You’ve probably seen that episode of My Strange Addiction or ABC’s 20/20. It’s possible that you’ve stumbled upon the video of the girl who took a picture of herself everyday for almost seven years, or more likely the one where she shaves her head. Or maybe one of your friends doesn’t have eyelashes and you asked what happened to them. Maybe you’ve read an article just like this one, and you already have a pretty good idea of what I’m going to be talking about.
It’s called trichotillomania.
As defined by Merriam-Webster, trichotillomania is, “an abnormal desire to pull out one’s hair.” Sounds about right, except that it isn’t abnormal in the slightest.
Trichotillomania is estimated to affect up to twelve million Americans, which is over twice the number of people suffering from anorexia. So why is it that no one knows what trichotillomania is?
Maybe it’s because of the negative connotations attached to the disorder. In Criminal Minds, there have been two criminals with trichotillomania. Hair pullers were featured on My Strange Addiction and on an ABC 20/20 segment titled “My Strange Affliction”. All of these representations of trichotillomania in the media are negative, leading to a widely negative view on the disorder. In reality, it isn’t weird, and it isn’t uncommon.
Like previously stated, up to twelve million Americans suffer from trichotillomania. The term trichotillomania makes it sound complicated, but really, it’s just hair pulling. But at the same time, it really isn’t that simple. Many people brush it off, stating that it’s “just a bad habit” and that you can “stop it if you wanted to.” However, trichotillomania is a complex disorder, categorized as a Body Focused Repetitive Disorder.
Other BFRBs include skin picking (dermatillomania), nail biting (onychopagia), and lip or cheek biting (lip bite/cheek keratosis). Around 5% of the population are estimated to suffer from BFRBs, meaning they really aren’t as taboo as people seem to think that they are. Due to both the negativity surrounding them and the fact that they literally get no attention ever, many people suffer in silence and in shame. It is important to raise awareness so people know that they aren’t alone in this fight. There are therapists specializing in their BFRB, there are support groups made specifically for people with these kinds of problems, and there are a multitude of resources online.
BFRBs manifest differently in every individual with a BFRB. Some hair pullers only pull at night, some are bald, some pull hair and not eyelashes, some pull eyelashes and not hair, some don’t pull for weeks but then have a single bad episode, some pull every single day. Similar to the way that the effects are different for different people, so are the triggers and the solutions. Some people are triggered by stress, some people pull/bite/pick habitually. Some people can use tools such as fiddle toys and bandaids to help them stop and some people simply have to have strong willpower. It depends on where you feel the urge—some people feel it in their hands and some feel it in their head.
In my personal experience, the urge is in the root of whichever hair, eyebrow or eyelash I want to pull. As a person who has suffered trichotillomania for eight years, I have not successfully found a way to stop. I’ve gone without eyebrows, without eyelashes, without eyebrows and eyelashes at the same time, and I’ve almost always had visible bald patches. It took a long time for me to find confidence in myself with this disorder, which is a common side effect among sufferers. It is often noted that while pulling out your hair isn’t life-threatening, the self esteem effects that come along with it are.
Trichotillomania is the most common disorder that you’ve never heard of. Chances are, you have friends or family suffering from it. It is nearly impossible for a teacher to go their whole professional career without teaching a child with a BFRB. These Body Focused Repetitive Behaviors are common. They’re normal. They need media coverage, positive attention, and acceptance.
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