Trichotillomania FAQs

Over the past few months my trich has come to light with a few people. And I've found that there are a few questions that seem to come up every time it has been brought up. So here are my responses to these questions, things that actually go through my head but I'm too polite to say it to people's face. This post really isn't intending to sound rude, I'm just having a bit of a laugh. Because if you don't laugh - you'll cry, am I right?

Doesn't it hurt?

Yes. I am pulling hair out of my body. Does waxing hurt? Yes. Does tweezing hurt? Yes. Does pulling out your own hair hurt? Yes. Ok, I'm being a bit dramatic. It doesn't always hurt that much. I've become relatively desensitised to the pain, it really does depend on how much you've been pulling that day. Obviously, the longer I spend clawing at my lashes - the more irritated the lash line is going to get. Your skin can get pretty inflamed and that can be pretty painful, especially when you're trying to cover it up with makeup. Sometimes the lashes don't hurt at all to come out, but some absolutely kill. Wooo, my own special kind of Russian Roulette.

Why do you do it?

HAHA I DON'T KNOW. It's an impulse-control disorder, I can't help it. Sure, it's worse when I'm stressed or frustrated but just in the same way that your anxiety gets worse if you're stressed. Chemicals in the brain yo. 

Have you tried [insert something I've tried]?

I have tried everything. Therapy? Hypnotherapy? Pills? Covering up the area? Wearing gloves? Fidget toys? Cutting my nails short? Wearing glasses? Yes. Yes I have tried everything. I do not want this, I do not want to be wearing false lashes and winged eyeliner every day. I don't want to be pulling out my own hair, so please don't patronise me. Unfortunately, there is no cure for trich and the best thing we can do is just to try and keep ourselves happy and not let it get us down. 

Oh, so it's like biting your nails then?

This is a tricky one. If it helps you understand the concept of trich, then by all means use it as an example. But I'm sorry, it just isn't the same thing. Everyone bites their nails. I'm not saying that there aren't people who don't bite their nails to the same compulsive extent as hair pullers, I'm sure there are people who do that! But on the whole, it is usually just a bit of a bad habit. Nail biters can usually control how far they'll go with their nail biting, whereas we really just cannot control our compulsion to pull out our hair and we will carry on going until we are bald. So sexy. (Although, I could be completely wrong on this one, I'm not a doctor after all.)

Aren't you scared their not going to grow back?

Do people not realise that's quite a horrible thing to say to someone? I know that they do grow back but yes, yes I am a bit worried that one day they'll give up on me and I'll be a bald alien baby for the rest of my life. Thanks for reminding me about something that I inevitably have very little control over.

I actually feel a bit bad writing this, I know most people aren't trying to be patronising when they ask these kinds of questions. But hey, what's the point of having a blog if you can't rant and be a bit sarcastic??

Thank you for reading.

Love, Gweni xxx 

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