What would you like to know about it?
It's an All consuming monster
there's not really much more to it...
well, i guess there are the facts...
the literal translation from Greek is 'hair pulling madness'
It is an illness not a disease (am just gonna put in here that these are my thoughts - not necessarily medical facts), and the reason i am making a difference is because i personally think of a disease as something more terminal, where-as an illness is something everyone gets, and recover from...
having done some searching, i have just found this amazing poem which helps to show the feelings:
To wake every morning
Guilt ridden from head to toe
You head to the mirror, not entirely sure of what will show.
Head already spinning of how to cover up
What can be the reason when people ask ‘whats up?’
A dare seems the most likely
Followed by drunken prankOr be gutsy and be truthful
About all the hairs you yank?
It’s just not good to look at,
When all the face is bare,
Although not as bad as many,
the pulling is still there
You see a dark root coming,
and you want that bastard hair.
The urge, stronger, stronger, stronger until finally defeat’s conceded.
That urge you tried to ignore but eventually you ceded.
Relief is there straight after
Though only fleeting by.
Then it really hits you,The agonising aftermath;
Not just redness above the eyes
But the mental state your left in
The question of just why?
Where has it gone
That confidence I lack?
All I want is to have it back
Well this is my life, so Welcome.
Welcome to my life
As a trichotillomaniac
I wake every morning
Guilt ridden from head to toe
I head to my mirror, not entirely sure of what will show……
the thing is it's just so true to life! i am not taking the credit for it, it is on the UK Trichotillomania Support forum/website thingy...
Anyway, back to earlier comment - the whole all consuming monster...
It is, it affects me everywhere i go, bearing in mind i am a student atm, so always out, getting to/from college (at the hands of the buses!), which are often full, i know i am going to end up sitting next to someone Just don't make eye contact , its the only way i can face the journey - getting stuck in with doing homework or reading my book...
Back to the more 'official' stuff:
[trich is] defined as "hair loss from a patient's repetitive self-pulling of hair" and is characterized by the repeated urge to pull out scalp hair, eyelashes, facial hair, nose hair, pubic hair, and eyebrows or other body hair, sometimes resulting in noticeable bald patches
(thank you wikipedia)
It is currently classified in the DSM-IV (a thing they got happening which is all about mental disorders of various types) as an Impulse Control Disorder, however i read somewhere (cant remember where) that it is being reviewed and when they bring out the next DSM it might be classed as OCD (dont quote me on it tho!)
So, what causes it?
well...
the following have all been linked to it, to an extent at somepoint (although everyone is different!), not necessarily causes, could be side effects, but there is correlation between them...
-Anxiety
-Depression
-OCD
- Post Traumatic Stress Disorder
- Stress
- possibility that it is genetic - SLITRK1 gene mutations? And to do with Serotonin 2a receptor genes...
"Another school of thought emphasizes hair pulling as addictive or positively reinforcing insofar as it is associated with rising tension beforehand and relief afterward."
[Chamberlain SR, Menzies L, Sahakian BJ, Fineberg NA (April 2007). "Lifting the veil on trichotillomania". Am J Psychiatry 164 (4): 568–74. ]
Because of the social stigma attached to Trich it is impossible to say how many people have it, it is often hidden and very rarely will a person go to the doctors about it, imho - parents will take their children if they notice it, but say if a parent notices it within themselves they are a lot less likely to go! (just something i've noticed)
Treatment?
Well, again this illness is different with everyone, so the treatment varies! Anyone can develop trich, and the age also makes a difference... IE a 5year old is likely to grow out of it, and so the parents are encouraged to ignore it, however older kids (pre-teens/teens/young Adults) are thought to benefit from knowing that there are lots of people with trich (which there are) and then go to things such as Behaviour Modification Training, with seeing a psychologist/psychiatrist as a last resort. Then the true and proper adults - they are often reffered to Psychiatrist straight away as trich in older people is generally more associated with other psychiatric disorders (more of a by-product than the source...)
Anything else?
as i said just now, it is possible for anyone to have trich, however it does seam more 'popular' with females (preschool age is equal gender difference, then it gradually goes up to being more female dominated) . Although that is not to say men don't get it too!
I think that is all you could want to know about trich in one go (plus im hungry and want my tea!) However, if you would like to know more, just ask (post a comment at the bottom) and i will endeavor to find the answer for you! (or give my opinion...)
Food time! x
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