[Katix3]

I'm 16 and I found out I have Trich..Well I recently started pulling my hair out in the middle of my head and I didn't notice it to be anything I just thought I was weird.. I don't know. I started this last summer and my dad and mom were going through a custody thing. and It was stressful. I would find myself just watching t.v and pulling my hair out strand by strand. I never could just stop myself. Then I stopped. I had my hair braided for 4 months and then I started back again not as often though. So I then started to get a little worried about this slow process of thinning hair in the middle of my head. I went online and found out this was something to be serious with. I haven't told my parents because I feel like they'll brush it off. I don't know what to do. I have curly hair so you can't see it but I just want to know how do I deal with Trich? Who do I tell? and who can help me?

[Rose3]

Hi Katix3 - It's great that you found this forum. And that you have been able to explain your hair-pulling behaviour. And you've done some research already to inform yourself about it. You can tell us here on the forum - this is a pretty good forum with lots of people who will listen. My advice for you is this - it's important for you to realize that you can stop the hair-pulling, you can control what your hands are doing. Your hands don't do the hair-pulling on their own. You can enhance your awareness of what your hands are doing, and then change what they are doing. Decide to have your hands do something else. Here's a link that I found for you about trichotillomania - http://trich.org/dnld/ExpertGuidelines_000.pdf and it has some ideas such as a fidget item, and CBT (cognitive-behavioural therapy).
Hope there's something there that is useful for you.
Another source offers suggestions such as habit-reversal or competing response http://www.webmd.com/anxiety-panic/g...lomania?page=2