You Know What That Is? Growth.

Hey Anon! Medicating for trichotillomania is similar to medicating for anxiety (which is a common trichotillomania trigger) or otherwise alleviating the urge to pull. Outside of these general SSRI’s, some medications used to treat drug and alcohol dependence may have some success in directly treating the urge to pull. I have seen some literature on the use of muscle relaxants to make pulling more difficult/otherwise relieve the urge to pull, but recent data does not show that they have no significant impact on trichotillomania symptoms. There are no trich specific medications - these are largely to treat the symptoms and triggers.

I’m sorry you’ve been struggling for so long Anon - but no, that is not ‘just a bad habit’ - it’s textbook trichotillomania. It’s a compulsion/anxiety disorder, similar to OCD. Many people do see doctors and therapists for trichotillomania - although trichotillomania is not well understood and uncommon, there are professionals who can help. If you want to and are able to seek treatment, I would encourage you to do so. Therapy has helped me mitigate many of my symptoms and go into remission. If you cannot or do not want to seek professional help, there are a variety of online resources available - TrichStop is one such website, but there are many more.

Hello! No, not weird at all - I used to get the urge to pull my dog’s fur, and did when he was shedding (it was actually very theraputic 😅). It’s definitely a very strange an unpleasant feeling to have that urge directed at something besides yourself.

Hey anon - I was in a similar situation! I had worn my hair up for around 3 years to hide a growing bald spot before I finally started remission. I was lucky enough to have a hairdresser I had seen long enough and knew personally to be comfortable discussing how I wanted my hair cut and styled to hide where the hair was growing back.

To be honest, when I first saw my hairdresser with obvious bald spots, I didn’t tell her about my trichotillomania. And she didn’t ask! Save for asking if I wanted the spots covered, she didn’t mention it or look at me any differently. She’s seen balding men, cancer patients, and old women. Sure, a younger person with bald spots might be weird, but she felt it wasn’t her place to pry so she didn’t ask.

You do not, if you aren’t comfortable, ever have to tell anyone about your trich. It might make things easier, to talk to someone, but if you aren’t ready then don’t push yourself! If you are comfortable telling your hairdresser that trich is the reason you want a weave installed, go for it! She might even have helpful advice, both for trich in general or if your trich might impact your weave. If you’re not comfortable telling her about your trich, you can just ask for the weave. It isn’t her business why you have bald spots - and most hairdressers I know are discerning enough to recognize this and leave it at that!