What is Trichotillomania Hair Pulling
Trichotillomania (TTM) or "trich" is an impulse control disorder characterised by the repeated urge to pull out scalp hair, eyelashes, beard hair, nose hair, pubic hair, eyebrows o...
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Beware of Dr. Fred Penzel
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Hi. I don't mean to be mean or even discouraging to those who find Dr. Penzel and his work helpful. I really enjoyed his work at one point and even considered him a pioneer in the world of TTM awareness.
As I read his book, "The Hair Pulling Problem," I was really enthusiastic and even contacted him to thank him....and then I got to page 51 of his book. Everything changed for me. I respect him for all of the research he as done concerning TTM but I find his approach on certain topics counterproductive and highly discouraging to those who SUFFER from Trichotillomania and all of the emotional damage it provides. The following excerpts is from his book, "The Hair-Pulling Problem" : "You need to accept that TTM will not simply go away by itself. You will not wake up one morning and find that it has gone. While some people have experienced remissions, it would not be a good idea to count on this happening for you. If you believe that this is unfair, or the fact that you have it at all is unfair, I would advise you to reconsider. It is not unfair that you have it. We cannot say that life is fair or unfair. The world has not been set up according to a set of rules for us that we can point to and say they were not being followed. It simply is what it is." (51) I think this is the most deplorable thing anyone, especially a doctor, can say to someone who is suffering from not just TTM, but any condition or illness. I KNOW that I can't change my genetic makeup. He didn't have to explain that to me. But one thing I CAN change (with a lot of hard work and persistence) is my behavior. I absolutely disagree with his statement that remissions aren't possible for all TTM sufferers. I've been there. I stopped pulling for a very long time. I think this statement is irresponsible and counterproductive, offering very little or no hope for those who feel the shroud of darkness enveloping their very essences. If Dr. Penzel had any type of impulse control disorder, he would know just how much reading this statement could discourage someone who suffers from one. Suffice it to say, I have not read past page 51. I reiterate, this is only my opinion and I don't mean to discourage anyone from finding comfort in Dr. Penzel's words. Posted on 04/11/10, 08:16 pm |
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here's my take on this. the first part, in quotes, is from an older journal entry i made here:
"i try to be reconciled with this problem, because i believe it is NOT a matter of will-power. i believe there is something bio-chemical that may or may not relate to stress and boredom. and i believe that one day there will be a solution. who knows how long that will take, tho!" when i read the paragraph quoted from his book, i see it in 2 ways. in one reading, he's being pragmatic, speaking from his experience working with trichsters. in a different reading, he sounds cold and harsh. i'm one of those who stopped pulling for years, but i have absolutely no idea how or why. my personality is non-competitive to the point that i "cheat" at solitaire, lol. so pull-free challenges are counterproductive for me, because the "challenge" part stresses me out! but i always wish the best for anyone else doing them. reconciliation helped a great deal with my feelings of negativity around this disorder. i certainly have moments of despair, of feeling ugly, of hating trich. but those feelings are much less overwhelming than they used to be - before the day i looked at myself and thought... "you pull out your hair, and it sucks. but you don't have x, y, z... which would suck even worse." since then, i've dealt with a few things that were (to me) bigger than trich - including a few weeks where my doctor told me i probably had melanoma (it turned out i didn't). perspective is huge... but that said, i'd never expect someone to share mine. i don't know what dr. penzel's perspective is (if he has trich?) but i wonder if he might reconsider his wording here to sound less harsh. 
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I understand your frustration with Penzel's words. We need to have hope and optimism. I don't like his tough love approach. It's not the best bedside manner for a therapist!
I think Trich is a biological, genetic disorder. My dad is 85 and suffers from it terribly. I have had it for almost 30 years. My oldest son is now 10 and I watch him like a hawk to see if he's starting to develop it. I feel like it's a demon that can't be slayed. It's scary.
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I just think that Penzel, as an authority on the matter, should approach TTM in a more optimistic way (NOT unrealistically just to appease his readers, but just more encouraging).
To say that you shouldn't even expect a remission is so......wrong. And because he is in a position of power and has a degree, people put their faith in his words. I am truly disappointed by his approach.
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I can relate to the Dr.'s quote you posted because, for a long time it was my wish that pulling was just a "phase" I was going through, and like a bad dream I could wake-up and it would go away. Right now, it's a "phase" I've been going through for almost 19 years.
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it's true, bedside manner really is tremendously important. and nobody knows when a solution might be found that will work for many, if not all of us.
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hi mishman, i checked out your blog. i'm hoping that you checked with trickytears before using her screen name & the screen shot of her image. if she's okay with that then obviously i have no problem. just speaking for myself, i'd feel like my privacy here had been violated.
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I have mixed feelings about this. I believe that there is some value in accepting trich for what it is. This acceptance has actually made it less problematic for me because it helped me to let go of the feelings of anger at myself for pulling and not being normal. On the other hand, I do feel that it is something that can be overcome or at least managed to a degree. I kind of like that word "manage." It is reminiscent of a diabetic that has to manage his blood sugar. For whatever reason are brains are telling us that we need to pull our hair out. We cannot stop our brains completely from sending us this message, but we can learn to "manage" how we respond to those messages.
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millera, "manage" is a great way to put it. for me at least.
i feel like there are things i can do/avoid that will help manage it even tho we don't have a cure yet.
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Here's my problem with his statement. It's not the part where he says that TTM will not go away by itself etc. It's the part where he says," While some people have experienced remissions, it would not be a good idea to count on this happening for you" If I were actually in his office and he said that to me, I would have gotten up and walked out.
Would he say that to someone with Multiple Sclerosis? Or how about someone with cancer? This is a life-affecting condition just like any other serious disease. As pessimistic as I am and as depressed as I am, I STILL have to hope that I can have a remission. My symptoms have remitted. And they will again. Actually, I must thank Dr. Penzel. Ever since I read his callous statements, I haven't wanted to pull my hair as much--just to prove him wrong! :)
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He could simply be using that as a disclaimer. In other words it's like the fine print on weight lose products that the results they have shown aren't ness. the average.
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