I remember the first time I found that one hair that was thicker and more coarse than the rest of my hair. It’s crazy to think that I remember exactly where I was.

Ironically, I was in my 7th Grade Health class and was daydreaming. I remember playing with my hair (something my friends have pointed out to me as early as 5th Grade). However, I never pulled until 7th Grade. I found the coarse, thick hair and that’s when my Trichotillomania spiraled out of control.

Trichotillomania is something often connected to Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD). OCD is a disorder I was actually diagnosed with in 10th grade and of which I take medication for. My OCD is less of the stereotypical OCD (keeping things clean and in order) and more of obsessing over things, intrusive thoughts, etc. But I won’t bore you with that.

Being a sufferer of Trichotillomania, comments stick out to you and stay with you forever. Such as, my 10th Grade English teacher asking the entire class near my desk: “Is someone like losing their hair in clumps?” while looking at a small pile of hair near my desk, because that’s what I did in class.

School was always a stressful time for me. Was I bullied? No. If I was, it was maybe a handful of times in Middle School. However, I didn’t have many friends and I was extremely shy and quiet. I think that’s what aided to my pulling.

Another comment that stuck with me was being in Cosmetology School (at this point I was about 24 years old) and I was a test dummy for my teacher to show the class a haircut technique/tutorial. In front of the whole class, she commented that my hair in the front was very thin. I remember feeling extremely embarrassed. Because it’s not that my hair is thin naturally; it’s something of my doing.

And of course hearing comments from family members or friends, without them knowing I have this disorder.

So with all that being said, think before you make a comment about someone’s hair. It may sound stupid, but it can have a HUGE affect on someone going through something like Trichotillomania.

I’m extremely fortunate enough to not have pulled all of my hair out. There are way more extreme cases of Trichotillomania than mine and I am extremely fortunate to have the amount of hair that I have. And I feel for all sufferers of Trichotillomania.

Trichotillomania sufferers can pull from anywhere. Whether it’s from your scalp, eyebrows, eyelashes, or even pubic hair.

Me personally, I only pull from my scalp. I tend to look for any hair that feels different from other smooth, straight hairs and if I find it, I pull it out.

A quick google search shows the severity Trichotillomania can turn into.

As of right now, I am on a journey to growing my hair. I still have a lot of it, but I am very self-conscious of my “bang” area. That’s the area where I pull the most. I’ll provide a picture below:

As of right now, I am trying EXTREMELY hard to not pull any hair. Which is really hard when you are stressed or anxious. I am also using ‘Roots’ by Lush. It’s a product that a lot of sufferers of this disorder suggest. I am about 2 weeks in and see no results yet. Which I expected. It takes a long time for hair to grow and hopefully, after years of pulling, I haven’t completely damaged the follicle and my hair will grow thicker in time.

Anyway, that’s my story. I’d love to hear from others that have Trichotillomania, and any suggestions for hair growth would be awesome!

*Sorry to detract from my gaming/film posts, but this was something I wanted to write. Thanks for reading.*

I post a ton of gaming content on Twitter:

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