Trichotillomania is a type of psychological condition, caused by some chemical imbalance in the brain, which involves strong urges to pull out one's own hair from scalp, eyebrows, eyelashes, or pubic area.
Some people may also exhibit other compulsive habits, such as nail biting or skin picking. Others have additional problems like depression, anxiety, or obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD).
Compulsive behaviors like trichotillomania involve brain chemistry and may be genetic and thus can sometimes run in families.
Girls are more affected by trichotillomania than boys. Most people develop it during adolescence. But trichotillomania can start in kids as young as 1 year old.
SYMPTOMS
- Pulling out their hair one strand at a time or large handfuls of hair, which can leave bald patches on the scalp or eyebrows.
- Some have the tendency to inspect the strand after pulling it out or play with the hair after it's been pulled.
- About half have the tendency to put the hair in their mouths after pulling it. Some people are very aware of their pulling; others seem to do it without really noticing what they're doing.
Socio-psychological Impact :
- Embarrassment, frustration, shame, or depression about the condition. Most people may worry about what others will think or say, thus they usually try to hide the behavior from others — even their families, which can make it difficult to get help.
- Some are self-conscious about how hair pulling affects their appearance and might feel less confident about making friends or dating.
- People feel powerless to control the urge to pull or blame themselves for not being able to stop. Feelings like these can cause a person's self-image to suffer.
Some Medical complications
1.Infection,
2.Permanent loss of hair,
3. Repetitive stress injury
4. Carpal tunnel syndrome, and
5.Gastrointestinal obstruction ... as a result of trichophagia ( ingestion of hair that is pulled out).
What compels people to Pull Their Hair?
Though no definite causes of trichotillomania is known yet, some doctors think it could be related to
- Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), since both involve repetitive behaviors or
- It may be caused by an imbalance in the brain’s chemistry.
- Some people with Trichotillomania notice sensations in their scalp that can only be relieved by pulling and notice a satisfying feeling when they pull their hair.
- Some find a mark relief in their anxiety levels when they pull their hair.
- Others don't even notice when they pull and do it without thinking.
How to Control
People with trichotillomania usually need help from medical and behavioral specialists to control or stop it because , the urges and habits that lead to hair pulling are so strong, that it may lead to more tension or anxiety when first trying to resist the urge.
1. CBT (cognitive behavioral therapy) or The Talk Therapy
2. Medication
3. Both 1 and 2
4. Keep The Hand Busy: It helpful to keep the hands busy with a different activity (like squeezing a stress ball, handling textured objects, or drawing) during times when they sit in one place for long periods of time when a pulling urge is the strongest.
Prognosis
If TTM occurs,The condition is typically self-limiting and no kind of intervention is required when occurred before five years of age. The adult onset may be secondary to underlying psychiatric disturbances and has a more protracted course.
Secondary infections may occur due to picking and scratching, but other complications are rare.
HOMEOPATHY AND TRICOTILLOMANIA
Homeopathic medicines are mind and body medicines and since trichotillomania is psychosomatic ailment ( ie. affecting both mind and body), thus, the holistic approach of homeopathy proves to be most effective system of medicine for the treatment of psychosomatic disorders
Belladonna: Where all five senses are affected. The patient lives in his own world, engrossed by specters and visions and oblivious to surrounding realities. The patient is wildly delirious, excited, ferocious, noisy, cries out, talks fast, very restless, with a desire to escape. There is fear of imaginary things and he or she becomes quarrelsome.
Cuprum: The patient is also bad tempered and sulky. Nervous, uneasy, weeps violently, fears society, shuns severybody, feels confused and afraid of anybody who approaches him.
Stramonium: Where patient awakes terrified, screams with fright and if a child, clings to those near him. The patient talk ceaselessly and there is religious insanity or self-accusation. The patient desires company or is either shy and hides or tries to escape.
Tarentula: There is destructive impulse with sudden alteration of moods. She must busy herself or walk constantly. Where there is a marked aversion to the colors, black, red, yellow and green. The patient lacks control and is erratic and impulsive. He or she is malingering when there are no observers, but when anyone’s looking will begin to twitch, faint and pretend to attract attention. Though there is marked aversion to company, but wants someone to be present around.
Patient feels better by brushing hair or rubbing the head.
Some Rubrics from Radar
Chapter | Rubric | Sub- rubric | Medicines |
Mind | PULLING | Hair- desire to pull- her own hair | Ars, |
Mind | SCRATCHING with hands | Arn, bell, stram, tarent. | |
Mind | THOUGHTS | Persistent | |
Mind | THOUGHTS | Compelling | Lach.nit-ac. |
Mind | SELF-CONTROL | Loss of self- control | Arg-nt, Lach , sulph, tarent. |
Head | HAIR | Pulls the | BELL, CUPR, med, tarent |
