Compulsively pull out my hair

LegacyUser

I compulsively pull out my hair. I do it the most when I am stressed and working on something. I seem unable to quell this compulsion and I get bald patches from it. Being stressed and busy I find my hair thinning all round.

I've looked up this and it is a known phenomenon, though most people who do it are female. I'm male.

I think I've done it since I was a teenager, when I started growing wiry brown hair among what had been all fine fair hair. I kept my hair very short for years, which did reduce the compulsion. I think I look a bit rough with short hair though, so I'd rather not do that now.

Anybody have the same thing? Find any ways of stopping it? Not interested in CBT or other psychriatric or psychological professional consultation.

Nevyn

Trichotillomania is what is it called and men do have this condition but more women go for treatment then men do. You can work on breaking the 'habit' yourself or go to a support group but the regular treatment is to see a profession and/or cbt.

JuliusCaesar

Support group and information relevant to Ireland here.

LegacyUser

Thanks for the responses.

I had a quick browse of that site. I got to a bit where it said that many people with trich lead active and fulfilling lives. I thought that was terribly dramatic, so I closed it. [Why wouldn't they lead a fulfilling life?]

The idea of a support group for something like that makes me cringe, and the dramatic language of that site reinforce my reservations about such a thing. [I'm not in Dublin in any case]. Really, I'm just interested if anybody has dealt with this in a private manner, and if I could draw on their experience if so.

Thanks again for the replies anyway.

Nevyn

For some people the pattern of hair pulling leads to noticeable bald patches and a level of anxiety that they find it hard to function in their daily lives, but it's not everyone with Trichotillomania and that point does have to be made which is all the site was doing.

If you work on your general stress levels and find things which reduce your stress and enable you to manage it,
along with noting your triggers you can reduce the hair pulling noticeably but the compulsion can still be there.

LegacyUser

Thaedydal wrote: »

For some people the pattern of hair pulling leads to noticeable bald patches and a level of anxiety that they find it hard to function in their daily lives, but it's not everyone with Trichotillomania and that point does have to be made which is all the site was doing.

If you work on your general stress levels and find things which reduce your stress and enable you to manage it,
along with noting your triggers you can reduce the hair pulling noticeably but the compulsion can still be there.

Hi OP i had something similar where i couldnt stop pulling out my eyelashes i would have to draw a black line on my eye lid to try hide it but i always had bald patches and gaps, i was morto and im female. I started doing it when i was 13 and it stemed from anxiety my homelife was very dysfunctional and i felt trapped all the time especially with my emotions i lived in a home where i was neglected in so many ways but when your emotional side is you develop anxiety, like you said my got worse when i was stressed because the habit would be when i was winding down watchin telly and before i knew it i had no eyelashes! I felt like a right freak but now i understand it and im much older i feel better about the shame of it, basically i got to my late 20;s 28 i was and i was freaked i was still doing it and getting older was i going to do this when i was a granny? so i went to see a hypnotherapist and she did some anxiery relieving excercises with me and then went through the habit with me, what every she did worked because i havent done it since, god i was delighted with myself.

I dont know if you would be into that or seeing a therapist to work out your emotions i also saw a therapist for a few years but i needed it because of the dysfunctional childhood i had and i really worked hard on myself and came out the other side i dont have any depression anxiety or anxious habits anymore.

I personally dont think you can cure it on your own, i think you will need to see someone who can help you change a long standing habit like that, have you spoken to anyone in your life about it? Can you try and talk to someone you trust and try and get to the root cause of your habit and what is really going on behind it?