What is trichotillomania? How can I help my friend with it?

Answer 1

I had a roommate in college with Trich. She had a "less severe" case and only pulled out the hair from her eyebrows and eyelashes. Several things she asked me to do were 1) gently alert her when she started to consciously or unconsciously stroke her eyebrows. 2) study with her in the same room (I'm not sure if it's true for all those who suffer from Trich, but she never pulled when others were around) 3) I "shaped" her eyebrows for her in the morning, putting her eyebrow makeup on for her so she wouldn't have to focus on her eyes too much. She found that wearing a substantial amount of eye makeup detered her from fingering her eyes, as it would smudge and be a nusience for her to clean up.

Another thing she found helpful was to wear rubber tips on her fingers. They are normally sold at office supply stores, and are commonly used by people who handle a lot of paper/turn a lot of pages in books. They look like bumpy, rubber caps that go over the whole end of your finger. She would wear these, and if she started to unconsciously finger her eyes, she'd feel the bumps and consciously realize what she was doing. This may help your friend, if they are not aware of when they are pulling, or need something that won't let them get a grip on their hair.
The most important thing is to assure your friend that they are accepted and loved, no matter what their challenges. Good luck!

Answer 2

"Trichotillomania (TTM) is an impulse disorder that causes people to pull out the hair from their scalp, eyelashes, eyebrows, or other parts of the body, resulting in noticeable bald patches. It is currently defined as an impulse-control disorder, but there are still questions about how it should be classified. It may seem, at times, to resemble a habit, an addiction, a tic disorder or an obsessive-compulsive disorder. It is estimated to affect one to two percent of the population, or four to eleven million Americans."

See this site for more details: http://www.trich.org/

Answer 3

For medical questions, answers, etc., I go on WebMD.com or DHC.com (Discovery Health Channel). It's also handy to have a Mercks Manual (medical stuff) on hand. It is available in soft-cover (discount drug stores, general retail stores) less expensive than the hard copy version. Also cool to have is a current PDR so you can check what prescriptions you're taking or need to ask the doctor for.

Answer 4

Trichotillomaniacs pull out their own hair. It's a type of compulsive behavior, like OCD.

Suggest that your friend do other things to keep their hands busy (like squeezing a stress ball, needlepoint, or drawing), and encourage them to talk to a counsellor. There are medical therapies now that help many people with issues like this.

Answer 5

We seldom hear of that but in this country the females cut their arms for the same reasons. It is a copycat action because in Russia they want to pull their hair out till it bleeds.

Answer 6

Well, if your friend has it then don't you know what it is? You can't help your friend. She needs to see a therapist.