Contents:
- Medical Video: What is Trichotillomania (hair pulling disorder) & how do we deal with it? Mental Health with Kati
- What is Trichotillomania?
- What causes Trichotillomania?
- Get to know the symptoms of trichotillomania
- Can this condition be cured?
Medical Video: What is Trichotillomania (hair pulling disorder) & how do we deal with it? Mental Health with Kati
You may have unconsciously grabbed or tugged at your hair when you were stressed or anxious. Or, have you ever witnessed the people closest to you often do this? Although it seems trivial, this habit is actually not good, you know. This habit, known as trichotillomania, is even classified as a psychological disorder. Come on, find out more in the following review.
What is Trichotillomania?
Trichotillomania is a psychological condition that makes a person pull hair on his body, such as hair on the scalp, eyebrows, and eyelashes. Trichotillomania is characterized by an urgent need that emerges unconsciously and cannot be controlled to perform this behavior repeatedly.
This desire to pull hair is generally triggered by stress, anxiety, and anxiety experienced by the person.People who have trichotillomania feel they have to grab their hair repeatedly, or else something bad will happen. This compulsive behavior is "therapy" for themselves to reduce anxiety and stress due to this obsession.After removing the hair, they will feel relieved.
Trichotillomania can damage hair and cause bald hair because it is pulled too often. This condition also causes negative feelings, such as shame and guilt. Some people with trichotillomania also experience depression or anxiety.
What causes Trichotillomania?
The exact cause of trichotillomania is not well known. However, this condition is thought to be associated with abnormalities in nerve pathways in the brain that regulate emotions, movement, habit formation, and self-control against certain impulses.
In addition, suspected trichotillomania is associated with changes in hormone levels. Because, this case occurs a lot in adolescents who are experiencing puberty. In addition, this condition may also be related to low serotonin levels.
Get to know the symptoms of trichotillomania
Pay attention to common symptoms that you might experience if you have this psychological condition.
- Feel very stressful and tense before pulling hair or when trying to resist the desire to pull hair.
- Feeling relieved, satisfied, or happy after pulling hair.
- Frequently examine hair roots, twist hair, pull hair with teeth, chew hair, and eat hair (tricophagia).
- There are bald parts on the head or other parts like eyebrows.
- Having a disorder or problem at work, school, or in a social situation that is associated with frequent pulling of hair.
- Irregular hair, there are parts that are shorter, thinner, bald, or on the eyebrows there are thinning parts, or there are eyelashes that have been pulled apart between the right and left lashes.
Can this condition be cured?
Just like other mental disorders, compulsive behaviors from tricotolomania can be overcome and restored with appropriate medical treatment. For example with psychotherapy, counseling, and drugs prescribed by a doctor. In some cases, effective antidepressant drug type Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitor (SSRI) works.
Medical treatment outside psychotherapy and home therapy can also be recommended by doctors to deal with hair loss or improve baldness caused by "habit" of grabbing this hair.
If you suspect you have this condition, it's good to immediately consult a doctor to find the right treatment for your condition.
