Trichotillomania (Hair-pulling disorder)

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Trichotillomania, or Trich, is a stress and anxiety related condition. I had a small phase when I was pulling out the hair from my eyebrows. For some, it will be the hair on their scalp and for some it might be their eyelashes. Sometimes you do not even realize that you are pulling hair out and other times you consciously pull the hair out as there is an irresistible urge.

Trich is more common in teenagers and more serious at this age. The younger the child, the easier the treatment. For this problem might be short-lived as they are able to control the urge and eventually completely stop. But for some teenagers and adults, this condition brings with it the associated social and professional embarrassment. Most folks do not understand that this is a disorder or are too ashamed to seek medical help. As per Cleveland’s Clinic article, though this disorder is not very common in adults, women outnumber men with this condition by as much as 9 to 1.

TTM falls under the overall OCD umbrella, until I started researching on this topic, I had no idea that Trich was a stress related pattern for me! Once I started looking at my eczema and the related patterns objectively, I started understanding and decoding my Trichotillomania and Dermatophagia as well. As always, the first step towards solving any problem is identifying and acknowledging it.