# Trichotillomania



## cmr (Apr 8, 2010)

Trichotillomania is a mental disorder that causes people to have strong urges to pull hair out. I got this when I was 10 or 11 due to some stress, and have had it ever since. When it started, I'd pull out hairs from the crown of my head, and then examine them closely. I'd search for hairs that didn't feel "right" and then pluck them out. I would literally sit in the same spot for hours reading or watching TV just searching for and pulling out hairs. I also liked the sensation when I'd pull one out, it felt good. 

Then I got a big bald spot on the top of my head when I was 11 and so stopped. It then turned into searching for split ends and other hairs that weren't "right" and biting or snipping them off at the point where the split end or whatever started. I've been doing that ever since, it's a stress reliever for me. I also recently started plucking out ingrown hairs on my legs with tweezers because I like the way it feels. I'm glad I was able to stop pulling out my head hair, but it still is like an obsessive thing that is hard to resist.

Is anyone else here a "Trichster?"


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## flinty (Apr 11, 2009)

i have been pulling out my hair on my scalp for years and years. it sucks. i have times when i don't think about doing it....but, then out of nowhere, i start pulling. i usually pull out the hair in the back of my scalp, or behind my ears. 

i had a stylist one time who yelled at me for pullling my hair out. he started pulling my hair where i part my hair. he told me he wasn't gonna stop until i promised not to do it again. YIKES> i thought he was kinda crazy for doing that. and, it didn't help me to stop. 

i find that i pull my hair when i'm OCD'ing about something. it took a long time to figure this out....cuz it kinda comes naturally. 

and, i have no idea how to stop it....or how to treat it ???


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## izzy (Dec 18, 2009)

Blu said:


> I don't know if what I have is this or OCD. I used to pull out my hair, back when I had long hair. Aside from pulling it, I also felt like I HAD to count every hair I pulled out. I also saved every hair. This became a huge problem so I had to cut my hair short.
> 
> Now my hair pulling has moved to my arms and legs using tweezers, just like you described it


I've never really considered if I had this, but I've always picked at things on my body. I used to get a nail clipper and cut off the on the bottom of my feet. Now I peel the hangnails and skin off around my nails, even though it'll sometimes make me bleed. I also pluck the hairs on my legs, and I've started to kinda dig into my skin to get the very start of the hair.


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## RobAlister (Apr 4, 2010)

I pull at my hair when it gets long but I don't think it's because of this or OCD. It's more of a habit.


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## Justonekitty (Apr 12, 2010)

I have trich. Ive been pulling since college. With stress it gets worse. I am getting a small bald spot. The only time I stopped pulling was when I was on Prozac. It was prescribed for depression but it didnt work for it, but it stopped my pulling. It was not covered by my insurance at the time so I had to stop buying it.


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## cmr (Apr 8, 2010)

Flinty, that stylist sounded freaky.. What a jerk. 

I've heard that medication can help Trich, but I've been on both Effexor XR and citalopram and didn't notice any change. Supposedly, counseling can help, but I've never tried it.


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## Links (Dec 30, 2006)

I have Trichotillomania and I'm hoping to have therapy for this soon. I don't pull scalp hair out much, mainly body, eyebrow and eyelash hair. Having missing hair doesn't help with my confidence or SA much. If you ever wanted to talk about Trich just send me a PM.


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## xtina (Jan 3, 2010)

i had bald spots as a child.
it went dormant for awhile until an event about 3 years ago. when i was young, i pulled out chunks at a time but now i search for rough/coarse hairs. i also like the sensation, the slight pain. i'm starting to get bald spots again...my hair is becoming unhealthy and thin :/ my hair sheds a lot anyway, so that only speeds up the process. ugh.
all i want is a head full of long, healthy, luxurious hair...


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## Deorah (Apr 12, 2010)

I don't but my dd who is 10 does she's been doing it since she was 6. It started with her eyelashes and migrated to her scalp she says that her head itches and it feels good when she does it. we just recently found out that she was molested by her Nana and I think that is a major contributor to her trichtotillomania. I've also heard it's genetic someone correct me if I'm wrong.


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## Radattack (Apr 19, 2010)

I think I have this! I used to pick at my scalp intensely, but then when my boyfriend made me stop, I started pulling out the hair on my body with tweezers. I had to limit myself to only doing it twice a day; otherwise I would spend a significant portion of my time plucking hair out, and no studying would get done!


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## Brit90 (Apr 30, 2010)

I've had this since about middle school and it really, really blows. But, I think as the years go by, I'm really starting to move past it, which I'm really happy about. 

I think through my younger years, I always thought that Trich was something that you could simply NOT get over, but seeing over all improvement from other people and myself is really making me believe otherwise.


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## AHolivier (Aug 6, 2009)

Yes, I began to obsess over pulling out my eyelashes and eyebrow hair. Even select body hair thanks to a mixture of extreme stress or dare I say boredom? At Thanksgiving one year, I was in bed watching a movie and by the time the movie had ended, I had bald spots from removing eyelashes, and I barely had any recollection of ever pulling them out.


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## cmr (Apr 8, 2010)

Deorah said:


> I've also heard it's genetic someone correct me if I'm wrong.


It is.. My mom has had it for a long time, and still gets bald patches from pulling hair out. My sister also got a bald spot from doing it.


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## mardy423 (Aug 27, 2008)

I have Trichotillomania. I've had it since I was about 8 i think. It really got bad when I was in high school. There were days I just would not go to school because of my hair and bald spots. Kids would always ask if I had cancer or what was wrong with me..really hurt my feelings. I got put in school conseling , I saw a therpist once a month, got put on meds. Of course all the meds did where help my anxiety, I could never stop pulling. Though one day in conseling..I met a girl who also had Trich...we became really good friends and dated for about 3 years. That has been the only good thing to come from me having trich. I now just shave my head so I can't pull it.


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## viciousdelicious (Oct 28, 2009)

I have it. It started when I was about 11, I recall sitting in school and tying small ends (~1/2 cm) of my hair into knots and then pulling it out. At the end of class there would be a pile of hair on my desk and on the floor around my seat. I completely stopped doing it for several years, but when I experienced some trauma at the end of 8th grade (when I was almost 14) it began again with a vengeance.
Now, 5 years later, it still plagues me. It really comes out when I am stressed, anxious, or thinking really hard about something. I used to be able to control it with Lorazepam when I was prescribed it for panic attacks. 
I can sit in front of the TV or computer for hours on end until my arms are sore, doing nothing but examining my hair for split ends, and pulling the split ends apart. It gives me this relaxing feeling when I pull it out, as well as when I find a hair that is split multiple times or in multiple places.
I have become really self conscious about it lately, because as a female I have really, long hair and I can feel that it is very very thin now, probably less than 2/3rds of the volume it used to be. Nobody really has said anything about it but I feel like people do notice. When my hair is wet I can definitely notice some bald spots. 
Since I don't pull out full hairs, just the ends, the ends of my hair are totally shredded, uneven, and dead. I don't even want to go to the salon to get it fixed because I'm nervous the stylist will ask what happened to my hair. I've even considered getting extensions to increase the volume of my hair, but that alone won't stop the trich. It's really been bugging me lately :/ at least I am not alone. Talking about it in this comment is making me want to do it. It's a compulsion. I hate it.


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## debra6623 (Jan 5, 2011)

I had trich pretty bad when I was around 10. I had a bald spot at the top of my head and I think at the sides. Sometimes, it would go away then sometimes it would come back. At 32 I've noticed that I still pull at my hair pretty often but I don't pull it out and get big bald spots anymore.


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## layitontheline (Aug 19, 2009)

I don't know if I have this but I have become a bit obsessed with plucking hairs. I've never had a desire to do my scalp thank goodness, but I sometimes spend hours obsessively plucking any hair I can find on my legs and dig for ones that haven't even surfaced. I've also done it on my arms and stomach but that proved to be unsatisfying due to having almost no hair there to begin with.


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## Morsmordre (Jan 6, 2011)

I have trichotillomania, as well. I have a bald spot on the side of my head, near the top. It can't really be seen unless I put my hair up or in a pony tail. However, when it is in a pony tail I feel it is very easily noticed. I have even put pencil eyeliner around the area and rubbed it in to make my scalp look less bare. 

I aim to stop doing this, but it's just such an easy thing to do. I tend to do it whenever I'm watching tv. When I don't do it I feel this need almost like a tingling on my head like "PULL ME PULL ME". :/ 

In order to stop I usually try to keep both hands busy or even sit on one of my hands so that I do not pull. I aim to stop this because the bald spot keeps getting bigger and it's becoming embarassing to me regardless of if other people notice or not.


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## tigrotti (Jan 10, 2011)

Radattack said:


> I think I have this! I used to pick at my scalp intensely, but then when my boyfriend made me stop, I started pulling out the hair on my body with tweezers. I had to limit myself to only doing it twice a day; otherwise I would spend a significant portion of my time plucking hair out, and no studying would get done!


I have had this problem since 4th or 5th grade! I always tell myself not to scratch/pick at my scalp, but I always end up doing it and hating myself for it later. I also get a little OCD about plucking facial hair, and picking at the skin around my fingernails. That last one is something my mother does, and I've wondered if it's genetic? I fidget with my hands a lot. Why does my anxiety manifest itself in the my fingers?


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## spaceygirl (Dec 4, 2009)

izzy said:


> I've never really considered if I had this, but I've always picked at things on my body. I used to get a nail clipper and cut off the on the bottom of my feet. Now I peel the hangnails and skin off around my nails, even though it'll sometimes make me bleed. I also pluck the hairs on my legs, and I've started to kinda dig into my skin to get the very start of the hair.


izzy you sound just like me! I definitely have trich, probably a "mild" case whatever that may be. I too can sit for hours pulling out the rough/course hairs on my head and it feels so satisfying to be able to pull a really bad one out. I also use nail clippers to cut the skin around my finer and toe nails and the bottoms of my feet, and I know exactly what you mean by digging into the skin to get the start of the hair (like those little seeds of hair before the hair starts growing). I will spend an hour plus just popping those little things out of my leg with my fingernails.

I used to have really bad picking on my face too, but its decreased somewhat as I`ve grown older as I don`t get as many pimples. Every once and awhile I`ll have a good pick session though then really regret it the next day when my face is red and blotchy and I have to wear five layers of foundation and cover-up.

As for treatment, SSRIS don`t work for me, I`d imagine s¸ome kind of therapy would probably be best if its severe enough to interfere with one`s daily life. I am sure that anxiety, depression, low self-esteem, perfectionism etc all contribute so probably identifying and treating these root causes as well.

Good luck everyone


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## Liana (Jan 31, 2011)

I obsessively pluck my pubic hair. I will do it for hours until I have a crick in my neck. I was sexually abused as a kid, and I don't know if this is related to that.


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## softshock11 (Jan 9, 2011)

I'm a tricho!
It's hard because i'm in denial about it.
I had really uneven short hair through out middle school and it was just really hard for other people to understand. People thought I had cancer.

I started when i was 11 maybe just turned 12. Im not sure what could have caused me to start doing it...there a number of reasons i was stressed but i cant pin point which one.

i like to pluck it and i chew that little follicle that some of them still have on them.


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## Slogger (Dec 14, 2010)

spaceygirl said:


> I used to have really bad picking on my face too, but its decreased somewhat as I`ve grown older as I don`t get as many pimples. Every once and awhile I`ll have a good pick session though then really regret it the next day when my face is red and blotchy and I have to wear five layers of foundation and cover-up.


I have this problem, too, it's called dermatillomania. Mine also has decreased with age. I know someone else who has it as well.

When I was younger and it was worse, I found out that a thick coat of Noxema on the skin after a pick session helped decrease the redness the next day. Maybe that would work for other people, too.


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## Betsyw (Dec 18, 2011)

*Need a little help*

Hey everyone, my name is Betsy. I am currently a senior in college. For my internship project, I am going to be doing some presentations for hair stylists, salons, and beauty schools. The presentation will be to educate hair stylists about Trichotillomania & help them to better understand their clients. Before I start doing the presentations, I am trying to gather some anonymous data from those who suffer from Trichs.

I am trying to get a minimum of 100 responses by the end of December; and, I currently have 43.

This is an anonymous survey & no one's information will be identified. If you could possibly fill this out, I would really appreciate it. Also, if you know of others with TTM, please pass this along to them as well.

Thanks!!

Here is the link: https://qtrial.qualtrics.com/SE/?SID=SV_7VSNxBSkoLLURrS


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## msfreehugz (Nov 6, 2012)

im 13 years old, i dont know if i have trichotillomania, but for a while i realized i was pulling out hairs that felt rough or course..it doesnt help that i have curly jew hair..good thing i have very thick hair, so i havent gotten any bald spots. but its annoying because now that the new hairs are growing in, they stick up because theyre short..i find myself pulling at my hair if im not doing something with my hands. if i have a stress ball or if i knit it helps me focus better in school and not mess with my hair.


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## Revenwyn (Apr 11, 2011)

msfreehugz said:


> im 13 years old, i dont know if i have trichotillomania, but for a while i realized i was pulling out hairs that felt rough or course..it doesnt help that i have curly jew hair..good thing i have very thick hair, so i havent gotten any bald spots. but its annoying because now that the new hairs are growing in, they stick up because theyre short..i find myself pulling at my hair if im not doing something with my hands. if i have a stress ball or if i knit it helps me focus better in school and not mess with my hair.


Yep, that is classic Trichotillomania. I have suffered from it for the past eighteen years. It will be 19 years in April, so since I was 11. I lost all my hair when I was 13 due to it and have not been able to grow it back since.


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## ilana (Nov 5, 2012)

I've had this since I was 12. (Have they worked out why it tends to start around this age for so many people yet?) I pull from my head, but there were a couple times when I would have bald eyelashes and eyebrows too. 

I was lucky in that I knew a couple people who had the same thing at my school. Medication and CBT did nothing for me. It was tiring spending so much time in the morning styling my hair so that people couldn't see any bald spots. It's why I'm still slightly paranoid that other people are looking at me when I go out. Boy, was I jealous of other girls' hair... 

I still have it, but my hair is long and thick now and I only have one smallish spot that I still pick at. I also bite my nails regularly and occasionally pick at my skin. I was full of nervous habits when I was a child and still kinda am. 

I feel like I could write a book about it because it's such a deeply complex and complicated behaviour that I've spent so long thinking about, but I don't want to seem full of myself.


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## Revenwyn (Apr 11, 2011)

ilana said:


> I've had this since I was 12. (Have they worked out why it tends to start around this age for so many people yet?) I pull from my head, but there were a couple times when I would have bald eyelashes and eyebrows too.
> 
> I was lucky in that I knew a couple people who had the same thing at my school. Medication and CBT did nothing for me. It was tiring spending so much time in the morning styling my hair so that people couldn't see any bald spots. It's why I'm still slightly paranoid that other people are looking at me when I go out. Boy, was I jealous of other girls' hair...
> 
> ...


I don't know if they have worked out why it starts around that age (some suffer a bout around 4 or 5 as well and forget about the behavior before they start again at 11-13... I did.) But yeah I hear you. I have never as much as been able to contain my pulling to one area. I try to keep buzzed otherwise I can start pulling if my hair is as much as 1/4 inch long. I also have bitten fingernails and pick at scabs.

I was lucky enough to grow up about 45 minutes away from the Trichotillomania Learning Center, and I went there periodically. Apparently I am in the top 5 worst cases they have ever seen. (I pull from all areas of my body, though primarily my scalp, until they're as bald and soft as a snail out of its shell.)

Unlike many women with trich I am unable to disguise my condition with makeup, as I am allergic to it (all kinds, even natural.) The most makeup I can wear is lipstick. I do wear wigs but cannot afford really good ones, and they often don't fit too well since the back of my head is rather flat in comparison to most.

If you wish a little more privacy in talking about issues with trich, I started a social group here on SAS for it. People not in the group cannot see discussions in it, and members have to be approved first.

http://www.socialanxietysupport.com/forum/groups/trichotillomania-and-dermatillomania-473/


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## Lacking Serotonin (Nov 18, 2012)

I used to pull my hair up until high school. I remember taller kids would ask me why I had a bald spot. Even temporarily on the bald spot the hair grew in a different color!


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## fumimarie (Dec 15, 2013)

I've suffered since my preteens.. It was after my parents' divorce and the stress afterwards I believe which is what triggered it. Mine is under control somewhat as I only have a small bald spot the top of my head I can't let grow out.. But I had it worse in the past.


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## Lacking Serotonin (Nov 18, 2012)

mark101 said:


> I've started on my ****ing head hair this week and there is no going back. I wonder how long before I have bald patches. :|


I've kinda just stopped on my own somehow, but sometimes when I get really stressed I go back to scratching the spot I use to pluck as a kid. Have you researched on alleviating the scratching or therapy?


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## sarafinanickelbocker (May 16, 2010)

Probably not. I have a tendancy to pull my eyebrows out until there is a bald spot and to chew at the end of my hair. Aside from that no.

I had a friend that pulled her hair out from the top of her head until she was nearly bald (and then colored it in). Had to defend her a couple times (I had friends that thought she did it on a dare or that had some strange problem with it.) She didn't seem to have life problems, because of it though...lived a normalish life...don't honestly know...



Don't know what to say. Take care though.​


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## Senpai (Sep 20, 2013)

I got a nose piercing which has helped me a bit, having something else to focus my fidgeting on.

Not sure if I mentioned this before, but have you tried waxing your eyebrows frequently? If it's coarse/thick hairs that bother you, or hairs that feel like they don't belong, waxing them often can kind of help with that. For me I just hate getting them waxed because the person always says something ignorant about my hair pulling..


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## Lacking Serotonin (Nov 18, 2012)

mark101 said:


> Not really, I mentioned it to my therapist but she said there wouldn't be time to address it on top of all my other problems.
> Googling stuff is a minefield so just thought I'd ask here to see if anyone had any tips.


It's probably not relevant, but my therapist taught me a DBT distraction technique to use whenever I thought about drugs, but never used it because I still wanted to use, anyways she said to lay down and put a bag of frozen vegetables on my forehead for 10 minutes. So I don't know if it helps or if it's even relevant to trichotillomania and are you aware when you do it? I've heard being more aware of the picking helps.


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## endymionshawk (Jan 15, 2014)

Senpai said:


> I got a nose piercing which has helped me a bit, having something else to focus my fidgeting on.





Lacking Serotonin said:


> she said to lay down and put a bag of frozen vegetables on my forehead for 10 minutes.


There's a lot of coping methods like these that people with derma or trich can try. Personally, I have dermatillomania, and I bought some therapy putty (thicker silly putty) to play with instead of picking.
A lot of people get those rubber balls that have stringies on them, so you can pull them and they snap back. 
Ice is also a common coping technique for self-harm. Get a package of something frozen and put it where your going to harm yourself (your hair, your skin, etc.) it might help soothe that ache to do the Thing.
Sometimes I use facial peels. Sooo satisfying, also cleans your pores 
I also wear thin linen gloves, which really helps when you do the Thing without noticing.
For derma, you could try moisturizing instead of picking. Maybe with trich, brushing your hair instead of pulling it would help.

I hope any of these ideas help someone!


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## endymionshawk (Jan 15, 2014)

Addendum: Apparently the stringy rubber balls are called Koosh Balls.


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## TheObserver (Jan 15, 2014)

I knew I couldn't be alone in this, not that it's a good thing. I don't believe I've met anyone who I suspected as having trich. Certainly not to our extent anyway. And yes it sucks.



mark101 said:


> It varies, I beat myself up a lot when I go take a look in the mirror and swear to myself I'm not going to do it but I forget that feeling really quick.
> Sometimes I am aware I'm doing it but if I've already zeroed in on a particular hair that needs to come out, I can't not pull it or it will bother me all day.
> Other times I'll be deep in thought about something or daydreaming in a trance like state and I'll be pulling or just stroking a thick hair without realising what I'm doing till I snap out of it.


I'm exactly like you. My focus is on the back of my head, at the bottom. I buzz my head to try and hide it but people still notice a big, obvious bald spot. I have, and constantly wear, a bunch of sweaters with hoods to hide this.

As I write this I can feel those certain hairs wanting to be stroked and picked.. I have no idea why this habit started specifically out of nowhere (4-5 years ago), and why it continues to happen.

I feel _*extremely guilty*_ for this bad habit and wish I could just stop. Any tips or guidance is greatly appreciated. I'll answer any questions to serve the purpose of helping anyone with this problem.


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## MrKappa (Mar 18, 2013)

A few theories.

Could be a microbiological issue where behavior is just crazy random. What are your allergies like?

Could be a high strung anxiety issue due to a chemical imbalance, like meth heads who pick at their skin.

It could also be the nervous system stripped to the bare, and reacting strangely. What is your overall health, eating habits, and vitamin intake like?

Could be a "kink" so to speak in your biology somewhere, maybe cleaning it out with an anti-convulsant is an option? You know, cleaning out the pipes, so to speak. I know little about anti-convulsants, or all the different mechanisms of action they may have.

Asking, because this is interesting to me.

Here is a thread about how mild anti-convulsants may have cured my anxious nail biting habit.

http://www.socialanxietysupport.com/forum/f30/nail-biting-and-anti-convulsants-810553/

I was habitual for years and years, then one day it stopped. A few things happened around that period in my life, so I can't absolutely pin it on anti-consultants only, but at least one guy shares a similar experience.


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## MrKappa (Mar 18, 2013)

Well, I imagine anti-convulsants might have any number of mechanisms, and normally they treat things like myoclonic tics, or twitching in the nervous system.

Me personally, I'm a bit of a lunatic these days, so I don't want to scare you or anything, but yeah, do you have cats? I mean is that a picture of you? You look very gothic, but naturally like perhaps you have a low functioning immunosystem.

There doesn't seem to be much on the web in reference to a cure, and I am unfamiliar with the hair pulling behaviour, but perhaps this reported cure is a look at what might be happening?

http://content.time.com/time/health/article/0,8599,1909704,00.html



> But a paper published this week in the prestigious Archives of General Psychiatry offers a simple new hope for trichotillomania sufferers. In a small trial of 50 hair pullers, more than half of those who took an over-the-counter antioxidant called N-acetylcysteine, which is available in pill form at mainstream stores like GNC and Vitamin Shoppe, had improvement of symptoms after 12 weeks, compared with 16% of those taking a placebo.


So there is probably at least a 16% chance you have learned this behavior and it is curable with some will power and perhaps some psychiatry to get to the *root* of the matter.

Anyways, article says...



> "Some of these people are not even aware they are pulling their hair. Their spouses will say, 'Stop that,' and they are not even aware they have a clump of hair on their lap."


So do you ever day dream and pull your hair out, unknowingly? I mean do you feel the onset is getting worse over time? I know very little about the disorder.


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## MrKappa (Mar 18, 2013)

Yeah, I'm battling the bipolar/depression/skitzo/psychosis thing, so. Everything looks totally fukin crazy to me. Crossing my fingers that my immunosystem cleanse doesn't reduce me to a drooling fool. So much to learn.

Anyways, yeah the anti-convulsants, specifically the one I suspect made a difference, improved blood/oxygen supply to the brain, in a deep, nourishing way. There is only one other person on the planet that seems to share a similar experiences with the anti-convulsant, Lamictal, so far, and that's different from the one I used.

Okay, so there are probably a few...

http://www.crazyboards.org/forums/index.php/topic/6271-wonder-nails-with-lamictal/

Unfortunately I don't know enough about "seizure disorders", and the nervous system to know if there is any relation between trichotillomania and dermatophagia.


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## mornings (Jan 21, 2014)

For all of you here that are discussing treatment, here a nice read about trich treatment methods - covers all that's currently out there to date.


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## Revenwyn (Apr 11, 2011)

N-acetylcysteine didn't help me at all. I have one of the worst known cases of the disorder. I have had it for 20 years of my life now with not a single day pull free. I have been completely bald since I was 13, I have no eyebrows, eyelashes, leg hair, arm hair, etc. Anywhere there is hair, it gets pulled out.


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## Revenwyn (Apr 11, 2011)

mark101 said:


> Can you put yours down to anything bad happening/or start at a particularly stressful time in your life?


It happened the day after I was put on Ritalin.


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## Revenwyn (Apr 11, 2011)

mark101 said:


> Revenwyn said:
> 
> 
> > It happened the day after I was put on Ritalin.[/QUOTE.]
> ...


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## MrKappa (Mar 18, 2013)

They say people on Ritalin for extended periods of time run the risk of Priapism, which is most likely a side effect of increasing nitric oxide levels in the system.

What is your nutrition like? Are you all around healthy and getting plenty of oxygen into your system, or do you find yourself drinking alcohol alot?

I mean, let's be honest, this hair pulling is totally bizarre, and without medical cure, so what might the causes be that lead to hair pulling? Maybe you have a micro-biological issue and a weakened immune system is failing to curtail it, in the meanwhile some of the other drugs through potential misdiagnosis have helped weaken your immune system or change your system in a way that leads to an imbalance in the immune system where your hidden disorder might thrive? Might sound horrible to some, but let's face it, I've probably got a millennium or few worth of evolved micro-organisms in my system, which are probably well adapted and beneficial, and others that are probably too annoying, and yeah, in my case some of them are a nuisance to my well being.

Here, this is natures way of saying medicine and industrialization is not always the right path.

http://www.orthomolecular.org/library/jom/2004/pdf/2004-v19n01-p048.pdf

Right? A long list of mis diagnosis, and hundreds of potentially immunosystem damaging drugs, which lead to a good environment for a micro-flora imbalance (only a possibility).

In that document, that girl was cured and on her way with lifestyle changes, not much else. Boosting the immune system.

I'm on a theroetical kick right now, that many disorders are micro-biological, so don't mind this if you disagree too much with it. Consider it though.

The first wave of anti-psychotics were a derivative of Pepper, an ancient anti-septic cure. Pepper cleans the system. I am no chemist, so verifying how much Pepper is truly involved in the manufacturer of this substance is entirely questionable. You can see it's successful SSRI medicine currently as well.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Piperidine

So maybe some anti-septics are in order? What did ancient people do when people started pulling their hair? Maybe they found a cure?

Anyways, do you gain relief when you drink alcohol, or do you find it worsens? Maybe simple things like this will tell you if your system is reacting, or flaring up with the addition, or reduction of oxygen. Micro-biology will flourish in alcohol/oxygen deprived environments every much as oxygen rich environments, but seeing as the human body is largely oxygen based, it might be wise to consider increasing your oxygen capacity, metabolism and immune system. Simple concepts like that.


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## Revenwyn (Apr 11, 2011)

MrKappa said:


> They say people on Ritalin for extended periods of time run the risk of Priapism, which is most likely a side effect of increasing nitric oxide levels in the system.
> 
> What is your nutrition like? Are you all around healthy and getting plenty of oxygen into your system, or do you find yourself drinking alcohol alot?
> 
> ...


After a series of medicines lasting maybe two years my family did go an all-natural route. In fact, they went all the way to raw food vegan. My case of trich is different than any other known version, it appears to be more related to Tourette's syndrome than an OCD or self harm disorder. I also have minor facial tics.

Also, trichotillomania is largely genetic. I do not know if any of my biological family has it, because I am adopted and both of my birth parents were addicts who drank and doped themselves to death.


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## MrKappa (Mar 18, 2013)

The drugs you were on for two years, were they anti-convulsants? I brought them up I think a page or two back where people experienced temporarily relief from nail biting with lamictal. My nail biting stopped entirely after the summer after steady use with what is technically called an anti-convulsant and is used on very few countries which prescribe it for myclonic tics. Around the same time, I got a hefty dose of anti-psychotics, one time, around that period, so tbh, it's a mess trying to figure out exactly how my nail biting stopped. I was a chronic nail biter, then one day, it just stopped, I looked down at my hands and they had grown long nails, and I was shocked to think I didn't chew them off. Been almost a year now. Occasional minor urge, but yeah... totally cured.

Fairly convinced it was the anticonvulsants though, seeing as other report similar experiences with the same class of drugs.

Technically I don't know exactly how all anti-convulsants work, but mine are said to promote deep oxygen/blood circulation in the system with an unknown mechanism of action, or something like that.

Honestly, I don't believe much of the stuff say about things being genetic, especially from clinical studies that observe families and trends without any science to back it up. Social sciences can mistake a family situation, living condition, culture, and so on, as some sort of genetic trait when it may be hereditary upbringing.

I was adopted as well. So I sort of understand how not being able to trace issues back through blood lines is confusing, but it's liberating in terms of nailing down a symptom and cause. Everything is "genetics" these days. Truth is, and I am no geneticist, if it was genetic, then they'd know the gene responsible for it, and be that much closer and specific about probable cures. Only my opinion.


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## Revenwyn (Apr 11, 2011)

No clue, but I can list them.

Ritalin
Dexedrine
Cylert
Buspar
Wellbutrin
Paxil

Not all at the same time of course. Wellbutrin gave me an interesting effect. It acted kinda like a steroid, and made me able to lift immense weights.


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## MrKappa (Mar 18, 2013)

Yeah those look like anxiolytics for ADHD. The general disorder I am referring to is...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Myoclonus

Where are you? In Britain? If you are in Britain or Japan, ask about this... that's what I was on... it's prescription medicine there. You can get it mail order otherwise. It is both referenced as an anti-convulsant and anxiolytic by many.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/8914096

Unfortunately I am no pharmicist so the finer details are lost to me. Don't high dose on the stuff. Whatever your doctor says I guess, maybe a little more, unsure, but never go extremely high dose with the stuff. Only my opinion. It's also in my opinion a sort of "accelerant" and will increase the efficiency of other drugs taken along with it. So yeah, take it by itself while eating healthy. If you moderate dose, supplement with choline. Only my opinions based on personal experience, and reading stuff of the web. I still use the stuff till this day, and find it highly beneficial overall for a myriad of things. Some call it a nootropic.

Do you get mania when you pull your hair?


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## Revenwyn (Apr 11, 2011)

I'm in the USA. I don't really get a mania, it just happens and I can't control when it does.


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## MrKappa (Mar 18, 2013)

Hmmmnn... yeah FDA knows about the stuff, it's been around since the 60s or 70s, they allow it but they will not allow it to be sold as a food supplement. Over the counter, mail order no problem.

Trichotillomania, I thought because it had the word Mania in it, it had traditional roots with a mania of sorts.

Anyways, that link I posted. It's well tolerated with elderly patients, don't high dose though. And mixing with neuroleptics or other drugs may lead to an increased effect. Which might be something you want to do, but honestly unless it's debilitating, like taking over your life entirely, I wouldn't. Even then the right supplementary drug to go along with it, would be a total mystery to me. I'd guess it's something to do with an overall problem with your motor cortex.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Motor_cortex

All the functions for movements are all lumped together in that area, more or less. Maybe there is a lack of blood oxygen supply to that area, causing the system to "sputter". Technically that anti-convulsant might be all you need to fix blood/oxygen supply. Alot of people support the idea that it improves blood oxygen supply and protection to areas of the brain suffering from lack of it.

http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/0167494393900064

(That particular study combines several other drugs though, so yeah an "accelerant", due to my lack of better terminology)

These guys are claiming deeper oxygen/blood flow and protection within 7 hours of a stroke types which starves oxygen supply to areas of the brain. But failure for it to work given within 12 hours. The stuff works and time is a piss poor way to measure it's efficiency in your particular, possible situation. Just saying! 

http://stroke.ahajournals.org/content/28/12/2347.long

It acting uncontrollably, and yeah, with a grain of salt, because I am no neuro-surgeon, it makes me think there are micro bacterial issues, in which case, yeah, you could always try eating more foods that the ancients did as antiseptics along with the anti-convulsant. Might in truth "clean deeper".

I can't seem to find any historical references to the illness, that's why it sort of speaks to me at a possibly new type of illness, maybe?

http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?search=Trichotillomania

1905, are there any earlier references in History to such a disorder? Maybe it is not genetic.

I mean are the facial tics new? Could be an overall degeneration in that whole motor cortex area over time. What would lead to that, most certainly it could be some of the prescription medications you've taken prior. Most certainly. In which case, yes, that stuff I posted in the link will help with that as well.

These guys seem to think there are some sorts of parallels with mice. That being said, if you search for anything, you are bound to find it. This source may not be the best.

http://www.bmj.com/content/331/7531/1503

Their claim is that it is an auto-immune system disorder, where an animal becomes over aggressive and attacks normal healthy tissues. It seems what they may have found was a dominant groomer, protecting her fellow mice. I'm not going to buy the article to find all the details.

Anyways, lets say there is something to micro-bacteria about this whole thing. A raw Vegan Diet is not going to help with that, in fact it being less processed than other foods, is probably a challenge for your immune system. Spices and Herbs which attack micro-organisms are often overlooked in that scenario. It wasn't with ancient peoples, but modern day people, yeah, it's the stuff movies are made of, so generally, it's laughable to many.

Anyways, think of it like this. As a possible. A dog, when it gnaws on it's leg, is fighting away fleas. When we scratch, well, who is to say it's to clear dead skin, only. Reflexes more or less, so in one case it could be a real problem, in other cases, it could be false problem and a disorder where your reflexes think something is wrong when it is not. How easy is it to refrain from scratching an itch? Probably similar to Trichotillomania, right? Anyways... yeah those Google images show interesting repetitive similarities between patients displaying their Trichotillomania.

If that's the case, and this is what I would do, is start investigating anti-psychotics which double as antiseptics to mix with the anti-convulsant, if the herbal/anti-convulsant combos make no progress. But honestly that will put you out of commission for a while, only my opinion.


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## Revenwyn (Apr 11, 2011)

Uggg... please do basic research about the disorder. "Mania" was just added because they don't know what else to call it. WE ARE NOT CRAZY.


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## MrKappa (Mar 18, 2013)

Yeah sure, I was looking for ancient origins though. I imagine in France where the term was coined, the frantic pulling at hair uncontrollably looked like a Mania. Nowadays there are types of mania. Me personally, giggle spurts were my issue only a few months ago. It'd laugh and laugh and laugh at seemingly nothing, and then be wiped out for a few days. A mild case of bipolar mania I guess, but my diagnosis was bipolar with psychotic features, while another doctor thought I had schizophrenia.



> WE ARE NOT CRAZY.


Yeah, escaping stigmatization is pretty much impossible. Generally though, I think those in the general populace are not cold hearted hyenas.

If it helps though, reading this thread, it seems like TTM is a general way of describing a few different possible disorders. I mean why the bias towards females over males? I am only presenting you with as many possible options that I can think of. Only you know what is best for you.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trichotillomania#Epidemiology



> Although no broad-based population epidemiologic studies had been conducted as of 2009, the lifetime prevalence of trichotillomania is estimated to be between 0.6% (overall) and as high as 1.5% (in males) to 3.4% (in females).[8] With a 1% prevalence rate, 2.5 million people in the U.S. may have trichotillomania at some time during their lifetimes.[13]
> 
> *Research indicates that about 1 in 50 people experience TTM in their lifetime.[30]*
> 
> ...


Yeah so viral possibilities, neurologically genetic, sure, equal representation is seen in youths.

Where as self reported psychosomatic possibilities might present themselves a little more later in life.

And... neurodegenerative, anxiety and other possibilities show themselves much later in life.

I've done what I can to provide you with a safe alternate path to a cure in all cases, with the exception that there is very little mention of psychiatry, and/or anti-anxiety options.

If it's spreading to your face, yeah, why not discuss all options with your doctor.


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## HollaFlower (Jan 24, 2014)

Used to have Trich. Long phase of being hat bound, avoiding haircuts due to embarrassment. Got help from family I've lived with at the time, to speak out when I would subconsciously scratch. Cut my hair short, even shaved my head once, (which is crazy for me since I hate the style). Let my hair grow back healthier and stopped blow drying my hair, which is what caused it to burn/create loose ends. Avoided using conditioner, it really dried out my hair also. I'm 24 years old, and I just started styling my hair the past few years. Right now I'm about to quit smoking and I can honestly admit that, quitting smoking is as hard as stopping trich. But it's doable.


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## Revenwyn (Apr 11, 2011)

HollaFlower said:


> Used to have Trich. Long phase of being hat bound, avoiding haircuts due to embarrassment. Got help from family I've lived with at the time, to speak out when I would subconsciously scratch. Cut my hair short, even shaved my head once, (which is crazy for me since I hate the style). Let my hair grow back healthier and stopped blow drying my hair, which is what caused it to burn/create loose ends. Avoided using conditioner, it really dried out my hair also. I'm 24 years old, and I just started styling my hair the past few years. Right now I'm about to quit smoking and I can honestly admit that, quitting smoking is as hard as stopping trich. But it's doable.


It is doable for some. I've been shaving my head for years, every time we lapse more than 3 weeks between shaving my trich comes back.


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## MrKappa (Mar 18, 2013)

omg, I know it's only a name, but yeah, could you imagine if someone in france named these conditions over a century ago and the guys house burnt down with all of his notes in it?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trichomoniasis

So... I go to look up the etymology, and presto...

http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?term=trichomoniasis



> trichomoniasis (n.) Look up trichomoniasis at Dictionary.com
> 1915, from tricho-, Latinized form of Greek trikho-, comb. form of thrix (genitive trikhos) "hair" + -monas + -iasis. Coined 1836 in French.


http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?search=Trichotillomania



> trichotillomania (n.) Look up trichotillomania at Dictionary.com
> 1905, from French trichotillomanie (1889), from tricho-, Latinized form of Greek trikho-, comb. form of thrix (genitive trikhos) "hair" + Greek tillesthai "to pull out" + mania.


I guess if you want a cure, then France is where you need to go.

You know this claims there is a higher prevalance in women, 7 to 1.

http://books.google.ca/books?id=LbH...page&q=Metronidazole Trichotillomania&f=false

Maybe they are named similar because they are in fact similar?


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## Lacking Serotonin (Nov 18, 2012)

Revenwyn said:


> N-acetylcysteine didn't help me at all. I have one of the worst known cases of the disorder. I have had it for 20 years of my life now with not a single day pull free. I have been completely bald since I was 13, I have no eyebrows, eyelashes, leg hair, arm hair, etc. Anywhere there is hair, it gets pulled out.


How long and what mg. dosage of Nac did you take? I am interested in trying this. I read recently it can help take the edge off, but I don't see it curing my hair pulling.


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## AceEmoKid (Apr 27, 2012)

I did this for a couple of years in middle school. Not sure what particularly caused me to latch on to that coping mechanism of all things, though. All I know is that it simultaneously pissed off and freaked out my mum. She'd find hair all over my room, especially in bed, where I'd sit/lay worrying for many a night. I don't know how I stopped. I probably latched onto any of my other nervous, destructive coping mechanisms more fiercely (pencil/pen cap chewing, scratching things off/nitpicking, nail biting, etc), causing the hair-pulling to fade away as a habit. Glad so. I was beginning to have visible bald patches on the back of my scalp.


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## Revenwyn (Apr 11, 2011)

Lacking Serotonin said:


> How long and what mg. dosage of Nac did you take? I am interested in trying this. I read recently it can help take the edge off, but I don't see it curing my hair pulling.


I took it for about six months, don't remember the dosage. It only helps about 12% of cases.

Granted, my pulling became a lot worse after six months because I had a cat die, and he'd basically crawled under the porch next door to do so and I never got to say goodbye.


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## shortcake (Sep 2, 2012)

I posted in a different thread back in November about how I am stuck in a cycle of pulling out my lashes and eyebrows. At the time I was stressing about something and ended up pulling out a lot of my eyelashes, which I was pretty bummed about :{

Fortunately, the eyelashes have since grown back and I am pretty happy with them at the minute (still playing with them 24/7, though). Unfortunately, I've moved back to my eyebrows and am now missing the outer third of each. I also have perma mini-scratches around my brows from grabbing at them with my nails, woops.

One of the worst habits I have (other than the pulling itself) is justifying it to myself- like, if I pull a hair out on one eyebrow I have to make the other one match. If I accidentally get the wrong one I have to go back and pull another from the first brow. aghhhh.


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## Lacking Serotonin (Nov 18, 2012)

Revenwyn said:


> I took it for about six months, don't remember the dosage. It only helps about 12% of cases.
> 
> Granted, my pulling became a lot worse after six months because I had a cat die, and he'd basically crawled under the porch next door to do so and I never got to say goodbye.


I've seen a few of your posts about you having a bad case of trichotillomania. I don't pull my hair as often, but I will scratch myself for hours too. I'm ordering some Tianeptine to see how it works. I completely stopped going to get my hair cut, because of that awkward silence there and the bald spots from picking. I'll probably scrap the Nac idea then.


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## Lacking Serotonin (Nov 18, 2012)

shortcake said:


> I posted in a different thread back in November about how I am stuck in a cycle of pulling out my lashes and eyebrows. At the time I was stressing about something and ended up pulling out a lot of my eyelashes, which I was pretty bummed about :{
> 
> Fortunately, the eyelashes have since grown back and I am pretty happy with them at the minute (still playing with them 24/7, though). Unfortunately, I've moved back to my eyebrows and am now missing the outer third of each. I also have perma mini-scratches around my brows from grabbing at them with my nails, woops.
> 
> One of the worst habits I have (other than the pulling itself) is justifying it to myself- like, if I pull a hair out on one eyebrow I have to make the other one match. If I accidentally get the wrong one I have to go back and pull another from the first brow. aghhhh.


I used to be real bad and ritualistic about pulling my hair out too. Like I would try to stop, but I justify a reason to pull the hair out by rewarding myself. I remember if I did made a basketball shot then I could pluck that one last hair out.


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## MrKappa (Mar 18, 2013)

Lacking Serotonin said:


> I'm ordering some Tianeptine to see how it works.


That will adjust the size of your amygdala, and subsequently your serotonin receptors are said to begin working a little more full force than they may have been previously.



Revenwyn said:


> Granted, my pulling became a lot worse after six months because I had a cat die, and he'd basically crawled under the porch next door to do so and I never got to say goodbye.


I think cats crawl away to die as an evolutionary protection measure. You know, how burying the dead or cremating fell into fashion versus open catacombs.

Sure sure... I probably sound crazy, but 2 years ago I tried nursing a cat back to life and it was trapped in an apartment dying slowly. I never washed my hands. 1 month later I had a mind blowing 1/2 hour seizure event and my eyes have since turned green. Sure sure... could be a total co-incidence.

I did a great herbal detox recently. Felt sick while doing it, and while I do feel way better than before I started the regime, my eyes are still green. Freaks me out. They used to be dark bright blue.

Anyways, I've always avoided doctors. Recently though, they were split on how to diagnose me. Two different thoughts on diagnosis, and one official diagnosis. A broad sweeping general diagnosis, sort of a stamp on a cattle, off and on through processing, sort of thing.

Hope that helps.


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## Lacking Serotonin (Nov 18, 2012)

MrKappa said:


> That will adjust the size of your amygdala, and subsequently your serotonin receptors are said to begin working a little more full force than they may have been previously.
> 
> I think cats crawl away to die as an evolutionary protection measure. You know, how burying the dead or cremating fell into fashion versus open catacombs.
> 
> ...


That would be nice I just started a new job and I'm back to scratching and picking on my scalp the most than I have in years. I was unemployed for over a year and it's nerve wracking working at a call center, but at least I'm not in front of people. I also saw your post above about the myoclonus and I didn't know the name for it until recently. I have twitching all over different parts of my body. Like I felt there was twitching in my head today at work. I watched a documentary called Weed by CNN Medical Correspondent Dr. Sanjay Gupta and posted about it in one of my own threads about a young man that has myoclonus diaphragmatic flutter and in the documentary the cannabis strain high in CBDs he smoked stopped his flutter and his stutter in his speech in less than a minute.


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## MrKappa (Mar 18, 2013)

Yeah, if it ever gets legalized in my area, I'm going straight out and getting some high quality extract. The only thing I'm aware that marijuana does is really mess with your short term memory, and they say that in truth the stuff shrinks the hippocampus volume with heavy chronic long term use.

Here is one study with only 22 people. No effect found...

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/15804878



> When compared to control subjects, smokers displayed no significant adjusted differences in volumes of gray matter, white matter, cerebrospinal fluid, or left and right hippocampus. Moreover, hippocampal volume in cannabis users was not associated with age of onset of use not total lifetime episodes of use.


Then you've got other people saying it does change the volume of hippocampus.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21050680



> Lower volume in the right hippocampus in chronic cannabis users was corroborated. Higher THC and lower CBD was associated with this volume reduction indicating neurotoxic effects of THC and neuroprotective effects of CBD. This confirms existing preclinical and clinical results. As a possible mechanism the influence of cannabinoids on hippocampal neurogenesis is suggested.


Either way, I remember the stuff. Too much and you temporarily burn out your short term memory somehow. You know, worst case, a couple weeks back to back during heavy chronic use. Nothing permanently debilitating.

Other than that, the benefits are great, but my tolerance builds so quickly I prefer holding off on the stuff every now and then.

http://psychology.about.com/od/memory/ss/ten-facts-about-memory_2.htm



> The hippocampus is a horse-shoe shaped area of the brain that plays an important role in consolidating information from short-term memory into long-term memory. It is part of the limbic system, a system associated with emotions and long-term memories. The hippocampus is involved in such complex processes as forming, organizing, and storing memories.


Extremely small price to pay considering some can pin junk food on hippocampal changes.

http://www.healthline.com/health-news/mental-one-week-of-junk-food-damages-memory-121713



> *Poor Diet Damages the Hippocampus*
> The rats had little trouble with object recognition, a type of memory that involves a brain region called the perirhinal cortex. But they did far worse with place recognition, a type of memory that involves a brain region called the hippocampus, which is responsible for many types of memory formation, including retaining new facts.


Studies are so politically correct with their with participants, that most of the cause and effect is entirely lost anyways. The studies on a small handful of marijuana smokers may use people who have huge junk food habits. So... it's all political righteous warfare. Alcohol is 20x worse in my opinion.

Anyways, if anyone thinks any of the statements are valid in regards to Trichotillomania being somehow related with Trichmonasis.

I found this...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cymbopogon_martinii



> Cymbopogon martinii is a species of grass in the lemon grass genus best known by the common name *palmarosa*. Other common names include Indian geranium, gingergrass and rosha or rosha grass.
> 
> an antihelmintic against nematodes,[2] and an antifungal and mosquito repellent.[3]


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nematode#Parasitic_species



> Nematodes commonly parasitic on humans include ascarids (Ascaris), filarias, hookworms, pinworms (Enterobius) and whipworms (Trichuris trichiura). The species Trichinella spiralis, commonly known as the 'trichina worm', occurs in rats, pigs, and humans, and is responsible for the disease trichinosis.


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## unseeliequeen (Jul 30, 2014)

I have this. Every other year (it seems), I pick out enough hair to make a bald spot right on top of my head. I've had it for about 7 years -I'm only 17, but I was around 9 or 10 when it started. It's particularly annoying since my hair is waist-length and I'm very attached - I refuse to cut it, except for little trims. So, most of the time I wear my hair in a ponytail or bun to hide the baldness. The difference with me is that I know when I'm doing it, I just can't seem to stop. Mostly it happens when I'm anxious, so, a lot. I take medication for OCD & anxiety, but it doesn't stop the trich :/


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## Slytherclaw (Jul 16, 2011)

For me it started when I was 13. When I was 15 or 16 it went away, but in the past 6 months it's come back. It's really annoying and kinda gross...


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## SwtSurrender (Nov 24, 2014)

cmr said:


> Trichotillomania is a mental disorder that causes people to have strong urges to pull hair out. I got this when I was 10 or 11 due to some stress, and have had it ever since. When it started, I'd pull out hairs from the crown of my head, and then examine them closely. I'd search for hairs that didn't feel "right" and then pluck them out. I would literally sit in the same spot for hours reading or watching TV just searching for and pulling out hairs. I also liked the sensation when I'd pull one out, it felt good.
> 
> Then I got a big bald spot on the top of my head when I was 11 and so stopped. It then turned into searching for split ends and other hairs that weren't "right" and biting or snipping them off at the point where the split end or whatever started. I've been doing that ever since, it's a stress reliever for me. I also recently started plucking out ingrown hairs on my legs with tweezers because I like the way it feels. I'm glad I was able to stop pulling out my head hair, but it still is like an obsessive thing that is hard to resist.
> 
> Is anyone else here a "Trichster?"


I have trichotillomania man nice to meet you guys, it took me a long time to realize that I had trichotillomania from my anxieties, I was coping with my anxiety by ocd trichotillomania! Now that I know what is wrong with me I accept myself and I am beautiful. You guys are beautiful too, anyone in phoenix, arizona or Arizona with trichotillomania wanna be my friends? They kicked me out of the group in scottsdale cuz I mentioned I was looking for a bf with trichotillomania, the organizer is a crazy narrow minded *****, I would be a better organizer yeah. I don't judge as she does, she is mental. Hi guys sure message me I tell you about my trichotillomania, woohoo.

Wait actually I'll kind of explain what happened to me, I was fine up until I was in 4th grade, IDK what the hell happened but it has to do something with friends at school. I came here to USA from Romania cuz my parents wanted to move to "the land of the american dream"... sure american dream. So I entered 3rd grade here and I of course did not know how to speak English at the time, somehow I can speak and write so well now!, anyway I think this inability to speak the language caused me to be so shy and quiet. Social anxiety might have followed from this, or maybe from something else, but this is a strong possibility.

Then I had some nice girls that liked to hang out with me in 3rd grade, I have good memories with them. Then I had to move to another school for 4th grade and I had friends and fun in 4th grade too, then I had a sleepover at one of the girl friends of mine's house and she saw me sleeping with my finger in my mouth (i sucked my finger until i was 18, then i got braces, now my teeth are perfect and sexy). Anyway she was a little 4th grade girl, you can't control yourself when you are that young so you go and tell other girls and boys from your school about me, anyway that's what she did and she also told a boy that I had a crush on at the time, and he showed me that he disliked me, and it hurt. Anyway from then I was kind of not their friend anymore cuz they kind of shut me out and hated me because I sucked my finger, so then I kind of withdrew and had no friends just cuz they/we were stupid 4th graders.

Then they kind of bullied me too, and somehow in about that time is when I also started pulling my eyelashes, there was actually an incident that happened with the start of pulling my eyelashes, some of my girl friends at school showed me to pull one out and make a wish, so then I did and pretty soon it became some kind of a good feeling and I became addicted to it and pulled them all out. It scared me at first because it looked scary to have eyelashes and then a big bald spot in the middle of them, I was only in 4th grade man, why did they have to teach me about making eyelash wishes? lol.

Then in 5th grade I got bullied because of my no eyelashes, then I also started with my eyebrows and then my scalp hair, I think it all connected together from my withdrawal and the constant bullying from my own friends that used to be my own friends, not my friends anymore they were my enemies now, sad cuz 4th grade you are a good child but you do not understand something and someone is different, your instinct is to hate them and make fun of them, psychology, tsk tsk.

Then in 6th grade I also got bullied, it was nice, the boy I liked didn't bully me but he also wanted nothing whatsoever to do with me. And that made me feel sad because I had a crush on him. Hmm maybe I can contact him on his facebook, and while I'm at it I will also contact that girl who saw me sucking my finger and destroying my life, well it's not her fault, 4th graders are at fault, they are not fully developed yet. Sad that this happened to me, but guys many kids get bullied every single day at school, and other places, some of them even take their own lives cuz they can't cope with the emotions, I didn't take my life guys, maybe you guys don't take your life, it makes you stronger that you experience the bullying cuz now you look back and laugh, it does not count anymore, it does not matter!

Yea guys all you wanna be my friend, yea<3 don't be shy ok! :hug


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## amaui (Jul 31, 2014)

Yeah I have bald spots still from when I pulled as a kid. Now i still pull so my hair still doesn't grow


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## SwtSurrender (Nov 24, 2014)

cmr said:


> Trichotillomania is a mental disorder that causes people to have strong urges to pull hair out. I got this when I was 10 or 11 due to some stress, and have had it ever since. When it started, I'd pull out hairs from the crown of my head, and then examine them closely. I'd search for hairs that didn't feel "right" and then pluck them out. I would literally sit in the same spot for hours reading or watching TV just searching for and pulling out hairs. I also liked the sensation when I'd pull one out, it felt good.
> 
> Then I got a big bald spot on the top of my head when I was 11 and so stopped. It then turned into searching for split ends and other hairs that weren't "right" and biting or snipping them off at the point where the split end or whatever started. I've been doing that ever since, it's a stress reliever for me. I also recently started plucking out ingrown hairs on my legs with tweezers because I like the way it feels. I'm glad I was able to stop pulling out my head hair, but it still is like an obsessive thing that is hard to resist.
> 
> Is anyone else here a "Trichster?"


Yea me too, the longest I stood paralyzed pulling my scalp hair is up to 4 hours, and only move when my body aches like hell, I just fall over exhausted lol. Sad though, that I am stuck doing this stupid obsessive worthless deteriorating **** instead of living my life. I never want to get stuck in there again, I always fight it, we always do, but a few days ago I was doing just this, so it's no use, we are what we are.


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## SwtSurrender (Nov 24, 2014)

amaui said:


> Yeah I have bald spots still from when I pulled as a kid. Now i still pull so my hair still doesn't grow


Try growing your hair with castor oil, maybe you got to the point where it doesn't grow anymore, I heard some people talking that that time will come, I always say NEVER! cuz mine keeps regrowing all the time, but I'm not so sure.


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## SwtSurrender (Nov 24, 2014)

flinty said:


> i have been pulling out my hair on my scalp for years and years. it sucks. i have times when i don't think about doing it....but, then out of nowhere, i start pulling. i usually pull out the hair in the back of my scalp, or behind my ears.
> 
> i had a stylist one time who yelled at me for pullling my hair out. he started pulling my hair where i part my hair. he told me he wasn't gonna stop until i promised not to do it again. YIKES> i thought he was kinda crazy for doing that. and, it didn't help me to stop.
> 
> ...


Ya lol, your hair stylist was going crazy cuz he was going to lose a customer of his cuz you were pulling your hair instead of going to him for haircuts, ahahhaha all he wants is money anyway that's why he was pulling your hair, sad dude with no morals, I bet he didn't even go to salon school. You don't pull your own customers hair to get them to stay your customer, lol.

Yea as much as we try going to psychologists, support groups, psychiatrists, it seems that we can't stop it, but I'm gonna keep searching and being part of every **** group, until I drop dead! You can try too!


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## SwtSurrender (Nov 24, 2014)

izzy said:


> I've never really considered if I had this, but I've always picked at things on my body. I used to get a nail clipper and cut off the on the bottom of my feet. Now I peel the hangnails and skin off around my nails, even though it'll sometimes make me bleed. I also pluck the hairs on my legs, and I've started to kinda dig into my skin to get the very start of the hair.


Hmm what happened to Blu? The account might have been deleted ok.
Yea trichotillomania or dermatillomania or ocd, etc it's some kind of grooming like those monkeys, so why are we so ocd about grooming and picking at ourselves so much lol? It relieves anxiety, stress, hmm ok cool but still ! I also have trichotillomania, hi.


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## SwtSurrender (Nov 24, 2014)

RobAlister said:


> I pull at my hair when it gets long but I don't think it's because of this or OCD. It's more of a habit.


How long does your hair get when you start pulling it, like 2-3 inches? Ahh. So you mean you don't pull it when you shave yourself, good. Where you pull at? I pull my eyelashes, eyebrows, and scalp, I got the babysitting blues :yes


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## SwtSurrender (Nov 24, 2014)

Justonekitty said:


> I have trich. Ive been pulling since college. With stress it gets worse. I am getting a small bald spot. The only time I stopped pulling was when I was on Prozac. It was prescribed for depression but it didnt work for it, but it stopped my pulling. It was not covered by my insurance at the time so I had to stop buying it.


Ahh nice I am on prozac too, maybe you can get Severe Mental Illness insurance SMI? Or free healthcare? Arizona has free healthcares. Yea prozac doesn't work on my trichotillomania either, I take 20 mg, anyway yea I was prescribed for my social anxiety, and maybe cuz it's a kind of a famous drug and kind of safer than the others or something, maybe my psychiatrist decided that since oh I have trichotillomania then prozac is the one I should take. Cuz it says prozac theoretically treats trichotillomania if CBT does not work then it says to get some kind of CBT, psychotherapy, DBT while taking prozac to see results.

So that's cool, I haven't been to CBT or DBT yet, but I'm looking forward to it. I'm still under my dad's insurance until 26, so by then I hope to get some **** done, otherwise I'll have to get a job lol, and I will cuz I need this **** prozac it makes me feel so much better, like everyday I wake up rejuvenated, whereas before prozac I was always like feeling dread every morning, now I look forward to every day that I am alive on this beautiful cocoon we call earth.


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## SwtSurrender (Nov 24, 2014)

Links said:


> I have Trichotillomania and I'm hoping to have therapy for this soon. I don't pull scalp hair out much, mainly body, eyebrow and eyelash hair. Having missing hair doesn't help with my confidence or SA much. If you ever wanted to talk about Trich just send me a PM.


Hey this guy is nice here he wants a pm, woopdeeedoodaah!

Yea man I agree with you, I myself have been even more **** in my life because having trichotillomania does not help with my confidence or social anxiety ahahah, but it is an excuse. With trichotillomania I thought I had social anxiety because of my trichotillomania, because I was afraid of being rejected by people cuz I looked different than they did, so I isolated myself and said ok guys have fun by yourselves in your own world where you are all the same, and I'll stay here in the dark behind this glass door, don't touch me and we can live in peace. And then that sucked and hurt me alot, but I had to be alone, I couldn't interact with them at all, but they still managed to get throw the glass door with their bullying.

Then my psychologist told me that I have trichotillomania because of my social anxiety, so then I was very shocked cuz I never thought of it that way. And that was cool. But now I am on prozac and it makes me comfortable to try and I throw myself at everyone and I don't care if I get rejected! And I can be social with strangers and throw myself at them all, if they repel me sure I'll tell them what they're missing out on cuz I'm ******* cool as ****.

Lol you all should throw yourself cuz we all belong. And they suck lol. nice to meet ya :hug


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## SwtSurrender (Nov 24, 2014)

xtina said:


> i had bald spots as a child.
> it went dormant for awhile until an event about 3 years ago. when i was young, i pulled out chunks at a time but now i search for rough/coarse hairs. i also like the sensation, the slight pain. i'm starting to get bald spots again...my hair is becoming unhealthy and thin :/ my hair sheds a lot anyway, so that only speeds up the process. ugh.
> all i want is a head full of long, healthy, luxurious hair...


Try growing your hair with castor oil, the only thing I notice is that I am using castor oil, my hair is growing, but then I keep pulling it! I should leave it the **** alone if I am trying to regrow it, I am not regrowing it to repeat the ******* pulling process, I am regrowing it to keep it there what the hell. My brain is mentally ocding trichotillomaniacly, idk what is wrong with my electrical brain cells, memories, etc. Nice to meet ya, I have trichotillomania for 15 years now. :hug we are all in this together, you guys are cool


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## SwtSurrender (Nov 24, 2014)

Deorah said:


> I don't but my dd who is 10 does she's been doing it since she was 6. It started with her eyelashes and migrated to her scalp she says that her head itches and it feels good when she does it. we just recently found out that she was molested by her Nana and I think that is a major contributor to her trichtotillomania. I've also heard it's genetic someone correct me if I'm wrong.


Yea I think it is genetic, DNA-style? Yea.

Dd means your daughter? Yea I say the same thing, it itches and when I pull it out it feels better, when I scratch it it doesn't go away!

It sounds like alot of trauma causes trichotillomania, like molest, divorce, anxiety, abuse, etc. That is interesting to think about, it's like all these things add us to one contributor, STRESS. So stress piles up on the person experiencing these things and then trichotillomania happens as a sort of release to release the stress buildup. Cool science, I am just making observations here. I am introvert. I think alot lol. Which is good. Nice to meet ya :hug for you and your daughter. How is she doing now?


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## SwtSurrender (Nov 24, 2014)

Radattack said:


> I think I have this! I used to pick at my scalp intensely, but then when my boyfriend made me stop, I started pulling out the hair on my body with tweezers. I had to limit myself to only doing it twice a day; otherwise I would spend a significant portion of my time plucking hair out, and no studying would get done!


Yea sounds like you have it, my bf also helped me stop pulling my eyelashes but then when he broke up with me I pulled them out. Yea be careful and remember that one pluck a day keeps the baldness away! lol

That's good that you can control to limit yourself, I hate myself when I'm stuck in that other world pulling at myself, lost in my thoughts, for hours, and hours, sucks alot. I feel so down when I pull something I have grown for so many months, so many months of food growing foods wasted cuz I had to bald myself again. nice to meet u :hug


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## SwtSurrender (Nov 24, 2014)

Brit90 said:


> I've had this since about middle school and it really, really blows. But, I think as the years go by, I'm really starting to move past it, which I'm really happy about.
> 
> I think through my younger years, I always thought that Trich was something that you could simply NOT get over, but seeing over all improvement from other people and myself is really making me believe otherwise.


Ya that's the spirit mate! I also believe in positive thoughts, it helps us get better results, just stay happy and strong, hi I have it too, mine started when I was 10 or 11.


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## SwtSurrender (Nov 24, 2014)

wisteria said:


> Yes, I began to obsess over pulling out my eyelashes and eyebrow hair. Even select body hair thanks to a mixture of extreme stress or dare I say boredom? At Thanksgiving one year, I was in bed watching a movie and by the time the movie had ended, I had bald spots from removing eyelashes, and I barely had any recollection of ever pulling them out.


Yes that is trichotillomania-style, I have it too, it sounds like our brains want to be doing something all the time, and they chose the worst thing! Picking at our bodies/self-harm, our brains are like, hey I am here let me show you myself and then it makes us hurt and the brain gets what it wants, cuz the brain is a naughty mother*********, the brain gets it, the pleasure. God the brain is a mental little, lol, well something is definitely wrong.

I also had times when I pull without being aware, most of the time it is when I am not aware, and I look on the floor and on my clothes, hair everywhere. It's that brain, I am telling you, something is wrong with it. Like it doesn't like the external world or something.


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## SwtSurrender (Nov 24, 2014)

mardy423 said:


> I have Trichotillomania. I've had it since I was about 8 i think. It really got bad when I was in high school. There were days I just would not go to school because of my hair and bald spots. Kids would always ask if I had cancer or what was wrong with me..really hurt my feelings. I got put in school conseling , I saw a therpist once a month, got put on meds. Of course all the meds did where help my anxiety, I could never stop pulling. Though one day in conseling..I met a girl who also had Trich...we became really good friends and dated for about 3 years. That has been the only good thing to come from me having trich. I now just shave my head so I can't pull it.


Hmm that sounds good, I also hope to meet someone when I go places like support groups yea! Ya there were times where I couldn't go to school because of my bald spots and those mother***** kids staring and bullying my ** off. They made me cry many times. My parents beat me up and forced me to go to school, they brought me to school crying and looking like ****. They didn't care those kids were gonna stare at my bald and bully me, it's like they were risking my life to see if I was survival of the fittest much....

Ya my prozac helps my anxiety, and my *** drives. Nope doesn't do **** for my trichotillomania, but there could be hope if you also do CBT or DBT, etc. I think. I haven't tried. Nice to meet ya :hug


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## SwtSurrender (Nov 24, 2014)

viciousdelicious said:


> I have it. It started when I was about 11, I recall sitting in school and tying small ends (~1/2 cm) of my hair into knots and then pulling it out. At the end of class there would be a pile of hair on my desk and on the floor around my seat. I completely stopped doing it for several years, but when I experienced some trauma at the end of 8th grade (when I was almost 14) it began again with a vengeance.
> Now, 5 years later, it still plagues me. It really comes out when I am stressed, anxious, or thinking really hard about something. I used to be able to control it with Lorazepam when I was prescribed it for panic attacks.
> I can sit in front of the TV or computer for hours on end until my arms are sore, doing nothing but examining my hair for split ends, and pulling the split ends apart. It gives me this relaxing feeling when I pull it out, as well as when I find a hair that is split multiple times or in multiple places.
> I have become really self conscious about it lately, because as a female I have really, long hair and I can feel that it is very very thin now, probably less than 2/3rds of the volume it used to be. Nobody really has said anything about it but I feel like people do notice. When my hair is wet I can definitely notice some bald spots.
> Since I don't pull out full hairs, just the ends, the ends of my hair are totally shredded, uneven, and dead. I don't even want to go to the salon to get it fixed because I'm nervous the stylist will ask what happened to my hair. I've even considered getting extensions to increase the volume of my hair, but that alone won't stop the trich. It's really been bugging me lately :/ at least I am not alone. Talking about it in this comment is making me want to do it. It's a compulsion. I hate it.


Hey hi, you can use castor oil on your hair girlfriend, and about that idea about going to a stylist, just go no need to be nervous just go tell her straight up that you have trichotillomania and if they can help you, be careful sometimes they can mess you up cuz they're tards with no morals.

I pull mine from the roots, you pull from your ends, interesting, I think I have done that sometimes too. Yea it seems that alot of stress causes it to be worse and more revengeful in a way for our bodies to release the stress, we self-harm, interesting huh. I like how I perceive that I have more hair that some women that have no trace of having trichotillomania or pulled a single hair in their life at all, that's just how I see myself, you have a different perspective, respectively. And try the shampoo Hair One from Sally Beauty, it makes your hair very nice it's kind of like Wen, or try Wen, Wen is more expensive though. I hope you feel happy, nice to meet you :hug


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## SwtSurrender (Nov 24, 2014)

debra6623 said:


> I had trich pretty bad when I was around 10. I had a bald spot at the top of my head and I think at the sides. Sometimes, it would go away then sometimes it would come back. At 32 I've noticed that I still pull at my hair pretty often but I don't pull it out and get big bald spots anymore.


Oh 32, I'm 24, had trichotillomania since I was 10 or 11. Sounds like for some people, hopefully alot of people with trichotillomania, you will pull less as you grow older, that's good, it must be because of your own will power and stamina that you pull less. Yea I currently have a HUGE BALD SPOT, anyway I can cover it still so that's ok for now. Nice to meet you, 32 is still very young of age, 50 is old lol :hug


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## SwtSurrender (Nov 24, 2014)

layitontheline said:


> I don't know if I have this but I have become a bit obsessed with plucking hairs. I've never had a desire to do my scalp thank goodness, but I sometimes spend hours obsessively plucking any hair I can find on my legs and dig for ones that haven't even surfaced. I've also done it on my arms and stomach but that proved to be unsatisfying due to having almost no hair there to begin with.


Ahh nice, yea some of us have the eyelashes, eyebrows, and scalp hairpulling, my bf said he had the arm hair and my first reaction was like no way that isn't trichotillomania! But it is, he also had the scalp, but he quit cold turkey but now he has Tourettes in trichotillomania's place. So at least he isn't pulling his hair cuz he is a hot DNA, and he deserves to show off his hot DNA in order to mate and pass his DNA.... Long story, it happens everyday.

Interesting. :hug


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## SwtSurrender (Nov 24, 2014)

Morsmordre said:


> I have trichotillomania, as well. I have a bald spot on the side of my head, near the top. It can't really be seen unless I put my hair up or in a pony tail. However, when it is in a pony tail I feel it is very easily noticed. I have even put pencil eyeliner around the area and rubbed it in to make my scalp look less bare.
> 
> I aim to stop doing this, but it's just such an easy thing to do. I tend to do it whenever I'm watching tv. When I don't do it I feel this need almost like a tingling on my head like "PULL ME PULL ME". :/
> 
> In order to stop I usually try to keep both hands busy or even sit on one of my hands so that I do not pull. I aim to stop this because the bald spot keeps getting bigger and it's becoming embarassing to me regardless of if other people notice or not.


Ahah same here, big bald spot going lol, yea keeping your hands busy all day is working for me, also what helps is going out and exercising all day, but some people with trichotillomania even pull in public places, well not me! 
Anyway, yea I also feel like you said a tingling in my hairs that scream and nag at me to pull them out of the water of my scalp cuz they're drowning, hairs talking to me lol. I used to wear my hair in pony tail all my ***** life, but then when I took prozac the second time around, I was able to change it into a side ponytail, or combover should I say, but I like it cuz I can hide my HUGE BALD, so well with bobby pins, and I also like how my hair lays on my shoulder, and I can see how beautiful I am with my hair.

Nice to meet you :hug we will keep working on telling our hairs that they should learn to swim, cuz if we keep pulling them they will never learn how to swim and then the bald spot will grow bigger lol, funny.... :haha


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## SwtSurrender (Nov 24, 2014)

cmr said:


> Trichotillomania is a mental disorder that causes people to have strong urges to pull hair out. I got this when I was 10 or 11 due to some stress, and have had it ever since. When it started, I'd pull out hairs from the crown of my head, and then examine them closely. I'd search for hairs that didn't feel "right" and then pluck them out. I would literally sit in the same spot for hours reading or watching TV just searching for and pulling out hairs. I also liked the sensation when I'd pull one out, it felt good.
> 
> Then I got a big bald spot on the top of my head when I was 11 and so stopped. It then turned into searching for split ends and other hairs that weren't "right" and biting or snipping them off at the point where the split end or whatever started. I've been doing that ever since, it's a stress reliever for me. I also recently started plucking out ingrown hairs on my legs with tweezers because I like the way it feels. I'm glad I was able to stop pulling out my head hair, but it still is like an obsessive thing that is hard to resist.
> 
> Is anyone else here a "Trichster?"


Whenever I go into my trichotillomania world of pulling my hair and using it to relieve my stress, anger, thoughts, etc, I feel a certain breathing pattern when I get the urge to pull my hair, pluck my eyelashes, pluck my eyebrows, I feel a breathing pattern every time I have a trichotillomania attack.

I feel it like an anticipation when I first get the urge to pull, my breathing is an anticipation of the relief that I will create by self-harming myself by plucking a strand of hair root from my skin, ouch right. It feels like a fight or flight moment too, it feels like innocence and euphoria combined, my breathing is slow or fast but it is my breathing that helps me with relieving my stress, not the hair pulling sensation, the sensation is just an OCD, that has been manifested into a pleasurable notion.

My breathing before an urge, during an urge when I search for a specific sexy hair on my scalp and my thoughts during and before the urge all matter, my breathing and thoughts when I find a sexy hair and I clasp my fingers fiercely around the innocent DNA, and my breathing and thoughts when I pluck the innocent hair strand follicle root so violently from my own skin! The way it feels after, the way I am breathing and my thoughts after my plucking sensation and why do I do it over and over again, for hours, and my breathing and thoughts and sensations for that time.

If we can mimic this breathing pattern, we can counteract trichotillomania and possible cure it forever.


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## Lacking Serotonin (Nov 18, 2012)

Hydroxyzine really helps me take the edge off when I want to pull my hair. It sucks for anxiety, but it's been an amazing med for pulling and scratching.


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## clari6617 (Jul 23, 2011)

Oh yeah, I remember those days. Mine went from about the age of 7 1/2 until almost my 11th birthday. After awhile some people grow out of it (or in my case, I just moved on to a different compulsion), but what helped me was my mom promising me that I could get my hair highlighted for the first time I if let my brows and lashes grow back in.


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## momentsoflucidity (Sep 20, 2015)

This thread seems dead, but fellow trichster here. I also have dermatillomania, which is picking skin. For me, it's my lips. It's not nearly as bad now as it used to be, though. Used to have no eyebrows, true story.


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## Ben12 (Jul 8, 2009)

momentsoflucidity said:


> This thread seems dead, but fellow trichster here. I also have dermatillomania, which is picking skin. For me, it's my lips. It's not nearly as bad now as it used to be, though. Used to have no eyebrows, true story.


Wow and I thought I was the only one who suffered from dermatillomania of the lips.


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## momentsoflucidity (Sep 20, 2015)

Ben12 said:


> Wow and I thought I was the only one who suffered from dermatillomania of the lips.


Nope! Literally was doing it as I read this...

I can't even stop myself from doing it in school, etc. Putting my hand near my mouth is a great defense agaisnt social anxiety because I am literally covering the thing I use to communicate with.. I think people find putting their fingers in their mouth "cute" because of this. It's a shyness thing and some people think being shy is cute. Unless, you know, you have SA.

But yeah, that turned into agressive peeling until I bleed. I need them to be smooth and it's so satisfying and anxiety relieving. I've literally done it for hours on end. I want to stop, but at the same time I really don't because it's a much leaded release for me.

When do you tend to do it? I do it most when I'm bored, during a stressful event, while computing, while listening to lectures etc. at school, and before falling asleep.

If you're trying to stop and you have it at night, try putting socks on your hand. Helped me back when I had the motivation to stop.


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## Ben12 (Jul 8, 2009)

momentsoflucidity said:


> Nope! Literally was doing it as I read this...
> 
> I can't even stop myself from doing it in school, etc. Putting my hand near my mouth is a great defense agaisnt social anxiety because I am literally covering the thing I use to communicate with.. I think people find putting their fingers in their mouth "cute" because of this. It's a shyness thing and some people think being shy is cute. Unless, you know, you have SA.
> 
> ...


Yeah I still do too. To be honest, it hasn't even improved for me as I've gotten older. Wow I can totally relate to the reasons that you do it. It just calms that inner tension and sort of feels good in a way. My doctor asked me why I do it. I went to one of his appointments with incredibly red lips. He was genuinely concerned though which was nice. I explained how I was struggling with it for pretty much my whole life. He didn't seem to understand how it could feel good to pick at lips. Hearing that I could tell was quite novel to him.

I do it every other day usually. Sometimes I will do it everyday. It's very mentally enhausting to stop myself from picking at them then inevitably giving in. I've gone as long as a couple weeks. I always find myself giving up at some point though. It's so stressing to go back and forth between having the motivation to stop and then having to start all over and wait to regain that motivation.

I would always try not to do it in school. Usually when I'm at home that is when I'll do it. Those moments when I find myself relaxing, usually reading, on my i-pad or computer. For some reason I just find myself having my hands by my lips. It's terrible.

You girls are lucky in a way. You can use lipstick. Us guys can't. I remember in the past literally avoiding going to school one day if I thought my lips were too red.


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## katrin1234 (Mar 28, 2016)

I think that in this case the best decision is to see a doctor and he will propose you one of the following methods of treatment:
Hypnosis
Hypnosis is conducted by a psychotherapist. He inspires the patient that he experiences intense pain when pulling hair. Hypnosis helps to reduce the overall anxiety and get rid of the habit.
Behavioral Therapy
During this therapy, people are taught to replace a bad habit by other actions: in order to pull hair, a person must strain the forearm and make a fist. Such exercises can be carried out in any situation, over time trichotillomania will be cured. Various studies prove the effectiveness of behavioral psychotherapy.
4 Medication
Taking meds should be combined with psychotherapy - this combination is the most beneficial in getting rid of the disease. Trichotillomania treatment includes the following drugs:
Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors - they increase the concentration of endorphin and serotonin in the brain, which improve mood, eliminate anxiety and discomfort. Fluoxetine is used, the improvement occurs after a week of taking.
Tricyclic antidepressants have an effect similar to the previous group of drugs but unlike them, they affect other endorphins: norepinephrine, dopamine.
header
Home Remedies
Home treatment requires a lot of motivation. In order to treat trichotillomania, it is important to accept oneself. It is necessary to master relaxation techniques in order to get rid of anxiety. Yoga and meditation are perfect for it.
In addition, it is recommended to use herbal decoctions with sedative effects (motherwort) and take them three times a day.
In order to evaluate the effectiveness of therapy photographs before and after are used. Prevention of trichotillomania is not established since the cause of this disorder is unclear.More information


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## unemployment simulator (Oct 18, 2015)

yea, have had this problem for a long time. its mainly eyebrows and eyelashes these days. I think it started with those hairs when I noticed some hairs were more painful than others, the logic is that these ones are the ones that are naturally about to fall out, so I think to myself I need to remove them. the problem is that I end up pulling on others in the process which makes those painful and I repeat the process till I end up with an enormous bald patch or area. usually I only notice this when I rub my eyes. would be nice if I could find a way to quit. before this I used to bite my fingernails to the point they would be bleeding, I think I transferred from that nervous habit to this one?


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## daydreamer91 (Dec 19, 2017)

*Trich fixed with hypnotherapy*

I've been a trichster since middle school. I've never had success in growing my eyelashes back until I turned 18 and decided to make a change. Nothing I've tried has seemed to work until I stumbled across hypnotherapy. The mp3 I listen to before I go to bed explains why we pull and shows how to trick your mind to not pull. My eyelashes are fully grown back now and I've never been more happier. I do however fall back into the urge when things like stress and allergies cause me to pull them out. The great thing is I'm able to use hypnotherapy to get back on track. Let me know if you're interested in what I'm using?


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## Persephone The Dread (Aug 28, 2010)

This thread is old so I probably posted in it already but too lazy to check. I have this mildly at this point. I've had it on/off since about the age of 10/11 when I completely ****ed up my fringe (bangs if American.) When I went to the hairdressers they were like yikes. I also developed dermatillomania (skin picking,) at some point after this. I'd always had it mildly with the skin around my fingers when it would get dry and peeled, but I developed some acne problems thoughout my 20s that ended up drawing my attention and also ended up picking my scalp a bit instead of the hair. :/ At this point I only occasionally pick out very specific kinds of hair from my head that are wiry and zigzaggy and more opportunistically then actually looking for them.


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## komorikun (Jan 11, 2009)

The past 3 years or so I've gotten into tweezing body hair. I have 3 pairs of tweezers and often have one pair next to me. I especially like tweezing coarse hair.


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## WillYouStopDave (Jul 14, 2013)

komorikun said:


> The past 3 years or so I've gotten into tweezing body hair. I have 3 pairs of tweezers and often have one pair next to me. I especially like tweezing coarse hair.


 Is that where all those little hairs on your floor came from in that one picture? :lol


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