Trichotillomania
From Drug Rehab Wiki
Trichotillomania is considered an obsessive-compulsive disorder or type of self-harm or self-mutilation.
The expression “pulling my hair out,” typically a casual way to voice concern or frustration is anything but casual to thousands of people who have trichotillomania, which can be considered a type of self-harming behavior. The compulsive behavior known as trichotillomania, or trich, is among a handful of rare and bizarre disorders that affect millions of children and teens, lowering their self-esteem and causing potential health problems. People with trichotillomania are unable to stop themselves from pulling out their hair or twisting it until it breaks or is removed from their scalp, with many experts classifying the disorder as an obsessive-compulsive disorder. Patterns of baldness result and can cause an avoidance of social situations, problems in school or anxiety that affects every area of living.
Also called trichotillosis, the disorder is believed to affect around eleven million in the U.S., and typically females more than males. It occurs most often among young people and may resolve on its own as the child develops, but can also occur in adulthood. People with trich begin to show signs of hair loss in strange patches or patterns as children or young adults, and may deny that they are pulling out their hair. If they consume the hair they’ve pulled, called trichophagia, serious bowel obstructions can occur and digestive problems. The behavior may also occur simultaneously with other self-harming actions and can be a serious source of emotional distress.
Trich is included in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, fourth edition, among a listing of impulse control disorders. People can exhibit the behavior during both calm or stressful times, but most demonstrate a rising sense of anxiety or tension just before the action occurs. Afterward, as in a similar pattern to other impulsive disorders, patients may exhibit feelings of having released tension or relief. Support groups are forming across the nation, and the Trichotillomania Learning Center serves as an information resource.
The disorder can be identified when parents take children to dermatologists or physicians for treatment of strange hair loss patterns. Children and teens with trich may also pull out eyebrows, eyelashes or other areas of body hair. Treatments for trichotillomania have not been officially agreed upon by professionals, but some positive results have been shown with medications for depression like selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors or the medication naltrexone. For some teens and adults, cognitive behavior treatments that focus on modifying the pattern have helped relieve the symptoms. Treatments involving stress reduction may also help reduce the frequency of the behavior.
When trichotillomania occurs among children, it may be short in duration and not cause long-lasting effects. When it occurs among teens, however, it can indicate other more serious problems with impulse-control disorders. Research continues on finding causes and treatments for the condition, and some indicates the disorder may be related to Tourette’s syndrome, a disorder of the neurological system that is marked by repeated, uncontrollable movements.
