Medication
Types of therapy that may be helpful for trichotillomania include:
- Habit reversal training. This behavior therapy is the primary treatment for trichotillomania. ...
- Cognitive therapy. This therapy can help you identify and examine distorted beliefs you may have in relation to hair pulling.
- Acceptance and commitment therapy. This therapy can help you learn to accept your hair-pulling urges without acting on them.
Therapy
Trichotillomania is a long-term (chronic) disorder. Without treatment, symptoms can vary in severity over time. For example, the hormonal changes of menstruation can worsen symptoms in women. For some people, if not treated, symptoms can come and go for weeks, months or years at a time. Rarely, hair pulling ends within a few years of starting.
What are the best treatments for trichotillomania?
While there is no cure for trichotillomania, there are treatments available which can help reduce or entirely stop the hair pulling behaviour. There are also remedies available to address its secondary effects like hair loss and scalp infections.
What is trichotillomania and how can it be cured?
- Use the saying "every hair belongs on my head" and repeat this over and over until the urge to pull ceases.*
- Make yourself busy, too much downtime can be dangerous.*
- Help others, which in turn will help you.**
- Read everything you can on the internet about trichotillomania and the treatment plans to deal with it.*
Is there a cure for trichotillomania?
How to help someone dealing with trichotillomania?
Why do people not seek treatment for trichotillomania?
Many people who have trichotillomania do not seek treatment for their condition. Some people may be unaware that they have a recognized medical condition, and may simply view hair pulling as a bad habit. Others may be reluctant to seek a diagnosis for a variety of reasons.
Should I go to therapy if I have trichotillomania?
Trichotillomania, also called compulsive hair pulling, is a very treatable condition. It is typically addressed through behavioral therapy. The right therapist can help a person quit the hair-pulling behavior and address any underlying emotional concerns.
Is trichotillomania a serious disorder?
Although it may not seem particularly serious, trichotillomania can have a major negative impact on your life. Complications may include: Emotional distress. Many people with trichotillomania report feeling shame, humiliation and embarrassment.
What is the prognosis for trichotillomania?
Outlook (Prognosis) For most people, the hair pulling ends within 12 months. For others, trichotillomania is a lifelong disorder. However, treatment often improves the hair pulling and the feelings of depression, anxiety, or poor self-image.
Is trichotillomania a neurological disorder?
Trichotillomania is a neuropsychiatric disorder characterized by the repetitive pulling out of one's own hair, leading to noticeable hair loss and significant functional impairment.
How can I help someone with trichotillomania?
Trichotillomania Support GroupsOffering to drive them to trichotillomania support groups.Attending a support group meeting with them, if they ask.Offering to help them find a local mental health counselor to speak with.Regularly asking how they're doing in managing their condition.More items...•
What happens if trichotillomania is left untreated?
Trichotillomania will have a tremendous impact on your mental health, particularly if it is left untreated. Some of the psychological effects that may be experienced include: Low self-esteem or poor body image due to hair loss and skin damage. Increased feelings of depression or anxiety.
Is trichotillomania a genetic disorder?
Scientists at Duke University Medical Center have found evidence that trichotillomania, a psychiatric disorder that causes people to compulsively pull their hair, has a basis in genetics. Trichotillomania is an impulse control disorder that affects 3 to 5 percent of the population.
Is trichotillomania an OCD or anxiety?
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.
How does trichotillomania affect the brain?
The results of the analysis, published in Brain Imaging and Behaviour in June, show that patients with trichotillomania have increased thickness in regions of the frontal cortex involved in suppression of motor responses: the right inferior frontal gyrus (rIFG) and other nearby brain regions.
Can you recover from trichotillomania?
There is no cure for this disorder, but it can be successfully managed. Therapy by a qualified body-focused repetitive behavior practitioner would be the ideal method to deal with trichotillomania.
Can a dermatologist help with trichotillomania?
Abstract. ABSTRACT: Patients with trichotillomania often first present to dermatologists, as patients may be unaware of or deny hair pulling and seek an etiology for their hair loss. It therefore becomes the job of the dermatologist to correctly diagnose trichotillomania as well as offer treatment options.
What are the causes of trichotillomania?
Usually, the development of trichotillomania is brought on by one of the following: Anxiety and Stress The most common and most frequent cause of trichotillomania is anxiety and stress.
How many people have trichotillomania?
The condition, known as “trichotillomania,” effects as much as 4% of the population at some point in their life (roughly 280,000,000 people in the world), and is a common and frequent symptom of stress and anxiety. It’s also not well known, and many people struggle with the condition in silence. ADVERTISEMENT.
Why does pulling my hair make me feel good?
Perhaps the mild pain that hair pulling causes leads to some type of “good feeling” that occurs at a chemical level. Nevertheless, the impulse to pull hair appears to be stronger when someone has anxiety and stress. There is evidence that it has a calming effect on the nerves.
What is it called when you pull your hair out?
Trichotillomania is the name for the desire or compulsion to pull out your own hair. It is a complicated issue, one that is believed to be directly related to anxiety and stress, but can also run in families and occur for no apparent reason at all.
How to make sure you are not pulling your hair?
Setting reminders throughout the day to make sure you’re not pulling your hair. Asking friends or loved ones to tell you when you’re pulling your hair. Immediately controlling your hands and paying attention when you feel stress/anxiety. Essentially mindfulness is simply an awareness of the present.
What does it mean when anxiety becomes overwhelming?
When anxiety starts to become overwhelming it may be a sign that you have moderate to severe anxiety. With this free 7 minute anxiety test, you can receive: Take the anxiety test today to gain better insight into your anxiety and its symptoms.
Do people with trichotillomania pull their hair out?
Most people that struggle with trichotillomania are aware that they have the problem. But many do not realize they’re pulling out their own hair while they’re doing it – only after they have been pulling their hair for a while, or when someone points it out to them.
How to diagnose trichotillomania?
To diagnose trichotillomania, your doctor will talk to you about your medical history, as well as symptoms you may be experiencing. They will likely use the criteria in the new edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders to see if your symptoms match up .
When does trichotillomania start?
Trichotillomania usually develops during the adolescent years, but it’s been known to appear in young children, too. Once it starts, it can continue for several years, continuing through adulthood. It affects males and females equally in childhood but can affect females more often during adulthood.
What is it called when you pull your hair out?
Trichotillomania (TTM) is a mental disorder in which people feel an overwhelming need to pull out their own hair. Research suggests that 0.5 to 2 percent. Trusted Source. of people have TTM.
What does it mean when you pull your hair?
hair pulling causes clinically significant distress or impairment in social, occupational, or other important areas of functioning. hair pulling or hair loss that is not attributable to another medical condition (e.g., a dermatological condition)
Is trichotillomania underdiagnosed?
Trichotillomania is often underdiagnosed. Those who have symptoms may feel embarrassed or afraid to talk to their doctor about what they are experiencing. Symptoms may affect a person for just a few months, while it may affect another person off and on for many years.
Can trichotillomania cause bald spots?
For people with trichotillomania, that may include an overwhelming urge to pull out your own hair. Over time, repeatedly pulling hair out can lead to bald spots and even more emotional distress.
Does trichotillomania get worse during pregnancy?
A 2013 case study noted that symptoms of trichotillomania may also get worse during pregnancy due to hormonal changes.
What causes trichotillomania?
Like other mental health disorders, a combined effect of genetic and environmental factors most likely create the condition.
What is the goal of trichotillomania therapy?
The intended outcome of therapy for trichotillomania will be to eliminate the excessive hair pulling and related behaviors. Another important outcome, though, will be to address and reduce symptoms of any depressive, anxious, or OCD disorders that exist alongside the TTM. In this way, the person’s overall health and well-being will improve.
How does TTM affect a person?
Given the opportunity, TTM can significantly impact a person’s lifestyle and well-being in negative ways. To avoid this influence, the individual should engage in healthy lifestyle changes to ward off symptoms, including: 6
What is hair pulling disorder?
Hair-pulling disorder represents a negative coping skill, so when you take steps to reduce it, other negative coping skills may rise to replace it. Substance use, compulsive shopping, unsafe sex, and other negative coping skills always seem appealing, but they rarely end well.
What kind of therapists are needed for TTM?
Therapists, including psychologists, social workers, and counselors, can provide services in the home, school, community, or office setting to address and eliminate TTM symptoms.
What does it mean when you pull your hair?
When a person acknowledges their hair pulling as more than just a “bad habit” and decides to seek out treatment, they greatly improve their odds of symptom relief. With a combined treatment plan of therapy, medication, and lifestyle changes, a person can confront and manage the signs and symptoms of trichotillomania.
What is the mental disorder of pulling hair?
Trichotillomania (TTM), also called hair pulling disorder, is a mental disorder that involves a person removing hair from their body in a persistent and problematic way. Hair pulling disorder affects children and adults with the power to trigger high levels of distress and anxiety. Professional treatment, including therapy and medication, can address hair pulling and increase a person’s well-being.
What causes Trichotillomania?
Some experts think the urge to pull hair happens because the brain’s chemical signals, called neurotransmitters, don’t work properly and that this creates the irresistible urges that lead people to pull their hair.
What triggers Trichotillomania?
Hair pulling may be triggered by or accompanied by a number of emotional states such as anxiety, boredom, stress or tension, and can result in feelings of satisfaction, relief, pleasure or guilt following the hair pulling. Major upheavals in life such as abuse, bullying, divorce or death can often trigger Trichotillomania.
What are the signs and symptoms of Trichotillomania?
The length of a Trichotillomania occurrence tends to vary greatly, with some people pulling out just a few hairs over several minutes, or in other cases people spending hours or even a whole night stripping the scalp of hair.
Potential consequences for health and wellbeing of Trichotillomania sufferers
Scratches, bruises and Erythema from picking the area around the hair.
Is Trichotillomania a mental illness?
Mental disorders are patterns of behavioural or psychological symptoms that impact multiple areas of life. In some medical and mental health publications, Trichotillomania is classified as a psychological disorder.
How is Trichotillomania diagnosed?
The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5) diagnostic criteria for Trichotillomania include:
What can you do if you have or know someone with Trichotillomania?
People who have Trichotillomania often do not seek help or treatment for their condition as many people who are affected by Trichotillomania may not realise that they have a diagnosable condition and they commonly view their hair pulling as just a bad habit.
Are You Confident of the Diagnosis?
Trichotillomania (TTM) refers to a condition in which the individual pulls out his or her own hair. This is primarily a psychiatric disorder, and much of the relevant clinical and statistical information is in the psychiatric literature.
Who is at Risk for Developing this Disease?
It is difficult to estimate the true incidence of TTM because there are many sufferers who do not seek help, different researchers apply different diagnostic criteria, and there are few controlled studies.
What is the Cause of the Disease?
TTM is the cutaneous expression of a psychiatric disorder, and is now included in the obsessive-compulsive spectrum. Our patients commonly have comorbid generalized anxiety disorder, panic disorder, major depressive disorder, or borderline or histrionic personality disorder.
Systemic Implications and Complications
The implications and complications of TTM may be both psychological and physical.
Optimal Therapeutic Approach for this Disease
Remembering that TTM is a psychiatric disorder, and that there is no primary skin pathology, treating only the skin is not an effective option, and referral to a psychiatrist or psychotherapist must be the primary goal.
Patient Management
The patient should be seen weekly, or at most biweekly initially, to establish rapport. This may be extended to monthly visits, when trust has developed.
Unusual Clinical Scenarios to Consider in Patient Management
Watch for the possibility of deepening depression and the possible sequelae of trichophagia.
How to help someone with trichotillomania?
Becoming aware of the factors that lead up to the hair pulling behaviors and actions that follow hair pulling can help bring clarity and insight for the person with trichotillomania . Your help in identifying patterns can also aid ...
What is the best treatment for trichotillomania?
The most common form of therapy or treatment for trichotillomania is cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT). Many mental health practitioners view CBT as the most effective treatment for this disorder. In CBT, your loved one can address the relationships between their thoughts, feelings and behaviors.
What is it called when you pull your hair out?
Trichotillomania is a mental health condition characterized by uncontrollable urges to pull out one’s hair. Approximately 1 percent of Americans will have trichotillomania in their lifetime. This disorder often leads to shame and embarrassment. This shame may increase once another person learns about the presence of the disorder.
Can trichotillomania and drug addiction be treated at the same time?
If someone struggles with drug or alcohol addiction and trichotillomania — which is referred to as a dual diagnosis — it’s essential to treat both conditions at the same time. Lasting healing can begin when both disorders are addressed in inpatient or outpatient treatment.
Is pulling hair a random occurrence?
Pulling hair is not a random occurrence in trichotillomania; instead, it is a behavior that generally follows specific patterns. Before asking how to help someone with trichotillomania, learn about the disorder if you are unfamiliar with it.
Can you use CBT for trichotillomania?
In addition, to talk therapy options and CBT, medication may also treat the symptoms of trichotillomania. However, specific medicines are typically used when a person struggles with a co-occurring mental health condition like an anxiety or depressive disorder .
Is trichotillomania inpatient or outpatient?
Trichotillomania may be treated in either an inpatient or outpatient setting. The intensity of treatment may be influenced by whether other co-occurring disorders are present. For example, if there is a co-occurring drug or alcohol use disorder, inpatient treatment may be beneficial.
Aarti Gupta, PsyD
Dr. Aarti Gupta, PsyD is Founder and Clinical Director at TherapyNest, A Center for Anxiety and Family Therapy in Palo Alto, California. She specializes in evidence-based treatment for a wide spectrum of anxiety disorders, including OCD, panic disorder, social anxiety, trichotillomania, and generalized anxiety disorder. Dr.
Aarti Gupta, PsyD
Dr. Aarti Gupta, PsyD is Founder and Clinical Director at TherapyNest, A Center for Anxiety and Family Therapy in Palo Alto, California. She specializes in evidence-based treatment for a wide spectrum of anxiety disorders, including OCD, panic disorder, social anxiety, trichotillomania, and generalized anxiety disorder. Dr.
Why do I fidget with my hair?
Fidgeting with one's hair is a relatively common nervous tic. Think back to when you were middle school and talking to your crush. I'd be willing to bet money that you were nervously twirling your hair the whole conversation. It was a thoughtless impulse that didn't mean anything. But what happens when someone's urges get out of control? For some people, "fidgeting" with their hair becomes a domineering part of their lives. Trichotillomania (or tichotillosis) is a disorder that causes people to experience intense impulses to pull out their hair.
Can trichotillomania make you feel self conscious?
First of all , most people with this disorder still buy hair care products and get their hair cut professionally. In fact, many spend more money on hair care than people with long, luxurious hair – think hair extensions, false eyebrows and eyelashes, as well as therapeutic treatments. Secondly, making a comment like this may make a person with trichotillomania feel self conscious and uncomfortable.
Is it rude to say "trichotillomania"?
Unless this person is a mad scientist or eccentric artist and they think being weird is a compliment, this is something you should NEVER say to someone with trichotillomania! In fact, this is just downright rude to say to ANYONE. Not only is it mean, it's not true; trichotillomania isn't any weirder than any other disorder.