Page 100 - issue
P. 100
This did not concern him that much, as chotillomania pull hair from their eye- other people who have pulled for 30
his yarmulke covered it quite nicely. lashes, eyebrows, beard (for males), years will be able to grow back a full
When he reached age 15, he needed to arms, or legs. head of hair.
get an oversized yarmulke to cover his
growing bald spot. He wasn’t as trau- During a hair pulling “session” one Very often, the biggest issue with tri-
matized as Devorah, since he figured can enter into a trance-like state and chotillomania is not the hair pulling
that if his bald spot got too big, he remove many hairs, one at a time. itself. It is the shame and humiliation
would just get a really short haircut. that are inevitably associated with the
Nevertheless, he really did not want to Although focused pulling is often a condition. Especially for women, the
have a really short haircut, and he response to anxiety or an emotional emotional effects of trichotillomania
wished he knew of a way to take con- trigger, the help of a therapist is fre- can be absolutely devastating. It is com-
trol of his habit. Like Devorah, he was quently needed to identify the trigger. mon for sufferers to engage in elabo-
unaware that treatments exist for this rate tricks to hide their hair loss. This
disorder, so he never bothered to speak There can be periods of sponta- includes hats, wigs, and headscarves.
to anyone about it. neous remission only to have it return Some people will even wear needless
months or years later. eyeglasses if their trichotillomania has
As these anecdotes illustrate, com- caused them to lose their eyebrows.
pulsive hair pulling can be a response Hair pulling tends to be more com-
to an obsessive urge (focused pulling) mon when one is dealing with a lot of That is not to say that there are no
or an ingrained habit (automatic stress. health risks. Sometimes sufferers will
pulling). Let us now take a few eat the pulled hair, which can develop
moments to learn the basic facts about Hair pulling is sometimes followed into a hair ball in their digestive tract,
trichotillomania. by rituals involving the pulled hair, such as the hair (which is indigestible) accu-
as chewing and eating the hair or rub- mulates. This ball, called a trichobe-
Basic Facts bing the hair across the face. There can zoar, can block the flow of ingested
Peak age of onset is 9 to 13. But it can also be rituals leading up to the hair food which can lead to serious medical
start as early as one year old. pulling, such as twirling the hair and complications. Surgery might be need-
searching for the “right” hair to pull. ed to remove the obstruction. Also, the
Devorah and Yaakov pulled head constant hair pulling from the same
hair. However, many people with tri- Hair loss can sometimes be perma- spot on the scalp or skin can lead to
nent. Like many physical issues, it dif-
fers from person to person. Some peo-
ple who have pulled for only five years
will have permanent hair loss, while
96 u www.wherewhatwhen.com u
his yarmulke covered it quite nicely. lashes, eyebrows, beard (for males), years will be able to grow back a full
When he reached age 15, he needed to arms, or legs. head of hair.
get an oversized yarmulke to cover his
growing bald spot. He wasn’t as trau- During a hair pulling “session” one Very often, the biggest issue with tri-
matized as Devorah, since he figured can enter into a trance-like state and chotillomania is not the hair pulling
that if his bald spot got too big, he remove many hairs, one at a time. itself. It is the shame and humiliation
would just get a really short haircut. that are inevitably associated with the
Nevertheless, he really did not want to Although focused pulling is often a condition. Especially for women, the
have a really short haircut, and he response to anxiety or an emotional emotional effects of trichotillomania
wished he knew of a way to take con- trigger, the help of a therapist is fre- can be absolutely devastating. It is com-
trol of his habit. Like Devorah, he was quently needed to identify the trigger. mon for sufferers to engage in elabo-
unaware that treatments exist for this rate tricks to hide their hair loss. This
disorder, so he never bothered to speak There can be periods of sponta- includes hats, wigs, and headscarves.
to anyone about it. neous remission only to have it return Some people will even wear needless
months or years later. eyeglasses if their trichotillomania has
As these anecdotes illustrate, com- caused them to lose their eyebrows.
pulsive hair pulling can be a response Hair pulling tends to be more com-
to an obsessive urge (focused pulling) mon when one is dealing with a lot of That is not to say that there are no
or an ingrained habit (automatic stress. health risks. Sometimes sufferers will
pulling). Let us now take a few eat the pulled hair, which can develop
moments to learn the basic facts about Hair pulling is sometimes followed into a hair ball in their digestive tract,
trichotillomania. by rituals involving the pulled hair, such as the hair (which is indigestible) accu-
as chewing and eating the hair or rub- mulates. This ball, called a trichobe-
Basic Facts bing the hair across the face. There can zoar, can block the flow of ingested
Peak age of onset is 9 to 13. But it can also be rituals leading up to the hair food which can lead to serious medical
start as early as one year old. pulling, such as twirling the hair and complications. Surgery might be need-
searching for the “right” hair to pull. ed to remove the obstruction. Also, the
Devorah and Yaakov pulled head constant hair pulling from the same
hair. However, many people with tri- Hair loss can sometimes be perma- spot on the scalp or skin can lead to
nent. Like many physical issues, it dif-
fers from person to person. Some peo-
ple who have pulled for only five years
will have permanent hair loss, while
96 u www.wherewhatwhen.com u
