What Is Trichotillomania?
Trichotillomania is an impulse control disorder in which a person has an overwhelming urge to pull out the hair from their scalp, eyelashes, eyebrows, or other parts of the body, resulting in noticeable hair loss. Trichotillomania is estimated to affect one to two percent of the population, or four to six million Americans.
Trichotillomania is a term coined by a French dermatologist in 1889 to describe the compulsive or irresistible urge he saw in patients to pluck out their hair. The word trichotillomania is derived from the Greek thix, hair; tillein, to pull; and mania. Unfortunately, this breakdown makes the name inaccurate because people with trichotillomania are not manic.
Someone who suffers from trichotillomania will often experience a sense of increasing tension before hair pulling and can feel a sense of relief afterwards. Sometimes people even express a degree of pleasure after having "pulled."
Who suffers from trichotillomania? Trichotillomania seems to strike most frequently in the pre- or early adolescent years. In children it seems to affect as many boys as girls, however, by the adolescent years there is a higher percentage of females. Overall, roughly 1.5% of males and 3.5% of females in the United States display significant hair pulling.
Because many of those afflicted with trichotillomania do not recognize that they need help, it can be difficult to diagnose. But treatment can return sufferers to a more normal life. If you think you or someone you know may suffer from trichotillomania, you can learn more on the treatment of trichotillomania page.