living with trich

Hi everyone,

Just joined and was looking through the forum and happened upon this thread.

Trichotillomania, that's a such a long and interesting word, such an awful sickness. That's what i call it, a sickness. That's cuz it is. I have been suffering from trich since i was 13, now 21. I don't know what caused it to happen but i know that it is very difficult to stop.

My parents don't acknowledge me and my 'sickness' maybe because they just don't wanna see it happening in their family, kinda like it's a disgrace. I'm really suffering from it, already i have bald spots on my head and there was some bleeding a while back but not anymore, thank god.

i hope that i might find some help here with my disease so that i can stop and that my once beautiful long hair can grow back

Hi, welcome to the boards! I'm a recovering trichster as well...don't know how much help I can be, though, because I relapsed recently and am now back at square 1. Still, before that I managed about a year and a half without it...the only thing I've found that really works is to make sure you keep your hands away from your hair whenever possible - wearing a hat or gloves is best, one of the advantages of winter.

Veteran trichster here. Thirty years now. at thirteen I picked myself completely bald. over and over and over again. I have long hair now (just cut off about 5 inches last night) but i have two thin spots over each ear that don't grow properly anymore. I still pull all the time but I don't do it to the extreme that I did when I was younger. My mother, way back when I was a kid, would yell and make me feel like a sicko--which didn't help at all, and then in between that she would ignore that I had a problem. Now, I have a loving husband who when he notices that I am pulling more than usual will simply hold my hands. (I tend to pull unconsciously while watching tv or reading. ) or ask me if something is wrong. Now that you are an adult, I am certain that you will find ways of dealing with what ever makes you pull. You aren't alone. There are lots of us!!

Good luck to you!

My parents caught me when I was just starting when I was younger (I suffer from OCD/Tourettes also) and luckily I ended up stopping over time. I was young enough and had only had two long bald strips on my head when I was given something else to put in my hands, like silly putty at almost all times and when I was caught doing it I would be told not to, and eventually that helped me. I know I had a very mild case but I still remember the impact it had on me, including the names I was called for having random bald spots.

I just joined too because I have been suffering from trich for 9 1/2 years without treatment. My counsellor suggested that i see my family physican for a referral to a pyschiatrist and a psychologist for some form of treatment for trich. I really want to get better from this. It's an embarrassment. i am afraid people will laugh at me if i tell them i suffer from this disorder so i keep it hidden. I have hidden it for the longest time until recently. It's not like an average habit of biting your fingernails and people tell me to just stop. it's very difficult.