Beating Trich Community Group
You mean that there is a name for IT? Im not weird? Trichotillomania, that big, long word that is the bane of our world. With knowledge and support of others we CAN break free and live without this disorder interfering with our lives. Lets keep this uplifting and supportive and give each other the encouragement the other needs to make it to that next day.
Trichotillomania (TTM), or "trich" as it is commonly known, is an impulse control disorder (ICD)characterized by the repeated urge to pull out scalp hair, eyelashes, facial hair, nose hair, pubic hair, eyebrows or other body hair, resulting in noticeable bald patches.
Trichotillomania is classified in the DSM-IV as an impulse control disorder (ICD), but there are still questions about how it should be classified. It may seem, at times, to resemble a habit, an addiction, a tic disorder or an obsessive-compulsive disorder. Due to social implications the disorder is often unreported and it is difficult to accurately predict prevalence of trichotillomania; 2.5 million in the U.S. may have TTM, with a 1% prevalence rate.
Many clinicians classify TTM as a habit behavior, in the same family as nail biting (onychophagia) or compulsive skin picking (dermatillomania).
Anxiety, depression are more frequently encountered in people with TTM. People with TTM may also eat/chew the roots of the hair that they pull, referred to as trichophagia. In extreme cases this can lead to Rapunzel syndrome, and even death. Some individuals with TTM may feel they are the only person with this problem due to low rates of reportage.
Trichotillomania is a chronic problem; although one can recover from it, there is currently no specific cure. It can be stubborn, but with proper treatment and persistence, picking and/or pulling hairs can be greatly reduced and even brought under control (often called "hibernation").
Habit Reversal Training or HRT, has been shown to be a successful adjunct to pharmacotherapy as a way to treat TTM. Many patients who pull their hair donâ??t realize that they are doing this; it is a conditioned response. With Habit Reversal Training, doctors train the individual to learn to recognize their impulse to pull and also teach them to redirect this impulse. As a part of the behavioral record-keeping component of HRT, patients are often instructed to keep a journal of their hair-pulling episodes. They may be asked to record the date, time, location, and number of hairs pulled, as well what they are thinking or feeling at the time. This can help the patient learn to identify situations where they commonly pull out their hair and develop strategies for avoiding episodes.
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Found a link with more info:
www.mentalhealthsa.co.za/trichotillomania.html
(this link won't post as clickable, please take the time to copy/paste it into a new window...if you can't get it to open tell me here and I'll see if I can copy the page)
Found another article that stated that certain illness could be a factor as to the onset of Trich. It listed Streptococcus as one.
This is just a link to Strept I lost the window I had open to the other article, read the groups they list and see if you've ever had any of those and if you can relate it to the time you started pulling:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Streptococcus
Trichotillomania is classified in the DSM-IV as an impulse control disorder (ICD), but there are still questions about how it should be classified. It may seem, at times, to resemble a habit, an addiction, a tic disorder or an obsessive-compulsive disorder. Due to social implications the disorder is often unreported and it is difficult to accurately predict prevalence of trichotillomania; 2.5 million in the U.S. may have TTM, with a 1% prevalence rate.
Many clinicians classify TTM as a habit behavior, in the same family as nail biting (onychophagia) or compulsive skin picking (dermatillomania).
Anxiety, depression are more frequently encountered in people with TTM. People with TTM may also eat/chew the roots of the hair that they pull, referred to as trichophagia. In extreme cases this can lead to Rapunzel syndrome, and even death. Some individuals with TTM may feel they are the only person with this problem due to low rates of reportage.
Trichotillomania is a chronic problem; although one can recover from it, there is currently no specific cure. It can be stubborn, but with proper treatment and persistence, picking and/or pulling hairs can be greatly reduced and even brought under control (often called "hibernation").
Habit Reversal Training or HRT, has been shown to be a successful adjunct to pharmacotherapy as a way to treat TTM. Many patients who pull their hair donâ??t realize that they are doing this; it is a conditioned response. With Habit Reversal Training, doctors train the individual to learn to recognize their impulse to pull and also teach them to redirect this impulse. As a part of the behavioral record-keeping component of HRT, patients are often instructed to keep a journal of their hair-pulling episodes. They may be asked to record the date, time, location, and number of hairs pulled, as well what they are thinking or feeling at the time. This can help the patient learn to identify situations where they commonly pull out their hair and develop strategies for avoiding episodes.
-----------------------
Found a link with more info:
www.mentalhealthsa.co.za/trichotillomania.html
(this link won't post as clickable, please take the time to copy/paste it into a new window...if you can't get it to open tell me here and I'll see if I can copy the page)
Found another article that stated that certain illness could be a factor as to the onset of Trich. It listed Streptococcus as one.
This is just a link to Strept I lost the window I had open to the other article, read the groups they list and see if you've ever had any of those and if you can relate it to the time you started pulling:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Streptococcus
deleted_user
Wow, very informative, thanks so much for posting this Crzy, well worth the read. I'll have to ask my mom if I had Strep or anything else they list when I was about 14, I think that's about when this started for me. I can't remember exactly. It helps to get all of this information because then we don't have to blame ourselves, we can just learn to help ourselves find ways to heal/overcome this thing. I love that we're doing it together!!!! : )
deleted_user
Wow, very informative, thanks so much for posting this Crzy, well worth the read. I'll have to ask my mom if I had Strep or anything else they list when I was about 14, I think that's about when this started for me. I can't remember exactly. It helps to get all of this information because then we don't have to blame ourselves, we can just learn to help ourselves find ways to heal/overcome this thing. I love that we're doing it together!!!! : )
crzychick
bump
crzychick
bump
deleted_user
I suffered from strep ALOT as a child and adult.
crzychick
bump
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