Trichotillomania is an impulse control disorder that involves pulling out hairs from the scalp, eyebrows, and other areas of the body. This behavior is often unnoticeable to others because it can be done subconsciously. The person with trichotillomania will continue to pull out the hair until it takes a toll on their personal life, such as having bald patches. Trichotillomania is also known as hair-pulling disorder.
Trichotillomania, also known as hair pulling disorder, is a mental health condition that can be debilitating for some people. It’s characterized by an urge to pull out hair from the scalp or other parts of the body, despite repeated attempts to stop.
For many people who struggle with trichotillomania, it can be isolating. They may feel like they don’t have anyone to talk to about their experience or that no one understands. While it’s good to talk with a therapist, you can also pursue self-directed care through cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT). This is a way of using your thoughts and beliefs to understand why you’re pulling out your hair in the first place and how to change your behaviors around it.
Trichotillomania, also known as hair-pulling disorder, is a mental health condition that involves compulsive urges to pull at one’s hair. Hair pulling can be performed from many parts of the body, including the face, scalp, arms, legs and genital area.
The goal of cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) for trichotillomania is to identify and challenge any underlying beliefs that are driving your compulsion to pull your hair. Having an awareness of these feelings or triggers can help you learn how to cope with them in ways other than through hair pulling.
Cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) is an effective treatment for trichotillomania. CBT is a short-term, goal-oriented psychotherapy treatment that takes a practical, hands-on approach to problem-solving. Its goal is to change patterns of thinking or behavior that are behind people’s difficulties and so change the way they feel. It is used to help treat a wide range of issues in a person’s life, from sleeping difficulties or relationship problems, to drug and alcohol abuse or anxiety and depression.
Cognitive-behavioral therapy, or CBT, is an approach to mental health that’s rooted in the idea that the way you think about the world affects how you behave. In other words, if you think about something in a certain way—let’s say, for example, that your hair is very thin and fragile—you will behave differently than if you think about it a different way. Now imagine that you actually believe the thought “My hair is very thin and fragile” to be true. You might feel anxious or afraid of damaging your hair, which would lead to you behaving in a way that prevents damage, like covering your head whenever you leave the house or avoiding situations where someone might touch your hair.
If this sounds like a situation that sounds familiar to you, then cognitive behavioral therapy might be worth trying for trichotillomania (hair pulling). In CBT for trichotillomania, you and your therapist will work together to identify and challenge thoughts and beliefs related to your hair pulling and replace them with thoughts that are more helpful. Your therapist will also help you develop skills for managing urges to pull.