Trichotillomania

Trichotillomania in a young woman

Trichotillomania (TTM) is an impulse control disorder characterised by the repeated urge to pull out scalp hair, eyelashes, eyebrows or other body hair. It is believed to be related to obsessive-compulsive disorder.

Most TTM sufferers live relatively normal lives, except for having bald spots on their head. Many clinicians classify TTM as a mental disorder, though the classification is debatable. Some clinicians classify TTM as a form of obsessive-compulsive disorder. Some classify TTM as a form of self-mutilation, although the psychological mechanism behind TTM differs from the one that causes self-injurious behavior. Others say that TTM is no more a mental disorder than is any other habitual behavior, such as nail biting. Many TTM sufferers have relatively normal work and social lives; and TTM sufferers are not any more likely to have significant personality disorders than anyone else.

There have been recent clinical trials of drug treatment for trichotillomania, for example using anafranil , prozac, and lithium. One should use care in choosing a therapist who has specific experience and insight into the condition, lest one be overdiagnosed or overmedicated. Prozac and other similar drugs, which some professionals prescribe on a one-size-fits-all basis, tend to have limited usefulness in treating TTM, and can often have significant side effects.

A practice related to TTM is trichophagia, in which hairs are sucked and/or eaten. In extreme cases, this can lead to the development of a hairball (trichobezoar) in the abdomen, a serious condition in humans; see Rapunzel syndrome.

Books

• Penzel (2003) The Hair-Pulling Problem: A Complete Guide to Trichotillomania; Oxford University Press, ISBN 0195149424
• Keuthen, Stein, Christensen & Christenson (2001) Help for Hair Pullers: Understanding and Coping With Trichotillomania; New Harbinger Publications, ISBN 1572242329
• Stein (Ed.), Christenson (Ed.) & Hollander (Ed.) (1999) Trichotillomania; American Psychiatric Press, ISBN 0880487593
• Parker (Ed.) (2004) Trichotillomania - A Medical Dictionary, Bibliography, and Annotated Research Guide to Internet References ; Icon Health Publications, ISBN 0597846642

External links

• Trichotillomania Learning Center up-to-date information, support, local (USA) resource referrals
• Sarah's page
• ABC News feature
• University of Iowa
• Psychiatric Times article
• Hairball kills teenager
• Trichobezoar
• Trichotillomania A woman shares her day to day struggles with trichotillomania.
• Translation of trichotillomania from Webster's Dictionary