Trichotillomania, also known as “hair-pulling disorder,” is a type of impulse control disorder. People who have trichotillomania have an irresistible urge to pull out their hair, usually from their scalp, eyelashes, and eyebrows. They know they can do damage but often can't control the impulse.
Trichotillomania (trik-o-til-o-MAY-nee-uh), also called hair-pulling disorder, is a mental disorder that involves recurrent, irresistible urges to pull out hair from your scalp, eyebrows or other areas of your body, despite trying to stop.
Trichotillomania, also known as hair-pulling, is an impulse control disorder. It could be caused by anxiety and stress. It can coexist with an anxiety disorder. However, psychiatrists consider it as a separate illness and not an anxiety disorder.
Co-occurring Conditions. Trichotillomania is on the obsessive-compulsive spectrum, which means that it shares many symptoms of obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), such as compulsive counting, checking, or washing.
Common motor tics include eye blinking, shoulder shrugging, and facial grimacing. Vocal tics may include throat clearing, coughing, and sniffing. Trichotillomania is a body-focused repetitive behavior in which a person pulls out his or her hair, usually from the scalp, eyelashes, or eyebrows.
Experts think the urge to pull hair happens because the brain's chemical signals (called neurotransmitters) don't work properly. This creates the irresistible urges that lead people to pull their hair. Pulling the hair gives the person a feeling of relief or satisfaction.
Symptom of anxiety
Your hair twirling might have started in childhood or adolescence and developed into something you do when you're anxious. If you twirl your hair when you feel nervous or when you're coping with intrusive, anxious thoughts, that habit might be a symptom of an anxiety disorder.
There is no one way to cure or prevent trichotillomania. However, treating the underlying negative emotions may help prevent the urge to pull your hair from coming back. Reducing or relieving stress and finding outlets for it may help reduce the urge to pull your hair. You may also want to consider therapy for stress.
All treatments for trichotillomania take time and patience, but the good news is that your hair can grow back. If it has been going on for a long time, less may do so, or your hair may grow back a different texture – but you will see an improvement.
Justin Timberlake
It's not just female celebrities who suffer hair loss, of course. Said to have been diagnosed with trich in 2008, Justin Timberlake lives with his condition and carries on making music and films. As you can see, even beautiful and famous people suffer from trichotillomania.
Pulling out hair by your root may damage your follicle temporarily, but a new bulb will eventually form, and new hair will grow again through that follicle. According to the TLC Foundation for Body-Focused Repetitive Behaviors, it may take a few months or more than a year in some cases.
Since trichotillomania is an impulse control disorder, those affected with ADHD may begin hair pulling to relieve the tension caused by the impact of sensory issues. This compulsion can be both biological and psychological in nature.
From Twirling to Pulling
Trichotillomania, or compulsive hair pulling disorder is characterized by the repetitive, compulsive pulling of the hair to the extent that it often causes balding or long term hair loss.
Avoid twisting your ends too tight; that can result in overstretched hair. And overstretched hair will definitely lead to split ends, and eventually breakage. Make sure you pay close attention to where your natural hair ends while twisting it to avoid causing damage to your ends.
Tics are repeated, involuntary muscle move- ments. Common examples are frequent eye blink- ing or twitching of the mouth; many other types are possible. Some habits (such as thumb suck- ing or hair twirling) are similar to tics but don't develop as suddenly.
Hair follicles damaged from trichotillomania often grow back as gray or white hair, even when it wasn't before. Unfortunately, trichotillomania is a disorder that often cycles on itself. When hair regrows coarser than normal or in a different color, the desire to pull is even stronger.
Trichotillomania Can Stunt Hair Growth
If Trichotillomania has been going on for years, it's possible that permanent baldness can occur, or dam-age to the hair follicle can lead to stunted hair growth. If a follicle has been damaged by hair pulling but not destroyed, it can take between 2-4 years to regrow a hair.
There is no one way to cure or prevent trichotillomania. However, treating the underlying negative emotions may help prevent the urge to pull your hair from coming back. Reducing or relieving stress and finding outlets for it may help reduce the urge to pull your hair. You may also want to consider therapy for stress.
SSRIs and clomipramine are considered first-line in TTM. In addition, family members of TTM patients are often affected by obsessive-compulsive spectrum disorders. Other drugs used in the treatment of TTM are lamotrigine, olanzapine, N-Acetylcysteine, inositol, and naltrexone.
For many people suffering from trichotillomania, shaving the head has been the answer to their daily struggles, some even finding relief and a sense of renewed freedom from the shackles of this disorder.
It all depends on genetics. However, most people's hair grows close enough to the 1/2 inch per month as to be indistinguishable in difference. As for the patch of your hair that was pulled out: If the follicles were damaged they could still heal, but that will take extra time.
Women often employ hair twirling as a way to flirt. Of course, twirling the hair also feels good, so we do it at times when we are preoccupied as a means of relaxing. If you are a twirler, you will notice you tend to twirl your hair at similar times.