What is trichotillomania, the mechanism of development, causes and symptoms, ways of dealing with such a rare disease. Trichotillomania is an obsessive neurotic state, when children and adults with an unbalanced psyche often have a desire, independent of their will, to pull out hair from themselves or other people. As a result, bald patches appear on the head, and areas of skin without hair on the body. Sometimes such patients pull out wool from animals, pull out the threads of fabrics, and pull on soft toys.
Description and mechanism of development of trichotillomania
This neurosis was first described by the French dermatologist F. A. Allopo at the end of the 19th century. Currently, trichotillomania is considered an obsessive-compulsive disorder of the psyche, when the patient has obsessive thoughts (obsessions). He tries to get rid of them with the same annoying actions (compulsions).
Let's say a person has a sticky thought that the hair on his head does not grow properly, and therefore it is necessary to remove them. He begins to pluck his forelock, secretly or openly. This procedure can be enjoyable. This is believed to be related to the sensation of pain. At this moment, endorphin is released into the bloodstream - the "hormone of happiness", it is he who is responsible for pleasure.
If the disease has not gone far, the person realizes his actions and retires so that no one sees the process of "execution" itself. Soothing yourself that you need to get rid of excess hairs, for example, gray hairs that age. When the mental disorder is severe, the action takes place unconsciously. A person does not hide, but constantly and publicly tears hair on his body: on eyelashes, eyebrows, chest, armpits, pubes. If the head of hair suffers, such patients can be easily recognized by bald patches on the head.
Often, the passion to pull out their hairs is observed in preschool children, more often in girls. This is sometimes combined with nail biting. However, then the babies "outgrow" their painful habit and develop normally. It has been established that women aged 25-30 suffer from trichotillomania twice as often as men. There are about 2% of patients with this disorder in the world. Trichotillomists pull out their vegetation not only with their hands, but use special tweezers, other improvised means, for example, can wind and pull out a hair or even a whole bunch of hair with a stick. It happens that such people stick with their "passion" to other people, pull out fur from pets, tear soft toys, pull threads from a tablecloth or other fabric.
The result of trichotillomania as an obsessive neurosis is associated diseases, often with a social background. For example, a child or teenager, realizing and ashamed of their actions, becomes withdrawn, avoids communication with their peers. If the character is suspicious, when the child considers himself not like everyone else, false shame develops into depression with all the consequences arising from this state.
Often, constant hair pulling causes irritation and purulent inflammation of the skin. Plucking eyelashes is especially dangerous. There are cases when such a procedure led to damage to the eyes and complete loss of vision.
Some people swallow their removed vegetation, but the stomach does not accept it. Hair gets tangled up and upsets the digestive tract. This is fraught with serious complications and can lead to surgery.
It's important to know! Severe cases of trichotillomania are treated in a psychiatric hospital.
The causes of trichotillomania
Why some people develop this mental disorder is not entirely clear. Psychiatrists see the causes of trichotillomania in different ways. Some see this as a way to distract themselves from unpleasant thoughts. It seems to be soothing and even brings some pleasure.
Others believe that this is an ancient instinct inherent in man since primitive times, when he had not yet stood out from the world around him. As proof of their innocence, they cite the fact that some animals pull out their wool, and birds - feathers.
There is an opinion that perfectionists are prone to trichotillomania - people who want to see perfection in everything. And here a piece of hair does not grow at all the way you want, or the hair is too short (long). It is imperative to get rid of it. When such an obsessive desire "stuck" in the head for a long time, it becomes pathological. There is a disease called "hair pulling" syndrome.
The causes of trichotillomania can be hereditary and obtained in the process of life. These include:
- Heredity … Linked to genes. If either parent or both have suffered from this disorder, the chances are high that children may be affected.
- Mental illness … Can be hereditary, such as schizophrenia, or when a child is born mentally retarded. There are acquired, for example, head trauma during childbirth. Acute infectious, cardiovascular diseases also cause hair-pulling syndrome. This should also include various kinds of neuroses, obsessive fear that there are a lot of "bad" hair on the body.
- Pursuit of pleasure … It is believed that a lack of serotonin, the hormone responsible for raising the body's tone, leads to the effect of "pulling hair". The pain when they are removed leads to the release of endorphin into the bloodstream, which is responsible for pleasant sensations. There is an opinion that infantile personalities are susceptible to this.
- Severe depression … When the state is constantly anxious, a person does not find a place for himself, he can involuntarily find a "job" in his hands.
- Affective state … Strong emotional experiences - the death of a loved one or the divorce of parents, moving to another place of residence, when, for example, a child changes school, and an adult joins a new work collective, provoke trichotillomania.
- Conscious refusal to eat … When an obsessive desire to lose weight at all costs, this is already anorexia - a neuropsychiatric disease, often accompanied by pulling out hair. Excessive overeating, bulimia, is also a factor in conscious baldness.
- Alcoholism and drug addiction … Severe forms of alcoholism and drug addiction, when a person is lost as a person, often lead to uncontrollable obsessive thoughts and actions. This could be a “hair pulling out” effect.
- Dubiousness … An anxious, suspicious person is often "tied" to obsessive thoughts, they spin in a "circle" and can result in unconscious obsessive actions, for example, getting rid of excess vegetation on the body.
It's important to know! If the causes of trichotillomania are acquired in the course of life, there is hope to cope with them. Hereditary factors can only be stopped, but they cannot be completely eliminated.
The main symptoms of trichotillomania in humans
Not all of the symptoms of trichotillomania are obvious. It is possible to visually identify a patient with such a mental disorder only by a bald patch on the head. Although they often try to mask it with various overlays or headgear. When it is discovered, its presence is not plainly explained. The person behaves anxiously, talking about the reasons for the "loss" of hair on the crown of the head.
When they pull out their vegetation in hidden parts of the body, indirect external factors can help to guess about the disease, sometimes they characterize the underlying causes of the disease.
These are considered:
- Autism … If a child or an adult behaves in a closed manner, trying to retire, they break all social ties, it is necessary to find the reasons for such unsociable behavior. It is possible that it lies in the habit of pulling out your hair. Not from grief, but from an unconscious desire, for example, to get pleasure from it.
- Stress … Prolonged emotional stress depresses the nervous system and can develop into a depressive state. Often in this position, a person unconsciously reaches out to pull out a hair, for example, on the chest. Then this gesture develops into a bad habit, it gets fixed and at some stage develops into a disease.
- Anxiety … An anxious and suspicious person is fixated on his negative thoughts, they do not give rest. And such an obsessive action as pulling out hair distracts from them and can gain a foothold in the mind.
- Belief in omens … A person believes that, before starting a business, in order for it to be successful, it is necessary to rip the hair out of the head. There are many things to do in life, but the head of hair is thick. So a stupid omen becomes a habit and develops into a disease.
- Excessive bashfulness … When they are embarrassed to undress in the presence of others, for example, on the beach, or avoid going to the sauna, because they will see "torn" areas of the skin, which can also be inflamed.
- Chronic mental illness … Often accompanied by intrusive thoughts and actions, in particular, incessant pulling out of hair.
- Excessive weight loss or overeating … May be an outward sign of hair-pulling syndrome. This is not necessary at all, but it provokes such a mental disorder.
It's important to know! Bald patches of various types and sizes are one of the main symptoms of trichotillomania.
Features of the fight against trichotillomania
Different categories of patients need their own special approach. Children need one, and adults need something completely different. And there is no big difference: it is men or women. Consider all cases of how to cure trichotillomania in more detail.
Self-help to get rid of trichotillomania
Parents are the first to look after children and adolescents. Dads and mothers should observe the manners of their children. In case of suspicion that the child is pulling out hairs on the body, it is necessary to understand the reason for this "passion" and suggest that this bad habit spoils the appearance. This is especially true for girls, as they are more susceptible to such manipulations with their hair.
If a child is anxious and suspicious, you should not scold him for his bad habits, you need to try to wean him from it. This can take the form of a game. Let's say they show him pictures of animals with bald patches on their skin, and they tell him - not intimidating, but kindly explaining! - which is what pulling hair leads to. But this will never happen to you, you are a smart boy (girl) with us and you will not do this anymore.
Bad manners noticed and corrected in time, with the exception of pathological cases, pass without a trace for the health of children. It often disappears on its own during puberty.
The reasons for the emergence and development of a painful passion for pulling hair are not thoroughly established. Therefore, there are no absolutely effective recipes. Depending on the severity of the disease, the ways how to get rid of trichotillomania for men and women may be different.
You can try to treat a mild form at home. If this does not help, you need to seek help from a psychotherapist. Severe cases should only be treated in a hospital.
Treatment of trichotillomania at home is associated with the nuance that a person must himself realize the whole need to get rid of bad manners. And here the first step is important: you need to recognize yourself as dependent on her. This will help combat a bad habit. Yoga can be an effective way to get rid of trichotillomania. For classes, gender and age are unimportant, no expensive equipment is needed. Just a small rug and desire! You just need to master a few basic meditation postures in order to meditate in a relaxed state - to concentrate all your attention on the problem and inspire the idea that it is going away. To calm the nervous system, you can take several times a day decoctions of medicinal herbs, for example, motherwort or valerian, or drink tea based on them. But this is only as an addition to the exercise of remedial gymnastics.
It's important to know! Only persistent work on yourself will help to overcome trichotillomania at home.
Psychotherapeutic assistance in the fight against trichotillomania
If you do not have enough perseverance to overcome your painful addiction yourself, a psychologist will tell you how to cure trichotillomania. Various psychological techniques can be applied here. For example, bivechioral (behavioral) therapy or hypnosis. With all the difference in psychotherapeutic techniques, the meaning of treatment is to force the patient to change the direction of his thoughts. Switch them to positive judgments that will force behavior change.
This can be achieved in different ways. Let's say a person is persuaded to always shave his head. This keeps him from the habit of "thinning" his hair.
The following exercise is very effective. If the hand reaches for the crown, by an effort of will, you need to force yourself to clench your palm into a fist and, like a mantra, say out loud or mentally that "I am a healthy person and I will not pull out my hair anymore." When such a ritual is repeated for a long time, it has a positive effect.
To consolidate the result obtained, it is good to show the patient his photo before and after treatment. The look of his tidy head without bald patches makes a strong impression on him.
Not bad hypnosis. The hypnologist introduces the patient into a hypnotic sleep and instills the installation that when pulling out the hair, he will feel bad until he becomes unconscious. This situation is fixed in the subconscious. When the thought of "pulling" oneself appears, the one who has been treated really becomes ill. This keeps you from a bad habit.
It's important to know! Psychological methods of dealing with trichotillomania are effective only if the disease has not gone too far and the person really realizes that a bad habit prevents him from living.
Medication for trichotillomania
When other methods of treating trichotillomania are unsuccessful and if its chronic course is complicated by other sores, the patient is admitted to a hospital.
A psychiatrist prescribes various medications. These can be tablets of the group of antidepressants or normotimics - mood stabilizers (lithium salts, valproate, others), as well as ampoules with a solution of psychotropic drugs. At the same time, physiotherapy procedures are prescribed that help relieve nervous tension and normalize sleep. After several months of treatment in a psychiatric hospital, it is necessary to undergo a rehabilitation course. Its essence is to establish and strengthen lost social ties as a result of illness. These can be special groups where former patients learn to interact with each other.
Supportive therapy is also needed. Simply put, pills at home. Taking special medications at home helps reduce the risk that the disease will recur.
It's important to know! There are no reliable ways to cure trichotillomania in a hospital setting. Severe mental illness is incurable. The patient can only be brought into relative order. How to get rid of trichotillomania - watch the video:
Trichotillomania is a rare but serious condition. It can start in childhood, but sometimes "grows up" with the child. The disease has hereditary factors, and can be acquired. Mild and moderate, at the level of neurosis, it is quite curable. You can deal with it at home or with the help of a therapist. A severe form of "hair pulling" is practically irreparable. This is already a pathology, a psychiatrist will "correct" it, but will not give a 100% guarantee of getting rid of it. And it’s better not to believe in bad omens that “I will pull out a hair on my head and my affairs will go well”. Sometimes such nonsense turns into illness.
