"Trich"

Haro84

Anybody have or hear of "trich" for short, trichotillomania....?

Beruthiel

Haro
Please state your PI or I'm closing this thread.
B

Baudelaire

It's an obsessive compulsive disorder where people pull out (and sometimes eat) their own hair.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trichotillomania

Sleepy

Certainly heard of it OP, are you a sufferer?

DawnMc

It's a form of self harm, worked with teenagers who suffered from it.

What do you want to know exactly?

Haro84

im new to this thing so dont understand OP and IP etc?? what do you mean with my big a-a words?

i do suffer from trich, just wondered is it common in ireland, iv only read forums from people in england and usa.

depressed at the moment.

Sherifu

Haro84 wrote: »

im new to this thing so dont understand OP and IP etc?? what do you mean with my big a-a words?

i do suffer from trich, just wondered is it common in ireland, iv only read forums from people in england and usa.

depressed at the moment.

You do indeed seem to be new to this internet stuff so let me help.
PI=Personal Issues
OP=Original Poster - in this case you.
"big a-a words?" = that's her signature/tagline in all her posts

biko

OP, if you could elaborate on what your particular problem is?
The more info you can tell us, the better we can give you feedback.

These are Irish Google pages on the disorder.
Check out http://ocdireland.org/trich.shtml

Haro84

my particular problem is I have what their calling, the Trich disorder. Im from wicklow but wonder had anyone else got it, as its known for only 1- 2 people in 100 people to have it. i only found out the disorder had a name in the past year.
Im 23, Iv had trich since I can remember and would like to know how others cope with it, iv been thinking of hypnosis.

biko

There is a user in Long Term Illness I found in a forum search. You could try looking there too, or ask a mod to move this thread.

JuliusCaesar

biko wrote: »

Check out http://ocdireland.org/trich.shtml

OCD Ireland runs a support group & has lots of info on trich - you'd probably find a few fellow sufferers there.....

Marksie

his may be better suited to long term illness. I am going to move it.

pretty*monster

I have it.
Though I don't have any advice for you because I haven't ever done anything about it (I have big issues with the whole world of psychology and psychiatry) except for just accepting that it's a weird thing that I do other than move my parting from left to right every few months (I'm lucky as I have very thick hair so it's not very noticable).

tallaght01

Hey Haro84,

Hopefully you'll get a more sympathetic response in here.

There's a really nice group of people who post here. I don't know of anyone who's ever had the condition you're talking about. But I'm sure someone will have come across it.

There's a thread in this forum about depression aswell, I think, if you're feeling a bit low.

Sometimes, though, this forum is quiet. So, you may not find anyone in your position straight away. But hang in there.

If you really think you're depressed, would it help to talk to your GP?

BanzaiBk

Hey Haro, my school roommate had trich for roughly 2 years. She tried the hypnosis route and it didn't work for her, but she's been attending OCD Ireland's trich support group since and has found it immensely beneficial. Your GP might be able to put you in contact with them or a similar group. If you're feeling low you should have a chat with your GP, also check out the threads regarding depression in this forum:)

Nevyn

Oh this is a 'thing' and it has a name and it is a disorder.

I had thought it might be OCDish but I didn't relasie, great I have another mania.

Haro84

u have trich too Thaedydal?

Nevyn

As gut wretchingly hard as it is to admit this, yes.
Reading the mayo clinic notes on it was hard.
It's not somthing I currently actively enguage in but I am still drawn to when stressd.

Sleepy

It's something I've only admitted to a handful of very close friends but I suffer from this too. For me it's my eyelashes and eyebrows which I pull... I seem to differ from the 'typical' cases in that for me, this was something that started in my mid twenties.

I tried hypnosis and have a feeling that it could certainly work for some people but for an atheist like myself I can't see it working.

Might try that support group - my girlfriend is always at me about it.

Anyone out there 'recovered' from this? What worked for you?

Nevyn

Sorting out my stress levles and finding new and better ways to cope with my life and make changes which were needed are what has helped me.

lirith

Hi

Im from Wexford, ive had trich for about seven eight years.

I only found out about trich about four years ago, finally glad that i wasn't the only one who had it, but still feel alone.

Sleepy

Thaed, do you mind me asking how you dealt with your stress levels? I'm going through a lot of it at the moment between work and a pregnant girlfriend. Even as I type this I'm picking. It's gotten to the point where people are noticing despite my efforts to cover it up

LegacyUser

good stress management advice here:

http://www.ivf.com/stress.html

be aware that there are 2 causes of stress: internal & external.
External is usually easier to identify: this room is too cold, the baby's crying, my boss had a tantrum.
Internal is harder: I should be coping better (!), this is too hard, I shouldn't take so long, I must do all these things today.

Once you identify them, dealing with them becomes easier.

LegacyUser

I have this for about 6 years (23 and from West of Ireland). I pluck my eyebrows only but that's bad enough. There's literally none there. I do it when I'm studying or alone before going to bed, I take out the mirror and start plucking. If I've had a particularly bad day, I find it relieves stress but I also do it out of habit even if I'm feeling fine. I would love to hear how anyone has got over this. I would find hypnosis too embarrassing to go to. This sounds stupid but in an attempt to stop, I threw away my tweezers. Ever since then, I've used the nails on my fingers to pull out the hairs. I've been thinking about putting plasters on my fingers to cover my nails for a few weeks to see if that will get me used to not doing it. Does anyone think this would work? I'll look ridiculous but no worse than going round with no eyebrows i suppose..

tbh

hi trichy - I think that doing stuff like putting plasters on your fingers etc would just be treating the symptoms of whatever is wrong with you, rather than the cause. Have you discussed this with your GP at all?

LegacyUser

Thanks for your advice. I haven't discussed this with my GP. I wouldn't be interested in hypnosis or behavioural therapy although I don't know if my GP would even be familiar with them. I also wouldn't want to go on medication. I think for me its really just got to be an awful habit. I read somewhere that whenever people with trich feel like pulling, they should replace that with another activity, maybe i'll get a stressball for when im studying! All I want to do is get rid of the habit, so maybe plasters would help that. If I feel down sometimes after that, I can find a way to deal with it. I'm not badly depressed or anything so I don't think a GP would help. Its mainly when I'm on my own, a bit bored before going to bed say, so I find if I'm on holidays with others with plenty to do, I wouldnt do it as much, so maybe I just need to put the plasters on and get used to going to bed without doing it. Stressball can be used for studying then - nothing i can do about this stress - should be gone when exams are over in a few weeks.

tbh

yeah I see what you mean - you should get some mittens let us know how you get on will ya?

Wurly

Thaedydal wrote: »

As gut wretchingly hard as it is to admit this, yes.
Reading the mayo clinic notes on it was hard.
It's not somthing I currently actively enguage in but I am still drawn to when stressd.

I commend you for being so honest. People like you being brave enough to admit a condition like this helps to combat stigma.

Fair play Thaedydal.;)

Haro84

trichy - im from wicklow, iv the same problem of trich as u do, iv been pulling since i was very young, i dont no why it started so young, hardly be stressed as a 5 year old? but i did pull since that age, im 23 now, and im sick of it. Iv been tryin to stop for the last few days, but u no yourself, u pull 1 out, and your back where u started. Iv read through so many websites, but alot of them are telling u to try therapy or buy such a book, to me its something we will always have to go through, i cant see how talking to a shrink would help. i also used to pull really bad during exam time in college, and infront of mirrors. BAN mirrors. My parents used to put mittens on me when i was small, in bed, an tie bit of string around the wrist part so i wudnt take them off, so u could try that!

Trinity

Hi Haro

I thought i replied to this thread before but i dont see my reply?

I have trich, i have it about 15 years. I get so tired of people saying leave your hair alone.

At one point i had no hair, just purely tufts, like a butchered barbie doll. I also pulled out all my eyelashes. I still do it but not as bad.

I cant tell you how much i have spent over the years on hairpieces and extensions.

Such a shame cos i had beautiful hair long down to my bottom. I never got much info on it but its definately a comfort thing, when i am stressed or anxious its obviously worse and its so upsetting to see a pile of hair on the floor where you have been sitting

On a more positive note you can improve it, i say above there is nothing worse than everyone saying leave your hair but it does help as half the time you dont know you are doing it. Try to find something else that feels nice in your hand and carry it around with you. If you must even buy a few clip in hair extensions and play with them while you are waiting to get therapy.

You really need to get to the bottom of the cause though. I am waiting on therapy at the moment and i always played with my hair as a kid but only started to pull at the age of 17 or 18 when in a very bad relationship. It was also around the time i experienced my first panic attack and i wouldnt go out alone for 6 months and when i did i had to be linked by someone.

I was recently told it is a form of self harm (and not a habit like my doctor told me when i was 18, my mother was crying taking me to the doctor i was bald, he told me to take up knitting) so you do need to address the underlying cause.

I will keep you up to date when i start my therapy, but in the meantime distract yourself with something else to do that relaxes you and feels nice.

As Thaedydal says its important to lower the stress levels or have a look at the lifestyle you have and eliminate as much stress or things that get you down as possible. I find when i am happy in my life and having fun, my anxiety and hair pulling are well in the background, although never too far away.

LadyMayBelle

Hi Haro,

I have pulled out my hair for quite some time, going on 15 years I reckon at this stage. Unfortunately it has meant I always have short and thin hair on the sides of my head which is quite upsetting to me, but I carry on. It gets a lot worse when I am stressed or nervous, I have noticed that pattern for sure, especially during exams or school when I would look down at the floor and see a pile of hair. Sometimes I would see that as a kind of sick satisfaction, but nowadays I get stressed seeing it as I am trying to let it grow.

I have not sought therapy or hyponosis as I can see it is my own stress levels that affect it, or if my hair is not washed in a day or so I will be at it.

I still pull it, but nowhere near as much.

I hope you find some help somewhere.