If you are a hair puller and are feeling concerned that your behaviour is more than just a bad habit, you have no doubt searched for answers on the web and come across the term trichotillomania. It can be scary to read up on a condition and find yourself relating to all the signs and symptoms of a clinical disorder. The key is that if you suspect you have a clinical diagnosis of any sort, is to seek professional help for a formal diagnosis. The unfortunate reality though is that there is still very limited awareness about trichotillomania and all other body-focussed repetitive behaviours (BFRBs), and so these conditions often go undiagnosed. In a similar vain, even if you are certain you have trichotillomania your local health professional may not be qualified or experienced enough to help you manage or treat the disorder.

Trichotillomania, or hair pulling disorder, involves the obsessive compulsion to pull out ones hair. The focus area of hair pulling varies and can be anywhere on the body where there is hair. Pulling at the hair on the scalp is most common and often automatic. For some people hair pulling is just a bad habit which does not affect them negatively in any way. In this case the hair pulling is not considered a disorder. According to the DSM5, trichotillomania is most commonly characterized by:

More Exposure, More Awareness

Trichotillomania has gained increased awareness over the past few years, largely due to the use of blogging and social media by the younger generation who use it to speak openly about their experiences with the disorder. With access to information around the world via the web, and the social trend to share ourselves openly with the broader public, the new generation have embraced freedom of expression with both hands. More and more people are using blogging (short for weblog), a discussion or informational website, to express their views and opinions, and are finding willing audiences to listen. This can also take the form of video blogging (vlogging), whereby the person’s views are expressed on camera. Coupled with social media platforms, blogs can often go viral, meaning that the messages they convey are heard by a wide, often global audience.