r/trichotillomania

When I was 13, and my mum took me to the GP for my trich, the doctor said ‘it’s a habit, she’ll likely grow out of it’. So I’m just wondering- has anyone actually experienced that? Really interested to hear any stories

I (27F) pick my scalp along w the hair pulling. I wear a wig to cover my bald spots, & I’m completely fine when i have it on during the day.

But once it’s the end of the day & i take it off, i immediately start making up for lost time. Once i feel hair or scalp pieces that need to be removed, i stop everything until i can get it. But theres always more to pull & peel. When i think I’ve gotten to a good stopping point, i find more. & if i try stopping anyway, i know it’s still there. I won’t be able to focus until i take care of it

Has anyone had it like this & found ways to combat it? I’m exhausted already as a PhD student. I really need some help.

Wasnt sure which flair to use

So since I was young I would do this thing with my eyebrows where I would use my fingers to almost comb through them to make an almost tiny knot and then pull at it. A little hair will come out, but only sometimes (I still do this, still sometimes only a little hair comes out) I also constantly get lashes that curl into my eyes so I pluck them with my fingers even if it’s not poking me in the eye or it’s one that I see in the mirror that I assume will eventually get into my eye. I also pull at hairs on my arms or legs, not always pulling them out though. I sometimes do it with my head hair or honestly any hair on my body but I’m not sure that I have trichotillomania because sometimes it’s like I’m just bored? Or sometimes I would even be actually pulling the hair out, sometimes just tugging on it. And I have this hair so I don’t have any bald spots and despite the fact that I feel I’m pulling out a lot of eyelash hairs, I see no difference in the mirror. I do know I have dermatillomania, not sure if that’s connected or not and the skin one is way worse than this but I just can’t tell if I’m in denial or if I’m just stressing myself out over nothing and making myself believe I have another problem ontop of my already terrible skin picking issue.

I've had trich for 13 years. I'm building an app for us. I need your help.

I want to be upfront: I'm not a researcher. I'm not a therapist. I'm one of you.

I've been pulling since I was a kid. I have bald patches right now. I've spent years hiding them — specific hairstyles, avoiding wind, panicking before photos. The urge gets worst exactly when I need to hold it together: presentations, first dates, serious conversations.

I've tried the generic habit apps. They don't get it. The urge to pull isn't like wanting to check your phone. It's physical. It's almost relieving, until it isn't.

I'm a college student, and I've decided to build the tool I always wished existed. Something that understands the triggers. The shame spiral. The split second before it happens.

Before I write a single line of code, I want to talk to as many of you as possible.

Three questions I really want to discuss:

1. What situation makes it almost impossible to resist?
2. Has anything ever actually helped — even a little?
3. What would a truly useful tool do for you?

DM me or reply here. I read everything. This community is the reason I'm doing this.

I have struggled with trich since I was about 10-11 years old when it first started. I used to pull my eye lashes and moved on to pulling my eyebrows out. I do it when I’m bored, tired, stressed, or basically feel any intense emotion whether positive or negative. I am 22 now and still pulling.

I have had periods where I went with out ripping any hairs out and my longest was almost a whole year without pulling. But the stress of every day life is making recovering impossible at this stage, and as soon as I wake up I start pulling hair out. Then I’ll go back to sleep. Wake up and pull again. I have tried therapy, SSRIs and medication, journaling, but I fear nothing really helps.

When I was an inpatient in the psychiatric ward they had seen me without eyebrows and asked what happened and I explained that I pull them out because it feels good. And because I’ve been doing it to cope with unwanted feelings.

Any who.. I have reached the point where I am so utterly exhausted and tired of trying to cover up and hide this part of me from everyone. It makes me feel extremely self conscious when I put makeup on to hide the fact I have no eyebrows. I think this is why I have held back from so many opportunities in life especially social ones. I just want to shave the remaining 6 hairs left and go bald brows in public, everywhere.

I have already accepted that this is a lifetime thing so I feel like having to stress over putting on cover-up makeup is only going to make me feel worse off. Somehow? Does anyone else understand? My worst fear is being ridiculed and bullied for it but I remember walking in public with shaved eyebrows before and the most I got was curious stares.

I guess I just want a bit of reassurance or support from others who understand. I want to be brave and be able to walk out in public without hiding this part of my life. I feel like I’ll also be sparing myself from being hurt if I ever date and the person realizes I do this... My family still doesn’t understand it either and they tell me just to stop doing it (eye roll). I’m nervous I won’t be seen as attractive this way, but I have had others tell me differently, so maybe I am too hard on myself?

i’m 16. i guess one of the things i really want to do one day is shave my head. i can’t really imagine having the courage to do that anytime soon, so i’m stuck wearing bandanas and hats for at least another few years, probably.

i just want my hair to be all the same length again!!

can anyone who has shaved their head (especially women) share what it’s been like? are there parts to it that people don’t consider? i hope i get the courage to one day.

hi all! im a comment lurker but had a question: im going to a cut and color hair appt tmr, and the stylist knows me and my family. my mom will likely be at the appt, but she doesnt know that my trich has spread so heavily to my scalp (and in fact it’s the only place she’s asked me not to pull from [ik it doesnt work like that, promise]) and i am just curious as how to best approach explaining to the stylist. im sure she’s seen it all, and has always been kind about my psoriasis, so i dont doubt she’ll be gentle about the subject. how have you guys gone about in the past explaining (without the usual medical reasons answer bc she knows my mom’s reaction and would ask her what’s up)?

ty!!

Hey all! I’ve been obsessed with pulling it my leg hair with tweezers for about 2 years now and shamefully only recently realised this wasn’t just a random activity but had become an unhealthy obsession.

I have been diagnosed with OCD and occasionally “gain” new obsessions, this being the most recent one.

Curious if anyone has a similar experience where this may be a part of their OCD rather than a diagnosis of it self? I’m seeing my therapist tomorrow so I’ll discuss it with her too for sure! But just wanting to gain some insights!

Thank you 🫶🏽

I have long since thought that, at least for me, my trich is inherently correlated with my Autism, and not exactly its own condition.

I was diagnosed with trich before anything else in life- at age 10, started pulling at 9. All of the medical treatment I got centered around trich and getting me to stop pulling. Nothing really delved into what caused me to develop trich, even when it was considered to be “stress-related” or “maladaptive coping”. Everything wanted to stop the pulling, not examine/change the circumstances that caused the compulsion to begin with.

Even once I was diagnosed with generalized anxiety and depression, little of that changed.

I was diagnosed with Autism at 16, and again, nothing changed.

My trich never really improved whatsoever until I was 18 and went to occupational therapy after having had been in an IOP program. My OT said- your nervous system is disregulated and, while mindfulness helps, it is deeper than that. You pull when over/understimulated to help self-regulate your body. Coupled with stress/anxiety, even worse. Basically, just like we see in birds with feather plucking, or overgrooming in mammals.

My psychotherapist then opined that my emotionally neglectful upbringing caused me to lack the ability to self-soothe as my parents never modeled it to me, which in many people leads to self injury, compulsive issues, and/or risk taking behavior. Being Autistic often leads to trauma for people in many different ways, thus adding to the pile.

So, in my opinion, the combination of the Autistic traits of sensory seeking, sensory issues with hair, nervous system regulation, self-injury, and heightened sensitivity to stress/anxiety- and my lack of modeled self-soothing coupled with childhood trauma- led to my body’s urge to pull my hair for relief.

To me, trich is just a developed symptom/consequence of being Autistic, more than it is its own unique condition to me. Understanding my life in this way, holding more awareness of myself, and changing what I can to jive better with my brain/body has made the severity of my trich decrease dramatically. Now I only really have (severe) issues with it in times of heightened stress or physical pain.

I am curious to see if people feel similarly or not.

I went to a doctor the first time and mentioned my trich symptoms (hair pulling, my hair thinning in areas and my nail bitting). It just got brushed off and she said it’s just a tick that will stop eventually. I had it for ~2 years and I’m highly doubting her statement.

hey guys, so ive been pulling for like 3 years or so now but ive mostly stopped for a few months now. despite this, i dont really see that my hair is growing back and that theres thinning in the spots that ive been frequently pulling at and even spots that i havent frequently pulled at or touched in a long time. i remember reading that when pulling your hair, at worst the hair will start grow back in a couple of months, yet i dont feel like thats happening to me. what do i do guys?

When you’re pulling are you doing it mindlessly or with focus? I can spend literally hours searching for and pulling every single possible hair I can find and it takes a huge amount of mental energy. Is that just me?

For those of you on this medication, what dose did you start at? Wondering if anyone started at 2.5mg daily. How quickly did you increase the dose and what dose are you on now? Side-effects? Thank you.

Hi mods, please don't delete this as I couldn't find another post answering this specific question.

From your personal experience, could there be a correlation between your trichotillomania and the use of SSRIs (or any other kind of antidepressants)? As in, the condition developing around the time you started taking medication, or it getting better/worse being off meds? Or have you noticed a change in hair texture, which could also be a factor?

I'll be trying to get a job soon so if there's anything I should know about how having trich affects you in the workplace especially in a more formal/professional environment.

Luckily I don't have visible bald spots but some short pieces that makes my hair constantly messy looking.

Some questions:

Does having bad looking/missing hair make you less likely to be hired?

Are there hats that can be worn indoors and are still professional/formal (for women)