- It is a good idea to teach your daughter relaxation or mindfulness strategies that she can use as a means of becoming aware of, and diverting her hair-pulling behaviour, as well as reducing her stress levels generally. Perhaps you could listen to a relaxation tape together as part of her bedtime ritual.
Trichotillomania can be either a simple habit, an angry protest or a sign that your child is anxious or under stress. If your child has only started pulling his hair out at school age, there may have been other causes for the problem.
Frequently used treatments for trichotillomania include: cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) is a specialized form of behavior therapy. It involves helping a child recognize thoughts, feelings and behaviors associated with hair pulling.
While people on the autistic spectrum often have comorbid trichotillomania and other BFRBs, the reverse correlation does not appear to hold true, and no scientific evidence could be found indicating that autism causes trichotillomania.
Trichotillomania is an independent diagnosis but is highly comorbid, meaning it frequently occurs with other conditions. Anxiety and depression are the most common comorbidities, followed by ADHD.
Trichotillomania has also been linked to impulsive behavior and sensation seeking, which are both often present in substance use disorders. Trichotillomania itself has been considered a form of addiction, as those with trichotillomania may experience withdrawal or difficulty stopping hair-pulling behaviors.
Noticeable hair loss, such as shortened hair or thinned or bald areas on the scalp or other areas of your body, including sparse or missing eyelashes or eyebrows. Preference for specific types of hair, rituals that accompany hair pulling or patterns of hair pulling. Biting, chewing or eating pulled-out hair.
Trichotillomania (often abbreviated as TTM) is a mental health disorder where a person compulsively pulls out or breaks their own hair. This condition falls under the classification of obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD).
Background. Trichotillomania appears to be a fairly common disorder, with high rates of co-occurring anxiety disorders. Many individuals with trichotillomania also report that pulling worsens during periods of increased anxiety.
Trichotillomania usually starts around age 12, but younger kids can experience it too.
For most children, hair-pulling is a time-limited habit that they grow out of, though for others it can become a more fixed habit and, in these situations, it can be diagnosed as trichotillomania, which is grouped as an obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD) in mental health manuals.
It's common for kids and adults to pick at their skin or play with their hair, but in some cases, it can become a concerning habit, causing distress or infection. As many as 1 in 20 people pick at their skin enough to be diagnosed with excoriation disorder, according to the International OCD Foundation.
There is no cure for this disorder, but it can be successfully managed. Therapy by a qualified body-focused repetitive behavior practitioner would be the ideal method to deal with trichotillomania.
Trichotillomania is a common cause of pulling out eyelashes. This is a body-focused repetitive behavior in which a person pulls out their hair. 1 It is an impulse control disorder and is sometimes classified as a type of obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD).
Some have argued that hair pulling in trichotillomania (TTM) is triggered by traumatic events, but reliable evidence linking trauma to TTM is limited. However, research has shown that hair pulling is associated with emotion regulation, suggesting a connection between negative affect and TTM.
This study shows that the people who suffer from trichotillomania were having higher levels of childhood trauma. Another study performed over the people having trichotillomania condition revealed that around 75 % of the studied individual has experienced a traumatic event.
Results. SSRIs and clomipramine are considered first-line in TTM. In addition, family members of TTM patients are often affected by obsessive-compulsive spectrum disorders. Other drugs used in the treatment of TTM are lamotrigine, olanzapine, N-Acetylcysteine, inositol, and naltrexone.
If untreated, trichotillomania is a chronic illness that often results in substantial psychosocial dysfunction and that can, in rare cases, lead to life-threatening medical problems. Control of the hair pulling is therefore critical for maintaining long-term health and quality of life.
Trichotillomania is on the obsessive-compulsive spectrum, which means that it shares many symptoms of obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), such as compulsive counting, checking, or washing.
One study found that out of 894 people struggling with trichotillomania, 84% of them said anxiety was associated with it. Others report that hair pulling gets worse when anxiety increases. In addition to the mental and emotional distress of the disorder, there are physical health risks as well.
Trichotillomania has been found to be associated with mood disorders, particularly bipolar disorder. Trichotillomania has shared similarities with bipolar disorder by virtue of phenomenology, co-morbidity, and psychopharmacologic observations.
Other imaging studies of trichotillomania reported reduced gray matter in the left inferior frontal gyrus23 and reduced cerebellar volumes. More recently, whole-brain analysis identified increased gray matter densities in the left caudate/putamen, bilateral cingulate, and right frontal cortices.
In people with trichotillomania, brain imaging studies have shown abnormalities in activity in certain regions of the brain, including areas involved in regulating impulses and habits, emotional processing, and reward processing. Neuroimaging research also points to abnormal activity in those with OCD.