashes and eyebrows out. I have pictures when I was a little girl, you can see hairless areas on my scalp. I don’t remember pulling my hair out, but I remember well how the other kids laughed at me. It was embarrassing. Psychiatrist told me later that I probably developed trichotillomania, as a reaction to my father’s violent behavior. He was beating me a lot, for every little thing. I had behavioral therapy many years before I managed to cure trichotillomania. Your sister probably has something on her mind that she is afraid to talk about.
I've heard that genes may play a role in trich. I have had it for many years and, despite all of the therapy sessions, still have it. There was no triggering event for me -- loving family, well-adjusted in school. I just had tingly (well, have) sensations in my scalp that I need to take care of via pulling. Trich is really different for everyone who has it, but we all have similar (not identical) symptoms.
I have had trichotillomania since i was three months old eating it playing with it. I am an adult now and i have managed a sorta way to hide it from others so they dont see. I only do it at night now as oppose to when i was a kid and didnt care who saw me do it. but it is the most difficult ocd to solve i think especially when it started before i started to crawl