I Think I Have Trichotillomania

One of my friends has it. I have lost contact with her over the years but I know she struggled with it for a very long time. She would let her hair grow and when she would be teaching a higher math class she would tell the students that if they all made above a certain score on the next test she would shave her head. She probably would have done it anyway since the length would be starting to bother her. But they would all work really hard and she would end up shaving it. Then she would keep it so short she could not pluck it for a while then start letting it grow out. She also had no lashes or eyebrows.

The research she found said that a basic nutrient the body needed was lacking and that the plucking of the hair caused that chemical to "make" and be present for a while. So the plucking would stop for a few hours or even a few months. The cause may be different now, that was a few years ago.

It is treatable with medication so it is a biological illness. Not necessarily a mental one so don't be worried about talking to the doc about it. If they don't understand it move to a different doc. Maybe even a psychiatrist but she was getting the meds from her family doc.

I am putting some links in, hers is old and is not functioning anymore. There is a lot of information out there, be sure to follow a doc's advice though. Some things can be dangerous if not supervised by the proper person.

This is sort of her old website, it's gone now but the information stuff is still there. She closed the site down when someone posted a bunch of her personal pictures on the web or someplace public. She fought it because her site was not supposed to be used for that, she felt violated and just abandoned it. But here are the faq's she had on the page:

http://www.oocities.org/~modularforms/trich/FAQ.html
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This site is very informative and as I read through it I was reminded how she worked to stop, rubber bands, strings around her fingers, so many things to try and just stop, it is hard but I imagine that it can be done.

http://stoppullinghairout.com/blog/tag/stop-pulling-hair/
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A very good story on one woman's struggle to overcome it.

http://blogcritics.org/scitech/article/trichotillomania-h...

It might be called that but I believe it is a symptom of obsessive-compulsive disorder. Perhaps you could research that also. My ex husband had this condition, people repeat doing things because they feel relief when they do it. It may be your only thing you do and not enough to damage your life (at least it doesn't sound like that here) and if it is not noticeable (i.e. bald spots, etc.) then perhaps there is no need to even wonder a whole lot about it. However, if it is causing any other problems, then of course seek some help. I will have to watch the video.I bite my nails, some people scratch all the time, others blink a lot, we all have things that are probably put into some category. The point is if you are happy, healthy and you do something and it isn't bothering your life then oh well, join us-we are just human beings.

I pull gray hairs out sometimes, but not for hours. I think you should see a doctor. It might be a vitamin deficiency as some have suggested, but I think it is categorized as an impulse control disorder. Best wishes!

I believe it's an OCD behavior. A therapist training with OCD can probably help you out.

Do you want to stop? I think this girl has a good idea:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=exb_bhpE_k4&feature=re...

I used to do that but just a few at a time. I don't do it anymore and it would actually hurt rather than feel good to me now. I think the reason for the change is because I have been taking cal-mag supplements for a long time and may have eliminated a deficiency.

This link and others on there are very extreme. I hope you don't have it like this as it seems like a very destructive behavior. You need help to stop it so you don't get worse if you do have it this bad. Maybe keeping yourself occupied doing something so you can't think about it would help but I'm sure these people on the videos have tried that too. However sometimes you can try so hard to stop something, or not stop something, that it's on your mind too much. I hope you get help for it.