Trichotilomania and Me

Oh my gosh. I also find hairs that are kinky, or too course, and pull them out. I don't break them in half though. I instead pull off the hair follicle at the end and then toss it.
Reading your story made me feel understood. That there are others in the world who also suffer from trichotillomania..
Thank you for sharing!

I am now 50 & have pulled my hair & scratched my head since I was 10 yrs old. I am having counselling to try and unravel the whole thing. Today I told my sister - she knew i did it, but never knew it had a name. She was really understanding and gave me some ideas.
Most of the t ime I don't even realise i am doing it, so is is over and then I think - OH NO I've done it again.
Please source someone who is a good qualified counsellor and also find a hair dresser who has training in this area - there are so me out there - and have a support netwok around you. I decided the best way was to let ppl know rather than hide it - then i have to be accountable and I have ppl who are praying for me and helping me. The other BIG thing that I try to do is speak what I WANT to have happen and be positive and not dwell on the negative all the time. That does help a lot.
Hope i have helped. By the way I live in Perth Western Australia

I pull my hair out one strand at a time its like a nervous habit, sometimes i wear gloves to stop myself like when i am at home watching tv, if roomates/friends ask me why the hell i am wearing gloves i say its so i dont bite my nails off... which is also something i have a problem with. I dont have bald spots but my hair is definitely not as full as it once was, ive been doing it siince i was around 18

hey i also have the same, i find a hair that is different and pull, i do have bold spots i try cover them up with hair exstentions.
its amazing how many people out there suffer i reali want to start a group and have meeting im onli 18 female i live in perth if anyone is interested please email me at messagenikola@gmail.com thank you wish u all the best xxx

my name is megan. My mom was a drunk and so was her boyfriend. We got kicked out of our house and we moved into a shed, then into a trailer. I had to change schools and I hated the idea of it. I guess I had so much stress I started pulling my hair out for relief. I have done it now for two years, since I was 15 (now 17). It is so hard dealing with trich. I know ppl at school look at me different and so do my family and their friends. I now live with my aunt, uncle, and 3 cousins. I have gotten so much better about pulling my hair out. My aunt is worried about me because I eat my hair as I pull it out. I cant help it. I have been to doctors and psychiatrists and nothing has helped. I hair grown all the hair on the side of my hair out but now I have to work on getting to top back. I used to have beautiful long hair. I am so self conscious about it. My aunt, uncle and two older cousins understand and dont make fun of me. I also have some great friends that know about my disorder. I need some relief and I need to find a way to stop.

HI
my name is michelle and I am from perth, australia. And this all sounds so familiar. I really didn't think there was a disorder for what i have been doing since I was 13 (im 21 now). I'm unsure if I do have trichotilomania and some opinions would be awesome. This is embarrassing for me to say because I have been ashamed of this since I started pulling my hair. I don't pull hair from my scalp instead I pull from my eyebrows, pubic hair and umpits (i know gross) and everywhere else but those 3 are what i constantly go to first. I tend to want to feel to ends of thick hairs that have skin residue (i think thats what it is) and i brush those tips on my face. I have no idea why. I know what I do is gross so I am so sorry for those who i disturbed. But the thing is I don't think I have ever been despressed or have anxiety but I am sure thats why I am doing this, or maybe because I am weird. Although I do remember being depressed when I was 12-13 yrs but I'm sure it was due to stupid little fights i had with friends like all girls do...right? I would just like to know if I am weird or if I do have trichotilomania and if I do I want to know how I can stop because I have been doing this for so long and I can't confide in my friends because if I am ashamed and embarrassed by this I am sure as hell that they are to. Can anybody help me and does anybody have any opinion on this? anything would help me so much! I am happy that I came across this website. What everyone is saying is absolutely 100% related to me.

The really good news is that there is a way of successfully overcoming Trich. It does not need to ruin your life. I am glad to see Victor's post above. It may be that his techniques are similar to those I use. I have been very successful in helping people resolve Trich. If you would like my help you can message me here, or you can contact me at www.myhypnocoach.com. As you can tell from my name, I am a hypnotist and the techniques I use are hypnotic. I am not able to offer services for free. You should know that while hypnosis works very well over the phone or online using online services like Skype, there are also many hypnotists around the world who are helping men and women with Trich and related compulsions.

CHECK OUT

trich.org -- Trichotillamania Learning Center, non-profit organization
bottom right side--info on a huge conference April 2011 in San Fran, CA, where pullers can come together to learn from doctors, psychologists, researchers, workshops

pullfreeatlast.com --ex-hair puller's website, check out bottom of page for some insightful free info

You must believe that being pull free is reachable. I've been working on working out my issues and finding/learning new skills and ways of dealing with life and relationships. It's helping and my pulling is starting to lessen, of course when I have a flair up in stress, esp in my marriage, then pulling gets harder to resist, but I try to "reset" or pull myself back together and say, this was a flair up and I can get myself back on the path to recovery. A little bump in the road doesn't need to become a mountain. A realization that has really helped me, with regards to relationship stress, is that in reality, I can only control myself and what I do and my happiness. Obviously other people with affect me, but I can validate my feelings, let myself experience them, and not let them or my negative feeling run my life. It's okay to hurt, feel angry, abandoned, etc. Those feelings matter and deserve to be honored, most importantly by yourself. Once I began facing my issues and accepting and honoring my feelings, I have felt more in control of myself. Of course there are many things to deal with with this disorder, but I think a core part of trich is acceptance and validating one's own feelings. Maybe because others in my life have not done that for me. Being able to feel in control of myself and my life has really helped me begin the road to recovery. I believe that I am on that road finally!

I am only 15 and i have this same problem, except i pull at my eyelashes and eyebrows. its pretty embarissing. i think i've been pulling for about 3 years now. which is when i started middle school, which also happens to be the time my step dad moved in. we hated each other so there was much stress, and i just used to pluck my eyelashes. to make it feel better. i've gotten better at it, i actually have really pretty eyelashes so im using that as a motivater to not pull anymore. i rarley pulll and when i do, my mom, and other family members yell at me. and i thank them. so try telling family members about this, so if they see you doing it, they'll yell. you might get mad at first but later on you'll thank them(:

Hi Michelle,
My name is Monica and I am from WA I have suffered from trich on and off since I was about 12.There were quite a few stressful things happening more so around then but that is mainly when it began.I am now 44 and still have it although I have had periods in my life when it has not been so bad I usually had other things I was struggling with eg smoking etc I have a few addictive behaviours.Things were starting to look up recently eventhoug I did something Ive never done before and shave my head to a number 1.My hair was coming back better than before but I have had quite a lapse.Im learning to try and accept this so it loses it power to rule my life but I have to do it on a daily basis and persist but its hard work.

My name is Yasmina, I'm almost 15 years old, and I've had trichotillomania since I was in 5th grade. The thing is, I also have alopecia. I have bald spots all over my hair and I hate it. My hair is at all different lengths and I went through a while where I didn't have eyebrows and had to draw them. I pull out hair from all different parts of my body. Sometimes I pull unconsciously, and sometimes because of this huge urge to. When I start, I can't stop. After tests or something, I pick up all the hair I've pulled out of the floor and I stuff them in my bag so nobody could see. I've been trying to stop since FOREVER and I hate how it sometimes makes problems with my friends or effects a relationship. It sucks when it effects a romantic relationship with someone :( nobody says anything about it, nobody bullies intentionally, but still, you know? No hairdresser knows how to deal with my hair, and I worry about things like how my hair would look on my wedding day or when it gets wet at the beach. Sometimes my friends ask me about it and I really don't know what to say. I don't wanna say it's a disorder, because that makes it sounds too medical, but it's not a habit... It's just so stupid that I have to spend time worrying about this and how it's messing with my life. Also, I love to dance. Saying this will destroy all modesty, but I am really good. My favorite dance is modern dance, although I take hip-hop, gymnastics, and ballet. I've performed on TV and I teach as a parttime job. My point is, when I dance, it's not all beautiful as I feel it is because everyone around is moving their hair with extreme grace while mine effects ever move I make. In ballet, my hair sticks out at some parts because they are too short to tie in a bun. I hate this and there is nothing I can do about it. :( I'm Lebanese, and we only have 4 million people in this country, so I think that they are maybe only 2 other people who have this in Lebanon. I don't know what to do, especially when it disappoints my parents who I love very much and I get the BIGGEST headaches after pulling and pulling and pulling.