i've been suffering from trichotillomania since i was 12 and now i'm 18. I need help coz it's getting worse...

Question

I've tried stopping but it only lasted for a few months , then i resume pulling again. It has been like this for me since i was 12 years old but now i'm 18 and i dont want to continue being like this. I really need help coz i dont wanna live like this .. besides i'm shy and i have low self esteem because of this hair pulling disorder..I've tried all sorts of treatment from going to the psychologist and "mediums". The "mediums" said that i was possessed but i just dont believe all those craps. I am a born again Christian and i have tried praying but still i can't control my urge to pull my hair. I pull my hair and eat the hair shaft and this have been my so called "hobby". But this "hobby" of mine is turning me into an ugly girl. I have to cover my very big bald patches by wearing a scarf all the time when i go out and to school too. I've been to a psychologist and he said it was stress related but now i think it's my bad habit coz i keep putting my hands on my head and pull my hair.

Answer 1

You've done the doctors, and the mediums. Now it's time to do yourself. YOU have got to break the habit. You've only been doing it for 6 years. Think about all the people who have smoked for 30-40 years and quit. Think about all the people who give up drinking, drugs, etc., etc. Somehow, somewhere along the line they just DUG IN and did it. If they can break their habits, you can too.

You're absolutely right about your behavior having become a habit. Trichotillomania is a stress relieving behavior, but only by distraction. It does absolutely nothing to reduce stress causing factors. It may have done when you were younger, but now that you're older, more independent, and able to control some of your environment, its uselessness is becoming apparent. So... now you're left with the habit, and the additional stress of how it effects your appearance.

You've got to fight off the urge, or voice in your head that makes your reach for your hair. You've got to learn to tune it out. You've got to tell it you don't like what it's doing to you, and that you won't help it or listen to it, because it makes you feel bad afterward. Then you've got to mentally fight the urge EVERY time your hand starts moving toward your hair. That's not going to automatically make it stop, but each time you do it, you make that urge a little weaker. The time between when you feel the urge gets longer. Eventually, the urge becomes so weak, it isn't hard to fight off at all. It's going to be a war. A war you'll win one small battle at a time... if you're up for the fight.

Answer 2

Ok first things first.... I agree that you're not possessed.

I've been pulling my hair since I was 6 (I'm 25 now) and though I have no eyelashes and no eyebrows, I have my hair on my head again (yay!)

I tried the whole antidepressants route, which was a miserable and utter failure. They made me sick to my stomach, which made me irritable, which made me frustrated, and it went downhill from there and compounded the problem.

Then one day it occurred to me that I'm getting very frustrated right when I'm going to pull my hair out. Then I thought to myself, "What do they give to people who have uncontrollable frustration all of a sudden?" The answer is... Xanax. What is is for? It's for panic. Why did I come to this conclusion? Not a freakin clue.

But anyways, I talked to my doctor about it, and she thought it was a novel idea, and we tried it. First we tried the regular dosage of Xanax, but that only worked when I was having "pulling fits." (Those days when you feel like plucking youself entirely bald.)

So she suggested Xanax XR which is Xanax, but in an extended release form, so you get the same dosage, just over 24 hours. This was an absolute godsend. Not the "I'm not longer possessed" type of godsend, but still pretty darn good.

The habit therapy thing is pretty useless after you've been pulling for so many years - it's really more effective for people who have just started. At this point, the only words of wisdom I have for you are that there are many worse things in the world that could be wrong with you. After all, it's only hair, it always grows back. (So hey, you can always pull it again too, so there's perk!) And being ladies, we're always awesome at hair and makeup, so guys are usually too obtuse to notice anyhow.

So enjoy life for what it is - you only get one.
Good luck kiddo!

~jaime

Answer 3

Once a trichotillomaniac, always a trich.... I'm 43 years old & still have the habit. It's virtually impossible to break, because your hair, is, well, always there...

I've stopped for as long as three years, grown a magnificent head of long, long hair, then relapsed & pulled it all out.

If you've begun covering your head, might as well go ahead & shave. I did it myself a few times, and it's liberating to suddenly have no hair to pull. It will look awful for about two months, until you have grown new roots all over your head. As soon as you have hair everywhere, no matter how short, you can toss all those scarves & hats. How does that sound?

From then on, keep your hair short. If you can, try to get it cut regularly, _before_ it gets long enough for you to grasp and pull.

Stop torturing yourself. Forget underlying causes, demons, or meds. In the end, nothing really works, long term, except what I just said. Learn to love yourself with short hair (believe me, you'll look much better with a full head of short hair than with bald patches) & keep it that way for life. There are worse things than short hair.

Answer 4

This sounds like you are using it as a coping mechanism. Now its become a bad habit. Since you are a believer I will tell you that going to a medium is like asking the devil how to be good. You're not alone in this struggle and may have seemly lost your focus in coping; if i was with you now, as a praying Christian i would prophesy over you that inside where beliefs lie deep, you have strong self hatred - channeling it onto yourself. You are called to Greatness, that is why you were born with extra sensitivity to care more, feel more - it's not a curse.

BUT say.. you have A mother whose criticial yet we are told not to openly thwart religious leaders.. they are good.. we will turn on ourselves, we must be the bad one. There's a small girl inside you who needs to have prayer from a very strong prophetic person, maybe your pastor.. I would hold you and stroke your hair - asking God to go deep.. into the roots, rejection and anger are what I see around you.

This can stop when you see it is a dark thing be it a demon or not.. you have Christ inside you - so get strong and know HIM read Ephesians chapter 6, middle of it starts to talk about how we
are facing strongholds driven by these strongmen, fallen angels. Principalities in high places right? You will overcome
I see you receiving God's answer and light.. love has to
be let into your heart where there's deep hidden passion for destroying yourself.. that's the force God will break it. You have to ask for help, get prayer.. covering while you fight back and know, you have the power to destroy this dark thing. Like supergirl, your charged up if you will by the presence of God who resides in you.

Call me anytime, I'll listen because i think you need to talk more and that will help you cope with heavy burdens you're not able to articulate - therefore your acting out. Does this sound right?

Answer 5

Go and see a good hypnotherapist and they should be able to deal with this behaviour. This is a learned behaviour since it began at the age of 12. A hypnotherapist should be able to locate and remove the cause. By the way, don't be surprised if the cause was actually earlier than age 12. Often cause and onset of behaviour are not the same timeframe. See link for more info. Warm Regards, David

Answer 6

You said you have been to a psychologist, but have you gone to a psychiatrist or other medical doctor? I think you will probably need to be on medication to control the urge.

Answer 7

i got same issue see if u can get on medication for it and vitamins and keep urself busy wear wigs and all for now til and see a beautician to get protein in ur hair . and keep ur hands busy with something else and it should help and its an imbalance of the brain

Answer 8

Shave your head. You are not allowed to have hair until the urge subsides.

Answer 9

This behavior of your comes from the reactive mind in which all negative energy is contained and gives you unexplainable compulsions

Answer 10

damn just dont pull ur hair