I pull my hair out- ask me anything!

[Trichotillomaniac]

Thought I may as well... in case anyone is curious!

God I forgot I used to pull my eyelashes out too
Again no one noticed but they never grew back the same. And it fucking hurts.

Afaik, thumb sucking, hair pulling, skin picking and nail biting all fall under the same heading. I do 3/4. It is a compulsion and it is a form of self soothing.

Thy all come under impulse control disorders apparently. I also bite my nails and the bits of dead skin around them, although I do occasionally manage to stop for a while.

I will pick the skin on my shoulders. I puck the skin on my scalp it's awful. I can leave my face alone as I wear lots of make up.

I find caffeine is a massive trigger.

I was prescribed amitriptyline for migraines which is a mild anti depressant that calmed my eyelashes right down but if I get really upset it kicks off again for a while.

My eyebrows are fucked I need to get the micro bladed

Never even bitten my nails though

It is a very complex condition from what u have all put . A lot of u have been bullied or had trauma at puberty. I wish u all well and Thank you op for highlighting this.

I have TTM too. I've pulled for 24 Years now. Currently the top of my head is very thin, but I can just about get away with hiding it if my hair is in a pony tail. I follow the same ritual as described above. I've tried hypnotherapy in the past which didn't really help. The only two things that did help was when I had major surgery and physically couldn't raise my arms that high, and when I had hyperemesis and the movement made me sick. I'd love to stop pulling permanently, but sadly I don't see it happening.

Another hair puller here, but only at the back of my hair, the hair grows really short there now 😒

My dd pulls her eyelashes and eyebrows she started very young when she was about 7.
She's been through camhs and had cbt but it didn't really help.
She has anxiety disorders and is on SSRIs but they don't help the trich.

It's not self harm it's an impulse control disorder. I've tried my best to help her accept it as much as she can. She can't help it it's not her fault and she can't just stop doing it so by accepting it as something she does hopefully will make her less tense and she'll not do it as much, but all easier said than done!

It became slightly easier as she got older (she's 18 now) and could use false eyelashes and draw her brows on, but she's still very self conscious about it.

She doesn't pull the hair in her head although she does have a hair system the same as the intra lace as her hair is growing back after chemo. These I've heard are very good for head hair pullers because you can't get at the hair on the scalp so let's the hair grow and can stop the cycle of pulling.

There's been some positive findings on the use of the amino acid n-acetylcysteine with trichotillomania which has reduced or stopped the urge in some people. I did start her on it a while back but we had to concentrate on her other anxieties and then she got sick so it took a back seat but I've been thinking about trying it again in the future.

I started when I was 7 and I guarantee it's due to witnessing physical abuse of my mum by my dad. I was just chastised for doing it though no support or understanding. I was even told off by teachers.

That's awful Queen that you had to go through that at such a young age.

I don't know the trigger for my dd she had anxiety and separation anxiety at the time even though she was very young, I remember the night I looked at her eyes and saw she'd pulled her lashes but there didn't seem to be one trigger that set it off. I was pregnant at the time so maybe she was unsettled. She doesn't know herself where it came from.

We got a camhs appointment pretty soon after that and it did help greatly with the other issues but just not the pulling.

I have to admit I didn't understand it in the beginning, I used to tell her to stop doing it even though I sort of knew that she probably couldn't stop doing it but I didn't know what else to say. And for people who don't pull it's difficult to imagine wanting to do it or know the feeling you get so I just thought stop doing it!
I quickly knew a hell of a lot about it though, more than the psychologists at camhs.

Unfortunately I think it will be something she'll have for a long time, but with periods where she'll control it better than other times. Which is is why I feel acceptance of her condition is important. She won't like having it but she needs to still like herself even though she does have it. That's a hard one for her though.

And I feel there's a lot of stigma about this condition and it's not talked about openly that people do this. I know my dd feels embarrassed that she does this and doesn't want people to know, it makes me very sad as it's not something she actually chooses to do!
Luckily she's got a lovely boyfriend who knows and doesn't care and that's done a lot for her self esteem.

Even now it takes me a long time to be completely honest and frank about it with people I meet. Only once I've got to know a person well and trust them will I tell them the truth. Otherwise I just say I have alopecia. Saves me all the questions and judgements/assumptions about my mental stability. I learned that after going through school being honest about it and being mercilessly bullied for it, and even as an adult.

It's going to be a lifelong management issue for me now, I'm pretty sure of that. I just hope that when I have DC they don't copy me and do it themselves.

Oh yes, from 11 at secondary school. Result of stress from some bullying and generally not quite fitting in there. I used to try to arrange my hair with grips to cover the sore bald patches I made. I'd get swollen glands in my neck from it. My mother asked the doctor about it but I don't think there was any real advice.
Did it less from about 17 but still do it occasionally even now if I'm stressed. Until fairly recently I seemed to be the only person in the world who did it.

I was just chastised for doing it though no support or understanding
Same. Mine started when i was 9 and I'm sure was linked to the stress of my mum's mental health problems. Didn't cross their mind that i might be under stress too. That would draw the attention away from my mum and it being all about her and her problems i guess.

Probably should add that my mum bullied me in case i seem unsympathetic!

Me too. This thread is very comforting
People irl are less than understanding in my experience.

Let's keep the thread going. Mine has got really bad it Laura me a dangerous driver. Not just now but in the past. Anyone else?

I can't drive but that had actually never occurred to me!