It's Enough to Make You Pull Your Hair Out

There is a disorder known by the complex name of Trichotillomania also known as hair pulling. "Trichotillomania is repetitive twisting and twirling of the hair. The hair loss is usually in a well-defined area with shortened, broken-off hairs and early regrowth of hair. The scalp is the most commonly involved site, but eyelashes and eyebrows may also be involved. The hair loss can also be patchy and poorly defined."*

Some 2.5 million Americans experience this disorder. Hair pulling often begins during childhood or adolescence. Studies show that boys who pull out there hair begin around the age of 8 while girls begin around twelve years of age or with the onset of puberty. By far, the highest percentages of people with this disorder are women who are 4 times more likely to get the disorder than males.

The ancient origins of the word, Trichotillomania, come from Greek root terms meaning "hair," "pulling" and "mania" or madness. Actually, there is nothing mad or crazy about this little understood disorder. Today, psychiatry and medicine define it as an impulse control disorder. The implications are that it is medical in nature and specifically neurological in origin.

The reason for many mental health specialists defining this disorder as impulse control is that those with this disorder cannot resist the urge to pull their hair. The impulse to pull one's hair is so over powering that it cannot be controlled. Once the urge has reached those dimensions, there is no way for the person to resist the urge. The result is that bald spots emerge on the scalp. The presence of these bald spots becomes a source of great distress, particularly for teenage girls at a time when they are at the height of concern about their appearance. In fact, it is the impact on appearance and its social consequences which has the greatest impact on social and emotional adjustment of people with this disorder.

One of the most important facts for sufferers and their loved ones to know about this behavioral disorder is that it is not a bad habit. People can learn to control or alter habits with little difficulty. The overwhelming urge to pull hair places it outside of the category of a learned and bad habit.

It is said that there are two types of trichotillomania: one in which the individual is aware that they want to pull their hair and another: in which the person is so involved and absorbed in an activity that they are unaware of what they are doing.

Among those who know they want to pull their hair there is a feeling extreme distress and depression anxiety leading them to pull their hair out. For these individuals the result is a feeling of relief or an end to a kind of emotional numbness they experienced. For other people there is no awareness that they have started to pull their hair. Among the second group, the process of hair pulling seems to be much less open to awareness much of the time, until sometime after it has started. In all cases, once the person attempts to force themselves to stop the behavior the worse it becomes.

Reports about the prognosis of this disorder are that most children will out grow it within a year. However, if this does not happen then it can and does last into adulthood.

There is no one accepted and proven treatment for this disorder. Among the commonly tried treatments are medication for depression, psychodynamic psychotherapy, cognitive-behavioral therapy and behavior modification. One form of behavior modification is referred to as reverse habit conditioning in which the patient is made aware of the behavior, when it is going to happen and then explores alternative coping mechanisms to the hair pulling.

There will be an upcoming podcast on this site in which a woman who suffers from trichotillomania will be interviewed about her experiences including how she has learned to cope with and reduce the symptoms.

A worthwhile book on the topic is the one by: Fred, Penzell, PhD and is titled: The Hair Pulling Problem: A Complete Guide to Trichotillomania (Oxford Universities Press, 2003). It is written specifically for the public and is quite readable.

Readers in the Boulder, Colorado metro area (or Denver area people willing to drive) may contact Dr. Schwartz for face-to-face consultation and psychotherapy. Email him at dransphd@aol.com for details.

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Im 13 ive been pulling my hair out for12 years and it seems like im never ever going to stop is it weird that after i pullit out i smell it ??? is there a cure because ive been looking hard and i cant find one its just so depressing having this burden.

i dont pull the hair from the root...i just break it and its starting to make my hair look uneven.i dont want counselor help but i dont want to continue doing it. what are some suggestions to stop?i do it and dont even realize im doing it untill theres a clump of hair by my side.its so annoying.help?please?

I am a twelve year old girl and I have been constantly plucking my eyebrows out for 3 years. I've always been a rather solitude and quiet, and... lonely (Despite my decent amount of friends). School was really starting to beat down on me in fourth grade and that is when it started, because I felt as if that was the only thing I could anchor my sanity to. (My mother would always get VERY angry if I made any less than an A on my work, so I always worried sick about my dear grades, and I felt like I could talk to absolutely no one about it.) After I plucked out my eyebrows for the first time, it felt so relieving. Then, as people started to notice my bare eyebrows, my world just crashed. It's so embarrassing, especially when even people you don't even know begin to ask questions like, "What happened to your eyebrows?" "Do you shave your eyebrows?" "Why do you shave your eyebrows?". When my mother started to notice, she insisted I go to a counseler, but that embarrassed me so much, the thought of more people knowing, that I began to cry. (Until this day she still wants me to go to a counseler.) A few months ago she even told my health doctor about it, and he insisted the same thing. I really want help, but I'm scared of talking face-to-face with someone about my problem. Really, really scared. I was thinking maybe an online counseler might do, but I don't know.
Suggestions?

& I am happy that I am not alone with this disorder, but I'm also depressed because others have to go through the pain and embarrassment.

Well I'm a guy in my 40s now, it started when I was in 8th grade. Never liked being has hairy as I was and somehow started chewing on the hair at my wrists and knuckles. Got to the point where I had obvious areas with only skin on my arms. I've seen 10s of psychaitrists(sp) and have taken so many different pills. Unfortunately I do not believe I'll ever get past it and that is interesting because I do remember being young and hoping this situation would go away soon. I wear only long sleeves now and use an epilator to help keep this the slightest bit of control. The one thing I didn't do is get help early. Maybe that would be my advice to all the younger people who have posted to this site. Keep your head up and remember that it's not all about this one thing. Maybe you'll have to deal with it for a long time but find a way and then move on with the more wonderful things you will experience.

I am 12 years old. I have been pulling out my Eyelashes for the past few years. I used to pull out my eyebrows. But now I just pluck them and they HAVE to be perfect or I will just freak out. I usually just pull out my Right eye, eyelashes. For some reason it hurts to pull out the left ones. I have a huge like patch where I have no Eyelashes. It is really annoying. And today at school in class the boy I like was like "You dont have eyelashes right here" And I was like "I know" He said "Why dont you?" I just said "Because." There is another girl at my school that has trichitillamania but she pulls the hair on her head. One time she asked me if I had it but I said no. But I later told her and she was happy to know that she wasnt the only person that had it. It really sucks. Especially when people start to notice it and they like point it out. But you dont want to tell them because you are afraid of what they will say. Or who else they are going to tell. So I just keep it a secret. Except I have a friend that I thought that I could trust with anything but I told her about my trichitillamania and now she makes fun of me. I almost punched her in the face the other day because she was making fun of me and telling alot of people about it. But I just walked away. Then I noticed that I was pulling again. I just cant stop. Help Me!

Im 20 years old and I've been dealing with this habit since I was 7 or 8. The pulling over the years was horrible from the very beginning I pulled big chucks out until my head was bleeding ( I still do it and it still bleeds). I have one of the worse cases out there, the only reason i just pulled my hair out from my head......until puberty hit ,as crazy,weird and gross as it sounds I pull out hair from my vagina,underarms,eyebrows,legs,knuckles...etc anywhere I can find hair, I've even pulled nose hairs before. Sometimes I even go as far as pulling out someone else's hair. It was so bad that i've been wearing wigs since a little girl and one day when i was in gym class a boy pulled my wig off in front of every1 and i couldnt do anything but run out the gym crying with a shiny bald head with my wig on the floor, I was never able to get over that, many years later a boy that was there brought it back up and I was just so hurt and felt so low. I have many stories about what has happened to me over the years because of this disease, it has really took my life from me and at 20 years old im just (trying) to get over it I have my own hair now and the day i felt my hair touch my back was the day you would have thought i was touched by god, I couldnt stay out the mirror....but I still struggle with but I calmed it down because im so scared 2 lose what i have now this is the longest its ever been and that keeps me going. I know this disease has taken me over and because In had it to long and has been going really hard at it.....this will be with me until the day I die!!!!!!

I'm only 14 and I've been doing since I was 12. I pull my hair and class and hide it so no one sees what I was doing. People think I'm crazy because they catch me doing it. My mom used to scream at me because she would find huge chunks of hair in my room or lying around the house. The hair bunches would get stuck and clog the vaccum cleaner. I'm so used to doing that sometimes I don't even know I'm pulling out my hair. I thought I was going insane. Now that I know I'm not the only one who does that, it makes me feel so much better. The sad part is as I took a break to write this is started to pull out my hair. I want to stop this "habbit" but I can't seem to stop. Hopefully, there is some medicine I can take to help me stop this. If not, it looks like I'm going to have to suffer.

I agree with the first MD who suggested that your son be seen by a child psychologist. The notion that taking him to a specialist for help will bring attention to his behavior is akin to not seeing an MD about a sore throat and fever because that may scare the child. Well, sore throats can get worse, though not always, and your son's problem could get worse or go away. However, when my now adult children were small we always took the cautious route under the concept that it is better to be "safe than sorry."

Therefore, I suggest a child psychologist see your son to diagnose what may be happening for him. It could be that he is experiencing increased anxiety right now. The problem would be to find out how to help him reduce that anxiety and the psychologist could help all of you with that.

Yes, have your son seen by a child psychologist. It will reduce everyones anxiety. That is my opinion and what I would have done.

I am the mother of three beautiful boys. The oldest two always keep our summers busy playing All-Star Baseball. They are very athletic and this is always fun. But this summer during the month of July my baby boy who just turned six years old decided to pull his top eyelashes out! At first we were not sure if they were falling out or if he was pulling them himself? Well my husband being Mr. Mancho was in denial. But I knew by the pattern that he had done it! What are the chances that only the top eyelashes would fall out? I was really upset!!! A week and a half later he had not one eyelash top or bottom eyelash. The really strange thing about it all is that, the other four of us in this house had never once saw him pull on his eyelashes? One time my middle son said that he had noticed him pulling on them at one point. Needless to say, I was in tears and my husband still was not accepting the fact that our child would do this to himself. Our family Dr. wanted to send him to a pshycologist(this Dr. said that they may never grow back!! UGH!!!), another Dr. said that it was common and not to say anything to him about it or draw attention to the habit. The same Dr. said it could be allergies and he was rubbing them out. And that was that! So we did try scolding him for it, and he did tell us that he would not do it again. Well he couldn't do it again- I thought because he had no more eyelashes to pull out!!! Well school started and in the comment section of a form that I had to fill out for his teacher I explained to her what had been going on so if kids picked on him she would realize what he had done or was doing. The beginning of this week I realized that he has alot of eyelashes growing back!!! I was so happy!!! Until last night my husband caught him in his room playing a video game while picking and rubbing his right EYEBROW! not Eyelashes! He looked like Vanilla Ice when he had shaved his eyebrows. It looks pretty bad, and I am not saying that to upset all the people that have this problem. I am just new to this disorder and find it very upsetting to me as a mother. My husband was so angry and does not know how to handle this kind of situation, which neither do I? We do not want mentally scar him by saying something hurtful to him out of anger or cause him to want to do it more? I find myself having feelings of anger about it, but mainly because I do not want anyone picking on my child over something that I have just now discovered is a true disorder that we may can help him with. I can tell that my baby does not really understand why he is doing it? And I think he wants to stop...I can see it in his eyes when he gets upset when we talk to him about it. He does not want me or his Dad to be mad at him. This afternoon my husband was out of my sons sight for about fifteen minutes and in those few minutes while he was left to play in his room he had pulled somemore out of the right brow and started on his left brow. When we confronted him about it he started crying bacause he thought we were going to be mad (which my husband was, but i made him go outside!) His face was so pitiful and it was not because of the baldness; it just had a look of dispare on it.!! I took him in my room and we talked about the when, where, and whys of it all. We hugged and I told him that I thought he was beautiful to me no matter what, but that I wished he would keep his promise to me to try hard not to pull them out. I don't know what else to do that is why I am sending these comments. I really would like to talk to someone who has suffered from this problem since a young age like my son, so I could understand and find some peace with this. He is handsome and smart. I wished I had all the answers but I don't. I would like to know what to expect and how to handle him. What if he starts with his hair? and why did he start with his eyelashes and eyebrows? Thanks for letting me comment.

I'm 35 years old and I've been pulling and tucking strands of hair since I was 6 years old. I remember I was having a hard time in first grade learning to read so I kind of went into a trance and started pulling my bangs. I didn't pluck my hair, I started tucking and rubbing the ends against my fingertips and hearing the crunching sound. Sometimes I would take the ends of my hair, bite them to make it even and rub it against my fingertips and putting my hand close to my ears so I can hear the crunching sound. It has changed over the years, but the one spot I always have is behind my ears. I have strands that are not even and I pull them, twist them, without plucking my hairs and its like going into a trance. I can go on for hours, even at work which is embarrasing. My family (everyone) would tell me to stop but I cant. I get this urge out of nowhere to pull my hair its uncontrollable. Sometimes the urge stops and I can go without it for weeks even months. I have been able to control it lot more as an adult. When I was in middle and high school it was aweful, people would make fun of me playing with the ends of my hair. When I pull my hair in ponytails I can go without it but sometimes I pull my hair even if its in a ponytail.

When I notice that I'm pulling my hair, I start analyzing what's going on in my life and in my mind and I have found that it is anxiety-- like when I'm worried about my job, mortage payments. It usually happens while I'm watching TV or in the commuting hours of traffic jams, or when I'm in a doctor's office waiting. So to me it happens when I have nothing else to do with my hands and if I'm relaxing. If it's in a doctor's office or an office where I have to sit, watch boring tv with other people perfect strangers trying not to make boring conversation, then I begin my trance and start "playing" /pulling my hair. I dont have bald spots, even though sometimes my hair is pulled out. I also split my split ends too and can go for hours-- but that usually ends when I go to the hairstylist. I do have shorter strands of hair behind my ears, where most of the pulling takes place. I think its a weak spot also- behind my ears. I have long beautiful black hair and its thick and wavy and I have a lot of hair. I have people ask me if I would my hair for wigs.

I started to think this was a disorder after watching so many detective series where people are analized and diagnosed for their behaviors. So I went online and wrote hair twisting and pulling and voila' here I am. I now can tell my family its a stress / anxiety driven disorder-- and most important-- I'M NOT ALONE!!!

It's been good reading about ways to control this urge. I have tried many fo them and will keep up trying to control my anxiety attacks. thanks for all the tips and advise.

hi ive been pulling my hair out now for yrs now it all started and young age of 6. i have tryed to stop and i have done but i have started again. i find its only when im stressed when i twirl twist and rip it out my hair looks like its been burt its got in such bad condtion now my main problem is i have got a daughter and ive notice shes have started to twist her hair im desprate to stop as i dont want her doing the same thing as me and shes only 3 can anyone help thanks

Im 18, and is starting pulling my hair out last summer, but it was only in one spot. my sister noticed it and i told her its always been there. This summer tho they pulling is worse. Before i typed this i was pulling. Its in all different areas of my head tho now. I have spots that are so big its nearly impossible to cover. i am suppose to going into my senior year at a new school in a week, and i dont want to go. im embarressed for people to see me, i know they'll have plenty to say. i dont know how to even explain this to my mother. i have a history of doing self destructive things since i was in the 5th grade, from burning myself, to cutting. i dont want to tell her about his and add on to it. i feel like one big dissapointment to her. i just recently told my girlfriend, and even tho i know she loves me no matter, it embaresses me to let her see me like this. i obv want her to think im beautiful, and a girl with a bunch of bald spots isnt. i feel DISGUSTING and i dont know that im suppose to do about it because i cant stop. My bed, and my bathroom sink have tons and tons of hairs all over them from me pulling. im scared if i dont stop ill end up having to wear a wig. i just dont know what to do, i have high anxiety and depression and this, just doesnt help.

The best type of therapy for hair pulling is Cognitive Behavioral Therapy. This is provided by a Clinical Psychologist who specializes in the use of CBT and behavioral methods.

If you fear that your parents will not take this seriously, show them this website and these comments to our article.

i have been twirling, snapping and pulling out my hair for over 12 years. i am nealry 19 and have been pulling my hair out day in day out since maybe 7 or when ever i had enough hair to pull out.i got it off my mum but she just tiwrls it around her finger where as i would twirl ,snap and pull out strands of hair. sometimes seeing how many strands i pulll out at the one time makes me sick but i cant help it, the feeling its so addictive, i dont do it because im stressed or anything ill do it just beacuse i can, ill watch tv and ill do it, be on msn and ill do it , i always just thought it was a bad habit didnt relise how many others had this problem. everyone i no has nice long hair and i just cant get mine to grow no matter how hard i try i stop i just cant and i want to , im sick of seeing slight bald patches on the back of my head or tying up my hair and half of it falling out of the pony tail because its been snapped and isnt long enough.everyday when i do my hair whether it be up or down i have to use anther mirror just incase its visable that im going bald, ill use bobby pins to move some bits of hair to cover the patch or ill tease my hair with a comb to make it look fuller, i wish i coould wake up oneday and being able to tie my hair up without worrying if my bald patch is showing.its embarrasing for a 19 year old female.the hting is though i dont no who else i can talk to about it , i dont think my family will take it so serisly to the point where i need to get professional help and even if i was going to get help i wouldnt no who to go to.

Hi , I'm Alyssa. I'm 13 years old. I've been pulling my eyelashes out since about March 2009 . I don't really know why I do it , but it feels good to pluck them out. I try to stop because my mom threatens to punish me if I don't but I can't stop and she thinks I can just stop just like that...but I honestly can't. She wants me to go see a counseler because she thinks it'll help. I just want a way to stop because I hate myself for doing this. I need help.

I am 14 nearly 15 years old. i have been pulling my hair out for a good 3-4 years.I have bald patches at the top of my head.i have extensions and i cover up the bald pathches with har bands and clips. School is really tough because im in year 9 with girls who are picky about loos and other peouple.I know peouple stare and point because im different to the rest of them. I cry myself to sleep most nights thinking to myself i wih i can be normal. I didnt have a good childhood and i am deapressed cause i hate going out and im not comftable. I do go counselling and he has given me tablets but i still pull m hair out and eat the tips. Im overweight cause i comfort eat. i hate the way i look compared to everyone else. I want a full head of hair again like i used to.

i am 13 years old and i pull out my hair and eat the root which is clear with a black tip. i am bald with peach fuzz no one knows, because i've blamed it on a perm( chemical used to make air straight). i were a wig but im still a popualar girl but im living a double life and im tring to stop. i've found tips that have helped and i'v gone a full weak without pulling, but got back into that hair pulling stage, but im really ready to stop. there is hope for all of us with prayer! i belive that i can stop without telling my mom, she hasen't found out cause i wash them down the sink, valcum, or flush them down the toilet. im going to get threw this it has to rain for there to be a rainbow. GOD BLESS

I hear, loud and clear, the plea for help with this problem of hair pulling. I want to urge all of you to enter psychotherapy to gain help with this. It can be either psychodynamic therapy or cognitive behavior therapy but you need to get involved. Evidently, this problem is based in lots of anxiety and obsessional thinking. As far as I know, medications do not really help, except in a few cases. However, intensive psychotherapy is the way to go with this aggravating and painful problem.

I'm 31 years old and have been pulling out my leg hair for over 15 years..I will sometimes pull out my arm hair as well but very rarely. I don't know why i do this but I find I can't stop. Every day I say, this is the last day. This has caused scarring on my legs b/c of ingrown hairs but yet i keep it doing it. I'm embarassed of how my legs look but yet I keep pulling and poking. I want to stop this behavior as I'm completely embarassed about it. But it's always in my head, I daydream about it. I just dont' understand it. I have two beautiful young children and I don't want them to learn about this behavior. I feel like I'm crazy b/c I do this. I know i'm not "really" crazy but it's scary that something so disturbing has such a control over my life. I want to stop!!!!

I am a 19 year old male. I work 40 hours a week cooking in a restaraunt, alongside a full college schedule. I had a stable childhood only marked by two years of social anxiety and depression in junior high school. However, since those two years, despite all the improvements in my self-esteem and confidence, i have had this nervous habit of twisting my hair (amongst other things; chain smoking, nail-biting, et cetera).

Simply put, i cannot afford psychological help. I don't have health insurance, I haven't had any vaccines (or even really a trip to the doctor) since I was about 14. I am on the "dont get sick or hurt, period" health care plan.

Keeping a complete very-short buzzcut worked for a long time (no hair to twist), however I really feel like the root anxiety issues never got resolved.

My question: is there any help or solutions out there for those of us who just can't afford the price tag on psychiatry?

There is a loud plea that I am hearing from all of you who feel stuck with this hair pulling problem. Everyone from 14 year old Katie and those who are older.

I am also hearing a sense from all of you that this is a hopeless problem. It is not.

Hair pulling is complicated and so, what I say here, may not fully apply. However, overall, it has to do with coping with lots of anxiety and tension. That is why some of you pull your hair. Does everyone who pulls hair feel anxiety? Probably not. Would relieving anxiety for those of you who pull hair help you stop? Yes.

I want to urge all of you who pull your hair to seek psychotherapy. In fact, you should seek Cognitive Behavior Therapy (CBT).

Katie, you need to cooperation of your parents to be able to receive therapy and I urge you to speak to them.

With CBT and Behavior Modification, you can conquer this thing and no longer feel bothered.

Hi, I'm katy and I saw that people wrote about their hair pulling problems. I'm 14 and I have the same problem, it sucks. But I'm glad to know that I'm not alone. I've been pulling for 3 years and have really messed up my hair, I can't stop I've tried everything, gloves, hats, things to keep my hands busy, etc. And not to sound like a creeper, but I think that maybe if we talk about it,it will help us. Just to know that were not alone. I cry so much over this I can't stand it anymore. People ask why my hair is like this and I don't know what to say. I'm gonna be a sophmore this upcoming school year, and I know that starting high school with this problem really made me shy(er) and held me back a lot. The guy I really liked said that he liked me back except that he wouldn't date me because my hair is fucked up. Its even harder to look around at all the other girls at school with gorgeous, long, think hair. You would never know how much something liked this ruins their life. if you think about it, everyone shows their anxioity/saddness in different ways, but the way we show it is more noticible. And that makes it a never ending cycle. We get sad because our hair looks like shit so we pull even more. Everything on that website is exactly how I feel, and I think talking to someone with the same problem is my last restort, so please email back. Katyyfaceee@aim.com Thanks, katy.

IM 27 YRS OLD AND IVE BEEN PULLING OUT MY HAIR SINCE I WAS INT 3RD GRADE...I CANT STOP... IVE QUIT FOR 2 WEEKS THE MOST AND THEN THE URGE TO PULLING COMES BACK... IVE TRIED GETTING MY NAILS DONE TO HAIR EXTENSIONS I HATE THAT I CANT WeAR MY hair up or all down because my bald spots show...i cant get into the pool and wet my full head i hate it its killing me inside...no one would ever have a clue because im such a funny and talkative person..im into my looks and love fashion so people see me as happy person...but only if they new how bad its killing me inside ..i look in the mirror after i pulled out so much hair and i get sressed and more depressed feeling guilty of what i did...i ask why me...why?

I must caution all of our readers that smoking is not the way to try and stop pulling hair. Smoking is extremely dangerous to life and health and yields no good results. Psychotherapy is the way to go in getting help for this obsessive compulsive anxiety problem.

my way of easeing the twisting stoped it for a long time till i broke up with my girl.

I still pull my hair and i feel like i always will have these unsightly bald spots but i have found ways to keep it to, what it seems like, a bare minimum.

Anyone who truely suffers from this knows how it seems almost impossible to stop or even to resist. I started smoking to try and keep it low and it helped but i would strongly advise NOT smoking. Quitting smoking (after 8 monthes) was far easier to quit than pulling because i can throw away cigerettes but (whats left of my hair) is always there.

Tips for those who pull (especially those who pull thick unruly "bad" hairs)...

I'm glad i found this website because now im not alone. I have this problem and i have found ways that sometimes help me control myself.

I'm 15 and have been pulling my hair for about six monthes and i have gone from mild to very severe hair pulling. I need to wear my hair up everyday, so to hide my evident bald spots around the crown of my head along with my bangs. I always think about, its always an erge i must try to control without much sucess. I have been going well the past 4 days with only pulling 3-10 hairs a day, but i still feel the need to pull and must resist, instead i just play with my hair and pretend to pull. I feel the most erge to pull the thick, wirey, uneven hairs, and i get a sense of relief and graditude once i have pulled. At my peak i can pull over 100 piece of hair in the time for a 30-minute show to end. I have beatuiful long dark curly hair that is now patchy and uneven.

My habbit of pulling and playing from what I can remember started probley around 6-8 months ago and the reason why I do it is because i feel like my hair is always messed up and the ends of my hair curl inward and for some reason i just want them to curl outward, so i am constantly playing with my hair and trying to curl it outward, but the reason why they curl inward is because my hair is too long. so I did cut it but with in a few days my hair felt like it had already grown back and i continued to play with twist it. So for me I think I care to much about my hair and the way it looks and i am not afraid to say it and I just learned today that I have Trichotillomania. I think the only thing for me to do is cut my hair short again.

well i'm 23 yrs old. i have been pulling my hair out since i was 13. i'm so ashamed of doing this. i cry about it all the time. all i want is to be able to control this urge. for a long time i thought i was crazy. my mom always asked why my hair looked so thin from the sides. i never knew what to tell her so i made stuff up. i tried covering the bald spots with anything and everything. i now have a 19 month old little girl and i dont want her to see me do this anymore. i feel so ugly and i feel like i am never going to be able to stop doing this. how can i stop?? i dont know what to do.

For so many years i thought i was alone in this..i thought i was absolutely insane. In 6th grade i began pulling and twisting my eyebrows out after my best friend died in a car accident. I became extremely depressed and it was the only thing that could make me happy. I didn't understand it and i was too embarassed to talk about it or ask anyone. It wasn't until my mom finally pulled me aside and forced me to tell her what was going on. She took away all my tweezers and scissors and helped me cut my nails really short and kept a good eye on me and bought my eyebrow pencils. My eyebrows finally grew back and life went back to normal and people stopped asking me questions and thinking i was crazy. I VERY rarely talk about it anymore and some people still ask "What happened to you in sixth grade" and such, but i just don't answer. It makes me so much more comforted to know that this is an actual disease that other people have dealt with. For those of you still struggling, just talk to someone. Either a professional or a close family member or friend. You just need to focus your brain and pick up other hobbies that can help you feel more in control. Don't worry. It is possible to make it go away.

I am 13 and i have started pulling my hair out, not necesseraly every second, i do not pull/mess with my hair when i am occupied and with freinds and when i am doing something but when im bored i start pulling my hair, not all over my head but just at the bottom on either side, i seem to pick individual hairs out which have a unusual texture to them, then i slide it through my teeth but i do not eat it, i just let it go on the floor and i gradually see my hair on the floor and it makes me think... what am i doing! But I just can't help it! :( I have told my mum and she says i will have to go to the doctors but i would rather know what is going to happen with me. I dont want to go bald :(!!!!!!!!!!!

Chronic hair puller with full head again! How I... - G.Houston - Apr 25th 2009

Since around age 11 I have had reoccuring episodes of pulling my hair out.The need to pull out/sometimes ingest strands course in texture,almost with a semi-synthetic feel.(fishing line that is slightly singed/crimped) Even though my hair texture is smooth/ straight and medium in density I seemed to have no problem finding,seperating then pulling out enough hair to leave bald spots anywhere from 1/2 inch to patches the size of a closed fist.Sometimes behind the ear,and the top crown area is where my obsession to pull was most staisfied.The temporary relief I felt in pulling my hair out also involved feeling the rough strand as I would pulling the strand over my lips,and eventually between my teeth as I would chew,starting with the intact bulb of the hair shaft.Ingesting my pulled hair was my horrible secret growing up and into adulthood.The results? mental anguish,depression and...blahblah,blahnot to mention possible physical/medical issues caused by my Trichaticamania. I'm very blessed to have had a wonderful, loving and happy childhood,the foudation for my happy adult life.-minus my secret that was becoming more out of control and life threatening.The Internet ,through websites and forums, along with the medical research done by dedicated Doctors and Mental Health organizations offers support and understanding so we all can live a better healthier life. *helpful hints - I am also a 23 yr. veteran Hairstylist.What I found to really help in controlling my temptation to pull is to control the way all my hair strands feel.By using shampoos,cond.and stlying products containing silica/silicone.This ingrediant softens as it smooths and polishes the hair so to help in achieving a sleek, straight style or de-frizzing curls and soft waves.Haircare products to look for are ones that contain silicone and promoted for achieving a sleek polished shine to the hair. good luck and Good Looks!!!

I am a 23 year old male and have started obsessively twisting my hair. It is not yet to the point that i develop bald patches but the back of my hair is all uneven and when it gets too short at the back i do it to my fringe. I used to have quite long hair but i've had to cut a shorter style now but i still do it. Unlike the majority of people commenting i have only deveoped this behaviour in the past 8 months or so, i can only assume this is due to stress due to a heavy work load as i'm in my final year at uni combined with illness in the family which is taking its toll on the whole family. I just wondered has anyone else suffered with this later in life and is there a way of 'nipping it in the bud' so to speak before it gets out of hand?

I twist my hair in the back on the sides by my ears. I get bald spots on both sides. I shave my head and the urge goes away. but as soon as my hair is long enough to twist, i do it agian. I twist it without even knowing. when i'm driving, talking to people, eating, anything. I don't know how to stop.

There is a lot of help for this problem but it is not just or simply "counseling." First, your parents should bring you to a really good child and adolescent psychiatrist for evaluation and possible medication. Please remember that a Psychiatrist is a Medical Doctor and only he can prescribe medicine. He could also determine what your real problem could be. This is number One.

Second, your parents need to have you seen by a Clinical Psychologist for Cognitive Behavioral Therapy. This type of psychologist can help you learn how to stop this hair pulling behavior.

As far as cost is concerned, please tell you parents that you only see the Psychiatrist briefly because it is the Psychologist who does the Cognitive Behavioral Therapy. You are young and, with this type of help, there is a very good chance that you will recover from this.

Third, have your parents read what I wrote to you, here, so they understand and:

Fourth: I will be doing a "podcast" on this site called Speaking of Therapy and we will be talking about this problem and this will be in a few months. Watch this site for its opening.

IS THERE ANY HELP!!! - Courtney-Jade - Mar 22nd 2009
I Am 13 years old and i pull my hair. I just dont see there being an ending to it. i have tryed everything from councilling to getting hair extentions to smoking. Its horrible. you just dont feel like there is anyone around you that can help you sort the problem out because no one knows what it is like to have that urge 24/7 to pull your help... i wish i new how to stop.. i would give anything.. my familly have been very supportive but it is just not enough to stop the OCD...!!! HEELLLPPP!!!

I pull hair out of all of my knuckles. I am aware of it, however I cannot stop. My knuckles are all black and people make fun of them all the time. I am so embarrassed and want to stop this. My husband tries to tolerate it, but I know it is somewhat embarassing to him also. I do not have any insurance right now, but if I get any, I plan to talk to a psychiatrist to see what can be done. I am 59 years old and have been doing this at least 30 years i think.

I want to urge you to speak to both your parents and your school couselor to get you psychotherapy so that you can stop doing this and stop being bullied by the other students in school. Help is available for this, especially Cognitive Behavioral Psychotherapy with a clinical psychologist. In any case, you will need parental support for this because of the cost unless you the school psychologist is able to help. There is no need for a life time of suffering with this. Good Luck.

Well, I am a 16 year old girl, I am a freshman in highschool and I have been pulling my hair out since the end of the 5th grade. I am always getting bullied and dont know how to explain to the kids at school why i am bald. I hate gettign picked on about it.:[

You write that you want to die but do not describe your situation. That creates a feeling of helplessness and I guess it is the same type of thing you are feeling. Help is available but you have to reach out for that help. Either call 911 and report that you are suicidal and you will be taken to the hospital where people will talk to you and help you so that you can feel safe and recover from your depression. The other option is to go to the hospital emergency room and report that you are sucidal. The sooner you reach out for help the sooner you will find it. Best of Luck,

I havent had a chance to read all the comments here, but i will after only reading a few, I knew I was in the right place.

I am the frequent twist and puller myself. Apparently my father did the same thing. My mother would find the knots and ask him, while he would just look the other way. I have aniexty issues and a few others. They are controllable, though not through drugs. I usually use mind over matter.

For someone to say, just dont do what you do when you pull out your hair, may not be fesible. I twist incestently when I am driving. Today has been pretty rough. I have not had sufficent sleep this week and had a stomach ache and aniexty, naturally for me the twisting and pulling commences.

I have been doing it today continuously for about 6 straight hours. I try to move around my head so not to make the bare patch in the back any worse. I think I do it because it calms me for some reason. Almost makes me feel better. When my aniexty attacks subsides I usually give the hair a rest. Though, occasionally when i am pulling and thinking about how bad my hair is looking, I get a comb, usually brand new so the teeth are sharp, and I will just start going through the areas I pull from. It does not compare in comfort, but it saves a little hair when I think of doing it.

Sometimes I take a big knot of hair that I have already pulled out and put it in the spot where I would be twisting and play with that, so I dont ruin anymore hair. Again, not as satisfying, but it helps a little.

I am a thinker so, I tend to over think things and make them more than what I really need to worry about. I think that I pull my hair because it makes me feel better in a uncomfortable situation for whatever reason. Maybe its a control thing too. I also pull more when I have not had enough sleep.

I am certain though, for those of you worried about twisting and pulling. I can think of a lot more issues you and I could be having that are far worse

I have done this for years, and cope with it regularly. If anyone wishes to dissuss, my email should be listed. If not you can reach me at dirt091203@comcast.net maybe we can help each other too

I think I was twisting my hair since it was long enough to twist. My mom told me I was born sucking my index finger which at 53, I still do today. I tend to do both behaviors at the same time. I usually twist my hair into a tight coil and then into a knot. The satisfying part is that next I rub my finger nail either up and down the coiled hair making a "crunching" sound that soothes me, or when I am upset, I find the part of the hair that makes the knot and push my fingernail down on it quickly so it makes a "snapping" sound. When I go to release this coiled, knotted mess, I've found a way to pull quickly so that 5-6 strands that hold it together break off with a satisfying "snap". As a result of this, the hairs across the back crown of my head never grow beyond 3-4 inches. I have long hair and yearn to have it all long and one length. When hair sylists say something I just blow it off by saying I had layers in my hair that were growing out. Growing up, my family yelled at me about it. My first wife (I am a lesbian) yelled the same words to me she had heard my mom say. She said she hated the sound. My current wife simply asks me if I am stressed. I get annoyed by that question....I twist and snap because it is just satisfying and it's that ocd urge that I "Have to Twist..." I've always been more embarassed by the finger sucking, which I tend to hide from everyone. I have told my wife that I suck my finger but won't do it in front of her. We are both in 12 step recovery programs (she for AA, me for bulemia), and her acceptance and lack of judgement has meant everything to me. She shared that she looked up "cheek chewing"...a thing she does when she is stressed and found a support strand about that. For years and years, I thought I was the only adult that broke her hair off and sucked her finger, but thanks to the Internet, I have found I am not alone and that many other people share these behaviors which seem impossible to stop, regardless of the sincerity of our intent. I have found the finger sucking much easier to stop that the hair breaking. I tend to hair twist when I am laying down reading or watching tv. Sitting up helps and so does "snapping" my labrador's short hair (it doesn't hurt her), crocheting, and even twisting the hair "ponytail" I bought at a salon. That one is the least satisfying because it doesn't feel like real hair. I've recently taken up knot tying (got a book on it), and that provides some satisfaction and keeps my fingers out of my hair. Good luck to all of you trying to stop. I've not only been there, I'm still there.

eyebrows - chris - Jan 23rd 2009
I have had this disorder for more than 20 years of my life and Im 29 now.I hate it so much I swear I could see myself doing it forever=(First time I did anything like it was in 2nd grade I was Reading a book and I took scissoors and chopped off my eyebrows.I didn't really know what I did it for I just did it.Now I pull but only from my eyebrows leaves bald patches and it's so embarassing to go anywhere without covering it up.I missed alot of school cause of it,this is the worst disease to have compare to others that are not fatal oh well hope there will be a cure for it soon=)

i started pulling out my eyebrow, arms and eyelash hair about a year ago when i went on holiday to canada and i was only 12 when it started and now im 13 i cant stop myself from doing it i just do it when i get bored or a night time and i cant tell anyone cause they wont understand my mum keeps tellin me to stop but i cant and everyone keeps asking me if pluck them and i always tell them no cause its too embarrassing to say to anyone and i just plucked a whole eyebrow last night i was too embarrassed to show my face so i went to my room im so glad that im not alone tho i thought i was i really want to stop its really pissing me off i cant even look in the mirror anymore i wish there was medicine to help us all stop it!!!!! ahhh

i have been pulling my eye brows and eye lashes out for a while now 3 0r 4 years it all started when my aunt got sick and died from a brain tummor. i grow them and then they end up being pulled out so far i have some a lot more than i have had for a long time. im almost 21 now and it has been hard i really want to grow them back but i dont always notice that im doing it tell there out and in my fingures. i always thought i was alone tell today i just desided to type it in CRAZY. well im glade that now i know what i have and that im not all by my self.

a few tips -if you pull or twist out your eyebrows or eye lashes stand a arms length from the mirror! or pull your arm hardly frontwards and then backwards

something that really helps is keeping a log or dairy it shows you your progress! example

I have been pulling my hair since i was 11. At first it was just a little here and there...When the first bits grew back, I almost attacked my little brother because I thought he cut my hair when I was asleep! But it was me - it was the spikey hair growing back from the hair I pulled! I have pretty much ruined my entire life because since I was 11 I have pulled my hair so badly that at times I haven't been able to hide it. I would start at like 10 at night and finish crazy eyed and wacky at like 7 in the morning, so I wouldn't be able to go to school. I couldn't make myself stop, and when I tried, it would just get worse. Then I would look at the pile on the floor, and at all the hair stuck to the wall, and my scalp would be so sore, and so would my finger tips. And then about 3 years later I started to eat the tips or meaty part of the hair, one more and I'll stop I say to myself, just one more good one pull or just till I get a good crunchy red one. Oh my gosh it sounds so disgusting. I could NEVER tell anymone. And my mom would piss me off so bad if she touched it or with all the comments she would make about it...you can stop blah blah blah. I had to quit swimming, sleeping over friends house, getting hair cuts, I was so pretty. I shrunk into a shell of depression. And at around 26 I met my boyfriend and he is so superficial and into prettiness that I couldn't let him even know that I pulled my hair and he was around me all the time that even my night fits had to stop, or almost stop. My hair grew back, but I got comfortable with him (or maybe my OCD reached it's limit!) and 6 years later I exploded and ripped out all my beautiful blonde hair out again - like all in one night/week. I just couldn't hide it anymore - I was like a fiend. I had just started going to the salons again for the first time in over 15 years! And now I feel 11 years old again - I cried when I ripped it all out but I couldn't help it. I looked at all my hair on the the floor and just picked it up and when I was holding it all in my hands I can't tell you how horrible I felt - all those years - my beautiful hair...and I just threw it away. So the next couple of nights I just swept it under the bed when I was done because I couldn't bear to look at what I did again and again. I wish there was a pill to take to make it all go magically away, but I have tried them all, and there is not! And as I write this...I still pause every now and then to pull a few strands...I'm forever cursed...If anyone knows a cure...let me know cause I could sure use one:)

why is that i can't even control the pulling of my hair,,,every minute i always pulled out my hair,,i have a lots of bald spots in me,,,i haven't gone in a salon to cut my hair because I don't have the confidence to face them,,,the last tym i went in the salon that was when I was 13 or something,,,i'd started this disorder since I was in 1st year,,my classmate named josa is the one who first pulled out my hair,,,the feeling is so great that why It becames a habbit,every second,every minute I pulled it,I even put in the mirror,and collects it,,then when my auntie came in she will definetely be angry to me,,because she is not pro on what im doing in myself,why can't I stopped it,,,i always promise to myself that this will be the last hair that will be pulled out but I can/t control it,i hope god will help me to overcome and to have a discipline in me,

how do you stop the hair pulling. i have started doing it for about 2 years now. i am under alot of stress. it is really getting noticeable on top of my head. does anything help to grow it back.

ive pulled out my hair for 15 yrs and have almost nothing left. i can relate to everyone that has left a comment. i dont know how to control it and i think i like it too much to stop. its like a comfort to me. i haven't had to see a barber in 10 yrs. i wear wigs and actually get lots of compliments. i have never met anyone with this disorder and would like to talk kris1_stanley@yahoo.com i need someone in my life that understands what im going through.

I have been pulling out and messing with my eyebrows for years. I don't mess with any other hair on my body just the eyebrows. I am finally noticing thinner areas I have to always conceal with make up. It is a shame because I used to have very nich full brows.

if there is a will there is a way. i started pulling my hair out when i was 9 years old. it started with my eye brows and led to my eye lashes then my arms, legs, and head. i was so memorized by it when i pulled it out. sometimes i would catch myself eating it and not feel gross. I would deny it though. It was this rush. i can't even explain it. i got to my worse at the age of 11 and 12. thats when i was outcast the most. i always wanted to be the beautiful cheerleader that everyone loved. yet i wasn't. One day i looked into the mirrior and i seen that the hair on my head was starting to disappear. my heart sank and i felt even more pain. my fingers came together and i knew i was in trouble. so the method i came up with was: i put on my favorite cd, got oven mittens and laid on my frontroom floor thrashing and crying because i couldn't pull hair. i laid there for 2 hours. they were the worse 2 hours of my life. thats when i knew i could give it up. i said i would start with my eyebrows, then my lashes, then everything else. i took everything slow and the way i said i would. it has been four years now and im doing very well. i have eyebrows, eye lashes, and the hair on my head. i have friends and i couldn't be happier. granted i'm not perfect and it doesn't just go away... i still fight every day. I just want to let everyone know that it is possible to move on and not have to give in. Also, your not alone. when i was at my height i never got a chance to know that. Getting help isn't bad either. i have help and i love it. you can do it =]

ive been twisting and pulling my hair 5 or 6 years now. i tried to control it. i first noticed that i can feel a relief by the feeling of twisting and pulling my hair until some strands break off.

i twist and pull my hair at my nape part, to conceal my behavioral disorder. in the salon, the stylist once asked me what happened to my hair, i just told him some bubble gum caused it.

i do not like my disorder. and i think that i need help... because i tried for so many years to stop it.

now, i developed a fear of going to the salon to cut my hair, because maybe the stylist would ask again...

I would pull the hairs out of my arms and i have been for a long time. I don't know when I started but ever since then I would pull not only from my arms but my legs and my head... When I pull the hairs out I just stare at the root, entranced by the white stuff, whatever it is. Then I just throw it to the ground and go for another. I've actually had a wierd dream before that I pulled out a big piece of hair and there was a giant mass of the white stuff on the tip... so wierd... I am extremely sorry for the people that pull their eyelashes and eyebrows b/c my eyes are extremely sensitive and I would never touch them. I don't think i've done it for a while but i'm not sure. I haven't been paying close attention.

I am 25 years old and every since I can remember I have been twisting my hair. My dad was diagnosed with Cancer when I was 7 and I think thats when I developed the terrible disorder. I would sit for hours and just twirl my hair until my arm felt like it was going to fall off. Everyone would scold me when they caught me doing it and I would stop, but then a few minutes later I would start again and not even realize it. After my teenage years it changed quite a bit. I began tying knots in my hair and twisting the knot. The sensation of the knot seems to be relaxing in a way. (kind of like the people wrote earlier about the wirey hairs) But after twising it, I cannot get the knot out and I pull the knots out of my hair and it leaves such awful ripped ends..ugh. I am right handed but twist with my left hand. I even have a patch of hair on the back left side that is so much shorter than my other hair, which is all one length so it's VERY noticable!! I HATE doing this! I really don't feel there is any hope. I have tried almost everything but where I do it without realizing it, it's gonna be impossible for me. Anyone have any ideas??? HELP!

Ive been doing it for 5 years. I am going to stop. so far its been 3 days. I AM GOING TO STOP. I AM NOT GOING TO DO IT AGAIN. i promise to myself. Its ALL ME. NO ONE ELSE. I DECIDE.

58 years old and I have been eating the hair off my arms by the roots nearly all my life since a young person. I used to pull hair out by the roots on my head and eat them, not the hair, just the roots. I've stopped that and now eat just the arm hairs. It's embarassing when someone asks if I shave my arms.

My Mom was a nail biter, I that too. I have stopped for short periods of nail biting and hair biting but never for long.

All I know is that it is a nervous reaction to stress. I hate it but it appears I am going to die at this late stage of life and never stop.

Email me if you like (txcache@aol.com). I can at least give you tips on how to quit for the short term.

When I was in 3rd grade I remember watching a movie and I just started pulling my eyebrows out, for no reason at all. A couple of days after i started pulling my eyebrows out, I also began pulling my eyelashes out. It got so bad that I literally had 3 or 4 eyelashes on each eye, and only about 15 hairs on each eyebrow. I remember waking up for school every morning and my mom would have to draw my eyebrows on for me with an eyebrow pencil. I would put my hair in my face so no one could see my eyes, I was so embarrassed. People at school would ask me all the time why I had no eyelashes or eyebrows. After 3rd grade I dropped the habit, and my eyelashes and eyebrows grew back beautiful, long and thick. I'm in 8th grade now and I've just reverted back to this horrible habit. My eyelashes are very thin now and on my right eye i have a huge gap from the inner corner of my eye to the middle of my eye that's completely bare. I'm so upset and afraid that they'll never grow back now. I have no idea why I would start doing this to myself again. Now I feel ugly whenever I get ready for school in the morning. I just wish there was some kind of vitamin or something that i could take to make them grow back. =(

im a 12 year old girl from Canada and i pull my hair ,,,i dont know how to stop it it started with bitting my finger nails then it got worse and worse so i quit doing my nails then about 2 weeks later i found myself pulling my hair. Im really scared cuz i donno what to do it sais you do it when you are tence but im not its like a habbit now my mom sais something is wrong but nothing is i fell pertictly fine. ^_^ I donno what to do :o :'(

I'm so ashamed that I pull at my eyelashes. I've been doing it since I was 11yrs. old, and I am now 14 and still don't have control over it. My parents and family members have noticed and I promised to stop, but it's so hard. I don't know what to do because I'm too embarassed to ask for help. Do you know if there is any over the counter medication that I can take(with my parents consent of course) so that my eyelashes will grow back?

Ive only just realised that I always pull out my eyelashes and eyebrow hairs. I heard about it on the telly and have now realised I have this disorder. I am 14 years old and have been doing it for about a year. I go through stages of doing it. When I am at school i don't do it. And they all grow back. But now in the summer holidays, they seem to be disappearing. I really hate it. Also, I eat the hairs which is disgusting, I know. Im scared I might develop something wrong with my stomach from this habit. I need to stop and don't know what to do. Normally I pull my eyebrows when im nervous. But I constantly want to pull the mascara off my eyelashes. Even when im not wearing Mascara they seem to come out just as often. I have discovered that, the more you pull out, the easier they become to rip out. I hate this because I really like having long eyelashes. I promise myself every night that I am going to grow them.. but they still seem to come out when I take my make-up off. Please, any suggestions on what to do?

I started pulling my hair when I was 3 and the reasons where cause like..my head itches and hurts but not from the outside but the inside of my sculp pulling my hair seems to make it feel better but only for a few secounds..its become to an obssesion and my hair is becoming un even =S worst part is I pull it straight from the root so it takes a while for it to grow back..Im turning 14 soon and Im starting to get a bit bald o.O so I always have to put my hair up =/ I really want to stop but it just feels so goodd. Any advice someone could give me to help it stop?

I have been pulling my hair out for about 45 years. It started when I was about 6 years old. I'm not even sure what started it. I do remember a summer day when my friend tlod me she had pulled an eyelash out and it tickled. I did it too and for some reason, I never stopped. A few weeks later, I had pretty much pulled them all out. My mother was horrified. Then, I started pulling a patch out in the back onf my head untill I had a bald spot the size of a quarter. I couldn't stop. I used eyeliner to paint a line on my eyelid to hide the missing lashes. When I started college and began to feel a tremendous amount of stress, I started pulling on both sides of head head behind the ears. The more stress I felt, the more I pulled. However, I didn't even notice it until one day I had my head down and my boyfriend noticed it and said something. I was in shock.

I thought I was crazy. Then one day when I was about 31 I was reading a magazine and noticed an artcle about hair pulling. I wasn;t crazy after all.

I have prtetty much stopped pulling my lashes. I started envisioning puting mascara on and having pretty eyes so when my hand reahed up to my id, I would pretend I was utting mascara on instead of pullng them out.

Still having problems with the hair pulling and have tried many things to stop. I've been to a therapist, taken drugs, listened to self help tapes but still have the problem. I do keep away from my lashes when I have my glasses on. I have have a also worn a hair net at home when I just hanging around and that keeps my hands aways from my hair.

What also seems to work is keeping busy. I seem to stop pulling when my hands are not idle. Sewing, working out, computer work......

I've read a lot about this disorder, believe me. And what I've read has made me feel better. We with this disorder are NOT crazy and in fact tend to be highly intelligent. Keep the faith!

im 15 and started when i was in 4th grade(?) right aroudn the time of 9/11, i was freaked out by that incident so that's where it all began, 9/11 affected more people than you think...

I only pull my eyelashes though, it's off and on for years at a time, very annoying. No one gets it when they notice, although a girl today saw it and said "whoa, you have no eyelashes, thats fucking awesome",ha.

My situation with hair pulling is a little different, I dont pull my hair out or twirl it.What I do is feel for hair that has a rough texture, then I split the split ends. Im having a hard time stopping, once I get the urge, I can go on for hours. my hair is so uneven and thin from doing this, I cant seemed to stop, Its so time consuming I will sit for long periods just splitting the ends of my hair. I even do it a work! it is so embassing

I didn't even know this was a disorder... I am almost 50 years old and I hav never pulled my hair..but when I lost my sweet sister 8 years ago I started doing it with the hairs that had "bumps' or "kinks" in them. I thought this was just hairs with too much hairspray build-up on them, so would just pull them out. But now my scapl is bothering me, and I scratch it, digging in at some places. I read about it being a "masochistic" tendency, and felt a lot fo guilt about my sisters death (was so far away, couldn't help her, etc.) so I am wondering if I feel I am "punishing" myself by doing this..it seems to happen to others so early in life, why the trigger so late in mine? What is it that makes me feel I am not worthy and deserve to be hurt? I need to get things straight with myself before this develops into a worse pattern. I usually only do it when I am siting on the couch watching TV, but don't pull out hundreds of hairs, but probably 20-30. Thanks so much for this thread.

For the younger among the posters, please get help NOW, if nothing, realize that the people that hav posted here who have had this problem for so long, are doing it in order so that you don't go through life with the same issues they have been forced to deal with all of theirs. I wish you the best. Remember, you are worth it! ~INGA

WOW! I'm not the only one who plucks the hairs on my legs. I can't help myself...it's become an obsession. I have tons and tons of deep scars because of it, now. People look at my legs and wonder "what the heck"! I'm scared to tell my doctor, but I think I better.

i used to pull out the hairs on my head, never to the point where is was noticeable at all. that has pretty much stopped but i have turned to plucking my leg hairs. After initially plucking the hairs on a large area on one of my calves many of the hairs became ingrown. This caused me to have to dig into the skin with tweezers to get the hair out. Now my leg has permanent scars but i continue to try to pull out the hairs. I feel like i need to use the tweezer to get out the ingrown hairs because shaving cannot remove them. I know that is would be better if i just let my leg heal but for some reason it is very gratifying to tweeze them out. once i sit down with the tweezers and start plucking is is very hard to stop. does anyone know why people enjoy removing hairs so much?

*i'm typing this comment at 0333am on july 1st 2008...you may correct my grammatical errors as you please

PROBLEM: i decided to express my somewhat controlled hidden/unhidden problem to the web today. is this a call for help? maybe...i can't give up the pulling yet...i am typing and pulling at the same time...the bald spot is obviously there

last month is the worst flare up of all out pulling ever. a new stress of the job is my initial trigger. my left hand automatically found its comfort zone at the crown of the scalp again but strangely at my new job (the stress-trigger). lately all i do is look at people hair and i pull it if they allow me to...i also pull my boyfriend's hair (while he sleeps) as well as my own hair.

unconsciously i look at people's hair when i talk to them, one on one and people notice that my eyes are looking at their hair. the hair is such a distraction when i'm trying engage in full eye contact with any person i'm talking to....i can't help it....i always look for the strand that doesn't belong in that particular scalp.

i think i am not an extreme case compared to the other trichs. I've been pulling for # of yrs. I pull all the time. somehow i made pulling as part of my life, i do get hair cuts not caring what the stylists say, i just move on to a different hairstylist each time, some made comments some don't (avoiding). i pluck all over my scalp but somehow maintain my long hair to look like i was not a plucker... if i overpluck one section of the scalp...i will wait for 2-3 months for that section to grow back about 1.5 inches and continue to pluck...yes, the hair grow back with split-ends for my uncontrolled plucking pleasure each time it grows back i believe that the strand becomes visibly thinner, shorter length with split ends...

shave, beat up for it, offered money to stop, wear gloves,use rubber bands, had my hands tied, bandaids, wigs, hats, psychologist sessions, meeting other trichs, support groups and trich clubs, playing with my dog's hair (the urge is not the same and yes, he still have hair), relaxation techniques, hypnosis, weights on arms, boyfriend holding the pulling hand down, switching urges for another, writing urge journal, pills, threaten by family to burn hands, received self rewards of stop pulling (didn't work), cramping of the hands and fingers (arthritis), handcuffs, and more...didn't work

one current intervention i am trying now: after my left hand started to have cramps, numbness, and tingling, my right hand tried to continue the pulling pleasure...my right hand was able to stroke each strand but unable to pull the strand. The pleasure is not the same compared to the left hand. This intervention may work...but for how long?

for 60 minutes so far (time is 0433) could this intervention be the one? i hope so...i just changed my bed linens after i type this comment...i hope i have no hair pulled strands on my linenes from now on..

It is unfortunately nice to see that others endure the same annoyance that I have suffered with for over 30 yrs now; however, now I am getting worse. I have noticed that not only am I a professional hair twirler and able to tie a knot and magically make it disappear but now I am picking at my scalp and hairline which is leaving me bleeding at times. I have also began pulling select hairs out and it seems to be the wirey ones that my fingers seem to find and pull on. One side of my hair is always longer than the other and then I have to get a few inches cut off every 8 weeks or so (and my hair does not grow fast) and my hair is getting so thin I have had people comment on it thinking I may have alopecia. I have noticed when I am upset I tend to rub my hair with my fingernail, and it will make a sound that really soothes me. The only time I need the soothling rubbing sound is when I am upset about something. I was hoping there was some sort of help for me. I noticed my eight year old had pulled out a bald spot on his head and I am sure he is getting that from me.

jennifer, your comment is exactly what i would have said about myself! im 29 and do exactly what you do for just as long. i don't know what to. ive tried meds, but they kill the sex life. i have not gone to therapy bc i have my ms in counseling and think one day i'll be able to overcome this myself and i don't want to go just yet- though i just should! it's gotten better over the yrs but it has not stopped.

I feel the exact same way!... It is nice to know that I'm not the only one and that I'm not crazy. I've been pulling out my eyebrows for about 7 years now (I'm 22 now), and my family and bf always say "Why can't you stop, you know it looks bad, just don't pull them." But they don't understand. I'll even sometimes think to myself when I get the urge "don't do it, you know it will look bad"... but I can't help it! And then once I pull one, I can't stop there. I feel like when I'm pulling my eyebrows I tend to try to pick the longer ones or ones that are straying out of line, and I get a sort of satisfaction like I just picked away a hair that didn't belong... except by the end I only have a few hairs left! It feels so good, but then I will look in the mirror afterwards and sometimes cry because of how awful it looks. One thing that has helped a little bit for me is once I can let them grow back, I trim my eyebrows with scissors all the time so that they stay short and are less likely to feel out of place.

Though my eyebrows have gotten slightly better, my hair twirling is getting worse and worse. I do it at work all the time, and it is so embarrassing. I sit next to people at desks, and when I'm concentrating on something I twirl nonstop. I can tell my coworkers notice, and I bet they say stuff abuot it when I'm not there, but I just can't stop. It's always the piece on my front forehead (like the piece that would be bangs if I had bangs). Even if I put it up in a ponytail, I will pull that section out and twirl it nonstop. I always end up with hairs that have fallen out all over my shirt and desk. The hair there is getting thinner, and there are a lot of broken pieces/regrowing shorter hairs. It's gotten so bad that I feel like there is only a few hours in a day when I'm not twirling this section of hair... and that's when my hands are busy doing something else. If my hands are not busy doing something else, then they're twirling my hair. I think it has gotten worse since I've seriously tried to stop pulling out my eybrows. Does anyone know any tips to stop the obsessive twirling???

I often pull out my hair which leaves some small bald spots i always try to stop but it aint as easy as it sounds. But no I dont dare do it any more. Because I hate feeling eembarassed of this and going through it every day. So now I made this trick where when my hand is tarting to pull I just pet my head instead of pulling it. It works!!!!!!!! IM SOOOOO HAPPY THAT I STOPED!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

When reading this article and comments towards the article I realized I am really not alone in this. I have had trich since 5th grade and im a college grad now. Its horrible. My entire family just writes it off as a "bad habit" like its something that can be stoped cold turkey. What makes it work is I have a huge history of these so called bad habits.... all products of OCD and that annoying anxiety that if i dont fullfil what my body wants... I go insane. I hate this. I hate who I am with this. So far no one has understood me, not even the psychiatrists and behavioral therapists that I have seen. no drugs work, not a single thing works. so here I am 1:30 in the morning... complaining about my trich. Does anyone know how to control this monster??? I know the article says there is no cure or control for it, but I cant live my life like this.I just cant.

I too have been pulling my hair for 13 years. I started in 10th grade and now I just turned 28. I have tried to stop countless times and it NEVER WORKS!! I think the longest I have gone is 6 months and that was a miracle! I have even gone as far as to shave my head because I thought if it grew back all nice a pretty I could start over and I wouldn't want to pull it! Well that didn't work either. Noone I know can understand why or how. My husband slaps my hand if he sees me and I've tried to explain it and tell him it won't go away, that it is a disease. I pull the ones that feel corse and wirey. I pull from all over my head, but the top in the back is my favorite spot. I literally have a hairball on the floor when I get up. I pull more when I sit down and watch TV, even when I drive the car :]. I wish I knew how to stop, but it seems impossible! In my life i don't believe it has to do with stress, otherwise I would be bald :]. It is self gratifying to pull "The wires" out of my head. The funny thing is they keep coming back wirey, who knew? LOL Sometimes I even try to talk myself out of it, but I just can't seem to let go. I can pull over 100 hairs out during a full length movie, maybe even more. I used to have the most beautiful, thick hair and now it's thin with a bunch of wirey fly aways! It's a horrible disease and I wish there was permanent help for it!!!!

Hi I'm a student of Psychoanalysis and just today after reading this article that talks among other things about this disorder ,its origin and relation with masochistic childhood mechanism of defence to avoid painful experiences and thus the feelings of depression, I decided to share this Psychoanalyst's point of view based on her patients same symptoms. Her name is Betty Joseph and her article is in The international Journal of Psychoanalysis 63:449-456.I hope it could be helpful to understand the unconscious mechanism that are hidden behind this disorder.

I have been pulling my hair out since i was 12 years old and i am know 40. Every time i think it is gonna stop and my hair starts to grow back it start all over again. I think it is even getting worse. I have also started digging at my scalp. I am sorry to hear there are not any medications to help control this. I was diagnosed with obsessive compulsive disorder when I was 21, does this have anything to do with it? I get so frustrated with myself.

When I was ten years old, my best friend let me in on a magical secret... She told me how to make wishes... Not wishes on falling stars, or Birthday candles, or pennies thrown into fountains... But on "fallen" eyelashes. She told me that the loose eyelash on my cheek was really a wish waiting to happen. All I had to do was to pick it up, make a wish, blow the eyelash away, and wait for my wish to come true! So, for the past sixteen years, I have made thousands of wishes on "fallen" eyelashes, but none have yet to come true.

This is the reality of Trich... waiting and hoping that today will be the day that you don't have the urge to pull. Maybe you'll finally have the pefect job, or finally be with the perfect person that "completes" you and takes away your urges for self destruction. For me, that day has not yet come. People do tell me that my eyelashes are beautiful, and ask me if they are real... I reply, "Yes, they are mine (well, I DID buy and pay for them at the drugstore, so technically they ARE mine!)

But, when the day is over, and I'm washing my face and brushing my teeth, I am afraid. I know that when the makeup and false lashes come off, I have to face the real me... The Me that is insecure because of something I have done to my own self. Why are anger and shame best friends? And why does my animosity towards them lead me to sabatoge myself instead of them?

During the past sixteen years, I have been to two psychiatrists, taken several different antidepressants and antianxiety medications, have a pair of gloves on my nightstand and by the TV in the living room, and have spent hundreds of dollars on gels and liquids promising to speed up hair/eyelash regrowth. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't.

You know, I may spend the next sixteen years of my life doing the exact same thing, and looking in the mirror only to find the same outcome. But you know what I have realized? When I look in the mirror, no matter how many eyelashes I can see on each eyelid, I will know that I am still fighting. With each new technique or product I try, I am telling Mr. Trich, "Hey, you know what? You haven't gotten the best of me yet!" I think that beating Trich isn't always about never pulling again. Of couse, I would love that! But, I want to know that when I get out of bed each day, I'm putting on my "boxing gloves" and I won't go down without a fight! Mr. Trich can take my eyelashes, but he cannot take ME!

Hi. I was shocked to read how many people are affected by this disease. I am 50 years old and have been pulling my hair out since I was around 11 years old off and on. That was the age when I first noticed my mother pulling at her hair. She says she was only pulling out a few grays but then I started pulling my hair out simply because it "felt good". I've been doing it off and on, hair would grow back, and then I would do it again. I have had a lot of stress in my life and it seems now the stress is back and I have been pulling it out again. I would like to know if hair stops completely growing back at some point or if it will grow back. I have several spots that I have recently pulled and feel very embarrased. I spend so much time trying to cover them up. Is there any topical medication that will assist in hair regrowth? I am seriously trying to quit but like I've read, it is such a challenge. Any input would be appreciated.

Parents please be compassionate - - Jan 26th 2008
I suffered from this disorder from the ages of 8 - 12. Im now 43, so we're talking about quite some time ago. When I was suffering, there was no internet. I also lived in a very small town in an era where the opportunity for competent/professional mental health services were virtually non-existant. To say that my parents were horrified by my behavior would be an understatement. I vividly remember my mother running to my father screaming when she first saw that I had pulled out all of my eyelashes. For the next four years, I endured extreme shame as my parents felt that public embarassment would cure me of this behavior. The damage to my self esteem, even to this day, was enormous. I felt like a freak, and my parents were incredibly embarrassed by this behavior over which I had no control. Strangely (and fortunately) for me, I (slowly) stopped pulling when I reached my early teens. Not all together, but enough that my eyelashes and eyebrows grew back to normal proportions. I'm now an extremely successful business woman with a wonderful life, but continue to deal with the emotional scars from this time period. It is a blessing that the internet enables people who suffer from this to know that they arent alone. To all parents, please be compassionate as your child needs your support more than ever if they are suffering through this terrible disorder.

I stumbled upon an article about some woman who pulled and ate hers hairs and eventually ended up in hospital for surgery to remove this huge hairball inside of her. I actually suffer from something similar, and it got me worried. Seemingly most people on here just have the hair pulling symptoms, however i also have an impulse to eat what i pull. I am literally petrified at the thought that my intestinal lining may become blocked, leading to me having serious discomfort and pains - ultimately requiring serious surgery to sort this, i cannot believe i have done this to myself. I feel utterly dirty and inferior for this habit of mine, and i really, really hope somehow the hairs ive consumed have been moved through and out of my intestines with the other contents - but hoping isnt good enough. Also, on another sidenote, ive also regularly eaten fingernails ive bitten-off since i was a child, i only investigated this after finding out about these hair pulling/eating disorders and was upset to find that these too seem to get stuck in the digestive system; for some reason i had just assumed eating fingernails was fairly commonplace, at least among young boys, and not a health hazard.

Im actually 17 now, from the UK and in my final year of college before going off to university, ive got a lot of pressure with exams and revision and coursework which i am finding a stress, and coupled with my frequent absences from class is only worsening my situation and stress. I think stress, particularly school/college and family/friends type issues is the mjaor cause of this impulse for me. I began pulling and eating around 12 or so, and after a year or 2 stopped, although since the age of about 14 or 15 i started again, how i wish i hadnt. I also suspect i may suffer with mild OCD, as i occasionally experience little quirks in my behaviour, such as an impulse to touch something or a tiny twitch - these generally last a short time, however i seem to then begin new ones.

My experience of hair pulling is different from most of those below - i tend to pull from the arms/legs/pubic line/chest and very rarely the back. Also i pull from the face if the hair lies noticably outside my normal facial hair areas - this i will continue with and am not worried about as i consider it a cosmetic activity, and is actually done with tweezers. The hairs i always target are ones which are noticably thichker and darker than normal - usually appearing on my cheeks and a few on my upper back. I pull these with tweezers and i wont stop this as it is for me cosmetic. As for the other areas, i would really like to stop pulling as its got to the stage where its almost subconscious. I also sometimes pull from my pubic area but never eat these. My pulling is not really that serious, varying between just a couple of times a day to perhaps 50 or 100. I have only once plucked to the extent that it was noticable and that was on my pubic patch, so i think that i perhaps have a mild form, brought on by anxiety or possible ocd.

My main aim is to completely stop eating hair (and nails) after i pull, as the potential consequences for my health terrify me, and after that to stop pulling any hair which is not for conscious cosmetic reasons. I think the most frustrating thing about this disorder is the feeling of helplessness. I don't know if others will agree, but it seems like the impulse for doing it is unstoppable, which is maddening on so many levels - the fact that i cannot control my own thoughts or even actions, that i have no willpower. I feel like i can stop the eating completely through my fear, and gradually curb the pulling... Good luck to others with this disorder, its good to know we don't suffer alone.

to huss. this is NOT a disease. i have this and i will have you know its NOT a disease, its a disorder. now thats done, ive had this since year 8, if you go down on these comments youll eventually find my whole story of hwo bad it is for me and stuffs. i went to my doctors, and theres no cure but you can go to a pyschciatrist, or even try hypnosis. but instead i sat down with my mum for hours brainstorming ideas cause neither of us were that happy about either two of the options my doctor gave me. we finally came up with the idea of:

wear gloves! its hard to pull at your eyelashes/eyebrows/hair wearing gloves! wear them whenever your hands will be free!

I have a less severe case than those before me. I started to pull the hairs off my legs during exam time, to "unconciously" soothe the anxiety i was suffering from. This however, became a neccessity, and i still do it today, even when im not thinking about it. I was praised as a young child for the ability to twist my arm hair into little knots, i only showed this ability about once, but i guess i was "operantly conditioned".

I study psychology, and i should therefore be able to recognise this deficit in my behaviour.

I sympathise with the people whose area of hair pulling is their head, my legs look patchy enough as it is, so i cant imagine what my head would look like if i twisted it as much as i do my legs, (probably about 500-2000 times a day), all subliminal by the way, i dont really know im doing it.

medical or masochism? - jay - Nov 20th 2007
I've heard of people pulling the hair from their heads and eyebrows but what if you get a sense of comfort from pulling hairs on other parts of your body? When I was 17 (now 29), I had completely shaved my entire body. After my hair started growing, I started pulling on my hairs on my legs, then worked my way up. I started pulling the hairs on the back by my buttocks and my privates. I had sense of satisfaction. Although my buttocks is not on display on a daily basis, I'd like to know if this is a medical condition or Am I a masochist?

ITS NOT A BAD HABIT! - JESSICA - COPIAGUE - Nov 20th 2007
I have been pulling my hair out for about 11yrs now. Its only on the middle part of my head - left side is the main side I pull from, and once in a while i will pull on the right. The feeling is unexplainable to people that do not have this - It would not feel good to me to pull my eyebrows or any other part of hair its just in two spots on my head. I find myself pulling it uncontrollably when Im driving or when the people I care about tell me to stop they can see a bald spot on my head. I wish I could stop it, because it does embarrass me tremendously, But when my family and friends look at me like Im crazy and tell me to stop,"its a habit" it upsets me even more! Iv tryed medications - many, they never worked so I stoped taking them - Im a very smart girl I dont need to take Pills to make myself feel different, expecially if it does not stop the problem. Iv tryed hipnosis which worked for about 50 days and I went right back to it,Iv been to a Trichologist office in Staten Island, I was given scalp massages their, but it does not stop the problem it only made me feel good for the time i was there, I stoped going because it just started to cost too much and was not covered by my insurance. I would love for Doctors to find something that will work - I love my hair so much, I use to have long thick hair and now it is short - beacause i cut it - but its thin - and that bothers me even more. I thought it was weird that certain hairs that I pull - like the kinky ones feel better to pull then the straight ones - but from reading everyones comments im really not alone.

Eyelashes & Eyebrows. - Andrea - Nov 14th 2007
Wow. I really thought I was the only one, too. I have been pulling my eyelashes and eyebrows out since I was in 3rd grade, or younger, and I'm 21 now. I used to lie like crazy when friends would ask me where my eyelashes were. Even at this very moment, I am sitting here messing with my eyelashes (what little I have.) On my left side, I have literally ripped out all but maybe 5 or 6 lashes. For about a month, I had grown most of my lashses back and was doing a really good job at keeping myself from plucking, but then I just always feel like something is tickling my eye, or I feel like there's something in my eye that is caused by my eyelashes, so that if I pull my eyelash out, then maybe it will stop. But, it NEVER stops and I am constantly looking stupid with no eyelashes. Has anyone found anything that has helped them with this?

You are not alone - - Nov 14th 2007
Dear all, I have been pulling for, and I cannot believe it, but 17 years.

My teen years were the hardest-please to the young ladies below, know that you are wonderful girls and are SO MUCH MORE then your hair/eyebrows/eyelashes. You are beautiful young women and please remember that your friends and family and other people at school like teachers and school counselors want you to succeed and be well. It takes telling one person what is going on with you to make it easier on yourself. you are not alone!

I have been pulling the hair on my head out since I was 10 or 11 and I am about to turn 26 in a few months. I am also bi-polar and have ocd. I didn't find out until a few years ago that it was a disease but nothing I do makes it any better. I twist and pull my hair out but the difference with me is that I only pull out the kinky hair. I can spend hours searching through my hair for the ones that feel kinky then I pull them out. They seem to mostly be on the top of my head straight down the middle part and in the front of my bangs. I've learned to hide it a little though by parting my hair different. Everywhere in my house there's huge bunches of hair. Whenever my mom catches me twisting or pulling she tells me to stop. I've tried sitting on my hands when I get the urge or doing something else with them but nothing works. I'm puerto rican and mexican and I used to have such full hair and now it's so thin and weak and uneven everywhere. for years I wouldn't even go to get my hair cut because they'd always ask me why the hair on the top of my head was so uneven and short and bald. I'm tired, embarrased, sad that I can't do anything about this. I don't want to get older and get married and have my husband find bunches of hair all over the carpet. If anyone knows a way to help please get back to me. Thank you for reading this.

Help - Huss - Oct 24th 2007
I have recently found that a friends daughter has this disease. I never new this existed until today and I have a degree in Psychology. I am trying to find a very effective way to help her with her problem. She is only six and has no hair left on her eyes or eye brow's. We are trying to figure if its depression or subconcious. With her extremely young age this is hard to determine. I would like someone to help me with a sucess story. I don't really believe in medication because of placebo and possible spontaneous recovery also the fact of side effects and such young children. I wanted to know if there is success through learning different behavior methods to cope with the disorder. I understand that this disorder is conditioned so that means it can be unlearned. Does anyone know of a successfull way to unlearn this behavior. If your reading this please don't pass the opportunity to help this young child. She is so beauiful that I feel any longer could scar her for life. Her age is young and precious. If she is depressed, when she looks in the mirror it cant help her feeling toward herself. Thanks for taking the time to help.

i have been pulling out my eyelashes since i was 7 i am now 12. i hate when i have to lie to my friends about why i dont have eyelashes!my parents get so annoye when they find out that i have pulled them again!! it fells soooo good to know that im not the only one that does it!!! my parents are always saying that they will buy me something like mascara or something so i will stop but i keep right on doing it!!

OMG - Cayla - Oct 1st 2007
Wow, reading these comments make me feel a lot better. I used to always think that I am the only person in the world who pulled and twisted my eyebrows out. I mean, its so embarassing to have eyebrows that dont even match. And I only do it when im bored or on my computer. I try to not even think about it, but I still end up doing it anyways. Ive tried to get a new habit that envolves me hands. Like twirling my hair, but not pulling it out or anything. If im doing something with my hands I dont do it, but I still get the urge to pull them out. I really need to get some help because its just embarassing and when I find out that people notice it just gets me stressed and I do it more. Are there doctors out there that can help?

tell someone! - - Sep 24th 2007
to the comment right below me, you're really lucky that you're realizing that you have a problem at such a young age. If you are only 8 years old, it is DEFINITELY NOT too late to cure your problem. Take it from me, a girl who was in the same boat at your age, and I'm now 21 still with this problem. The mistake I made was believing my parents when they said it was "just a bad habit that I would eventually grow out of". YOU CAN'T GROW OUT OF IT YOU HAVE TO BEAT IT! It can definitely be done, you just have to take the steps to cure it. And the first one is to tell someone, and get help. If you brush it off and hope that you'll eventually grow out of it, then it's only going to progress or keep reoccuring later in life. Do me a favor and get help now while you are young and I promise it will be way easier to stop rather than trying to get help when you are my age.
P.S. TRY OUT FOR THE PLAY! don't let a small issue like this stop you from your dreams. If you want to be in the play then go for it, and show off your talent. Everyone has they're insecurities and flaws, some people are depressed, some have eating disorders, it just so happens that we have a problem that people don't talk openly about. This disorder is simply an issue that you deal with, it doesn't define you and it's not who you are. You're still normal, and there are alot more people in the world that have this than you would think. Don't let an insecurity like this stop you from being happy. Try out for the play and ask your parents to take you a Trichatilamania help center. Or atleast inform them about this website and tell them that this is an actual disorder and not just a habit to grow out of. Best of luck to you and I hope this helps a little!

ive been pulling my eyebrows out ever since year 8, (last year) and mid december, up until april i was badly bullied, and the stress and depression of it all got to me, coz they were my best friends the year before, so i started pulling my eyebrows out at the frequent occasion of them bullying me online, ever since even though im friends with them again, i just keep doing it. it gives me a sense of relief and like a whole loads been lifted. i like seeing the hair on my finger nail, i dont know why it makes me feel accomplished in a way. when i found this i showed my mum, even though this fits in and explains everything, of why i just have stubble for eyebrows at the moment, but she thinks its just a bad habit, and is just when im on my computer, or get bored, and i have no support im too embarresed in a way to tell my friends, and my family reckon its a bad habit that ill grow out of. but i hate it, i do it because i was depressed, and then having no eyebrows depresses me more. then when i run out of hairs on my eyebrows, i move to my eyelashes. i need advice on how to try and stop my hands from rising to my eyebrows. because once ive got a hair out, i keep doin over and over.

i hate it, and i really want to do the school play, but i can't because i can't have a fringe in my face, and that's what covers up the nothingness.

I am with all of you in that I began pulling out my eyelashes at 21 years old for what i thought was no reason. but looking back i remember the time around when i started was when i was seeing someone in a somewhat bad relationship. i had very low self-esteem so thats the only thing i can relate it to. anyways, my problem seems only to be focused on my upper eyelashes (very rarely but occasionally ive done some of the lowers, and even more rarely some from my head..but again, its 99% an upper eyelash issue for me). I have never truly understood real addiction or compulsion until i began this 'ritual'. its like every day i say "this is the day", and there i am back again pulling and literally letting out the biggest sigh of pleasure after i do. does anyone else get why this feels so good?! i know..it feels crazy bc you wonder when your in bed late at night for hours pulling...why does it feel like heaven/excstacy when i pull? i really couldnt tell you..but i do know that when im distracted it doesnt happen. the key is not to get in a "trance"..once you pull one you cant stop. so the key is to try your hardest to get up and walk around as soon as you feel the urge.

To the Aussie girl....PLEASE GO TO YOUR SCHOOL COUNSELOR! i know you are shy, but this disorder is much more common than you might think. you arent alone! and yes, i too struggle with having to wear eyeliner every single day (with allergies and all..ugh) and i do get sad that i once was known for my beautiful lengthy lashes. i have a twin sister and sometimes i look at her and wanna cry bc. i see she has the most beautiful thick lashes and i get so sad that it could be me, and isnt. i hope one day to overcome this and i do believe i will. just dont give up! everyday is a new opportunity..you can quit..and i can do. it just takes a fight.

so please tell your parents or your counselor. they wont think your weird. i thought mind would, but yeah at first they were like "what?? thats wierd. why dont yous top?'..then they understood it was an impulse and now they support me all the way. and you arent a freak or sick or anything like that..some ppl just have this thing, but the best part is that it CAN be beat.

Best of luck to us all! I miss my lashes and i am dead set on getting them back!!!

I have been pulling my eyelashes and eyebrows out since I was about 3 and 4. I am now 14 and I my parents are not aware about this disease and I the reason I did it was because my grandfather had died when I was about 5 and then that didnt help. I do not really no what to to and I have recently made one of my friends aware. I have realised it is only when I am stressed or trying to sleep at night. My parents think I do it in my sleep, because I have not told them that I know I am doing this. Trust me I have tried to stop and I honestly do not want to be on medications. And I honestly do not want to were eyeliner/eyeshadow everyday of my life. I used to have really beautiful eyelashes. First off, it was my eyelashes and now its my eyebrows. If anyone else out there is having the same problems and has sorted it out I would appreciate if you could contact me on my email address.

I do not want to end up a Aussie girl that has no eyelashes. Please if anyone could help me.

My friend said: She would come to the school counsellor with me, but I am a shy girl and am not sure with this decision, and I will be also going to a performing arts school at the end of the year and I dont want to have a repretation their, escpecially if im gonna be acting, dancing and singing.

Its embarrassing because I have kept it for a secret my whole life and am feeling bad about it.

For a couple of years now I'm 21, I have plucked my eyebrows and its sooo embrassing and then I started plucking my eyelashes.

Then I tired to stop but in high school I would do it alot so i had to wear eye makeup and color in my eyebrows.

I hate myself everytime I see my hairs on my finger and I start getting mad at myself for doing it.

So I started searching and to see there is actually people who do this let alone a name for it I was surprised but happy I wasn't alone.

It would be nice to talk to someone who is dealing with this so if anyone would like to talk email me
or anyone who got the urge to stop