Trichotillomania is the compulsion to pull out the hairs on one’s body. The Daily Mail recently interviewed Laura Forbes who highlights a problem that many people who suffer with the disorder experience; that it can take years before they eventually seek help:
“I had been pulling my hair for about a year by the time my parents realised that I needed help.”
Laura took the right first step by going to see her GP, although he seemed unaware of trichotillomania. If you experience a similar thing, you can arrange to see a qualified dermatologist privately.
The doctor had simply advised Laura to stop pulling out her hair. She points out:
“Now, 14 years later, I know it’s not that simple. It was an unconscious habit – my hand would wander up to my hair, my brain would zone out and, before I knew it, there would be huge bunches of hair around me.”
Laura pulled her hair out to such an extent that she created bald patches. Styling her hair hid the problem initially, but she moved from hairbands to headscarves as the problem developed.
“My head was always covered in clips. Getting ready to leave the house took longer and longer and became more and more stressful.”
Laura intitially used the Intralace system to hide the effects of hair loss, but has since treated the cause through hypnotherapy and habit reversal training and has seen considerable improvement.