Trichotillomania Education Page for Bond Hair Bar
Trichotillomania, also known as Hair-pulling disorder, involves recurrent, irresistible urges to pull out hair from various body areas like your scalp and eyebrows. People who have Trichotillomania can’t control the impulse to pull out their hair despite knowing that they’re doing damage to themselves.
When some people are under stress, they tend to pull out their hair to soothe themselves. Over time, repeatedly pulling hair out leads to bald spots or even emotional distress.
Here we have outlined the causes, symptoms, and different treatments available for Trichotillomania; read on for more.
Causes of Trichotillomania
The exact cause of Trichotillomania is unknown. It involves both biological and behavioral factors. According to some expert doctors, certain factors increase a person’s risk of developing Trichotillomania, such as:
Genetic history
A person whose parent or sibling suffered from Trichotillomania is more likely to have the condition themselves.
Childhood trauma
A person who has experienced childhood trauma is more likely to develop Trichotillomania.
Also, this mental health condition is sometimes related to other medical conditions such as:
- Anxiety
- Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD)
- Obsessive-compulsive Disorder (OCD)
- Depression or Autism
Types of Trichotillomania
Although all types of Trichotillomania involve hair pulling, there are two major types of hair-pulling:
- Automatic pulling: In this case, the individual may not realize that they’re pulling their hair until they see their couch or bed full of hair they pulled.
- Focused pulling: Focused hair pulling is intentional as it feels good to some people. Often, focused hair pullers engage in this kind of behavior in private.
In addition to these two types of hair-pulling, people indulge in many other odd things with their hair. Sometimes they pull their hair and flick it on the floor or save it in baggies. Determining the type of hair pulling a person is engaged in is essential to decide on their treatment.
Symptoms of Trichotillomania
Some of the behavioral and physical symptoms which a person suffering from Trichotillomania may experience are:
- Repeatedly pulling out your hair from your scalp, eyebrows, eyelashes, or sometimes from other body areas.
- Anxiety when you try resisting pulling your hair or even before you feel the urge to do that.
- Noticeable hair loss, like shortened, thinned hair or bald areas on different areas of your body.
- Biting, chewing, or eating pulled-out hair.
- Preference for rituals that accompany hair pulling or patterns of hair pulling
- Playing with pulled-out hair
- Significant distress or problems in public related to pulling out your hair
- Repeatedly trying to pull your hair but with fewer chances of any success
Over time, Trichotillomania patients may experience many side effects like:
- Itching or tingling in the area where you pull out your hair
- Thinning hair
- Bald spots
- Social anxiety
- Skin irritations
Diagnosis of Trichotillomania
If you have symptoms of Trichotillomania, your doctor will begin an evaluation by performing a complete medical history following a physical examination. There are no tests such as X-rays or blood tests to diagnose this disorder. If Trichotillomania is suspected, the doctor might refer the person to a psychologist. They use specially designed tools for interviews and assessments to evaluate a person’s impulse control disorder. An evaluation to determine trichotillomania includes:
Examining how much hair loss you have
Asking questions regarding your hair pulling
Discussing your hair loss with you
Eliminating other possible that cause hair pulling
Identifying any physical or mental health problems associated with your hair pulling
Using the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5) for the diagnostic criteria
Trichotillomania Treatments
Research for the treatment of Trichotillomania is limited. However, some treatments have helped many people reduce their hair pulling or entirely stop it. Some psychologists may recommend the following:
1) Therapy
Various therapy that may help for treatment of Trichotillomania include:
- Habit reversal training: This is behavioral therapy, in which you learn how to recognize situations where you’re likely to pull your hair. People also use other therapies along with habit reversal training.
- Cognitive therapy: This therapy helps you identify and examine monstrous beliefs you may have about pulling hair.
- Acceptance and commitment therapy: This therapy helps you accept your hair-pulling urges. Therapies that help with other mental health disorders associated with Trichotillomania (such as depression or substance abuse) are essential for the treatment.
2) Medications
Although there are no medications approved specifically for treating Trichotillomania, some medicine that your doctor may suggest still helps control certain symptoms. The doctor may recommend Medications like an antidepressant, such as clomipramine (Anafranil), N-acetylcysteine, an amino acid that influences neurotransmitters related to mood, and many more. Usually, medications require at least six weeks at the therapeutic or maximum dose tolerated to know if it’ll work or not.
However, if these therapies and medication do not work, there are other ways to deal with bald spots and thinning hair that are fun and stylish. Emily Wyant, a world-renowned hair expert, and owner at Bond Hair Bar, will help you walk through these. She will help you to recover your self-esteem, put much value on your beauty, keeping you focused on getting better in the following ways:
- Non-surgical hair replacements for patients with little to no hair: Non-surgical hair replacements are one of the most creative ways to turn something that makes you feel bad into something fantastic. Hair replacement is a Volumizer System used to interrupt the pattern of pulling as it creates a barrier between your hands and your common pulling areas, restoring your confidence by giving you a full head of hair. You can find the best hair replacement facility in the San Francisco Bay Area at Bond Hair Bar.
- Hair extensions: People living with this disorder often experience their hair becoming very thin. For most people, it can be hard to deal with this disorder. Hair extensions at Bond Hair Bar work for people suffering from Trichotillomania. However, even if you don’t suffer from Trichotillomania but are considering hair extensions for other reasons, you must contact Bond Hair Bar.
Get professional help from Emily Wyant at Bond Hair Bar
It is always better to consult the best healthcare provider to ensure the information displayed on this page applies to your circumstances. Apart from that, most people take Trichotillomania lightly, but it can cause depression.
So, deal with your hair loss treatment seriously with the help of Emily Wyant and her expert team at Bond Hair Bar. Bond offers non-Surgical hair replacement and hair extensions for every state of hair loss.
So, contact us now.