What Is Hair-Pulling Disorder, And How Can It Affect Your Life?

If you experience hair-pulling disorder, you likely already know that it can affect your life significantly, whether by making it difficult to interact with others or feel in control of your behavior. Because this disorder can be connected to other mental illnesses, particularly obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), hair-pulling disorder can be challenging to manage on your own. In many cases, the compulsion to pull hair can be so strong that it interferes with daily functioning. With the right support, though, it can be possible to find relief from symptoms of hair-pulling disorder and become a more confident, happier version of yourself. Online therapy may be one way to get the professional help you deserve.

What Is Hair-Pulling Disorder?

Hair-pulling disorder, often known formally as trichotillomania, is a mental health disorder that usually involves recurrent, intense urges to pull hair from your scalp, eyebrows, or other parts of the body. Those experiencing hair-pulling disorder often find it difficult or even impossible to resist the overwhelming impulse to pull their hair, even if they want to. 

Though it is generally focused on pulling hair out from the scalp, eyebrows, or eyelids, trichotillomania can cause compulsive pulling of any kind of body hair. It's often important to watch for the signs and symptoms of this disorder because it may lead to serious consequences if left untreated for too long. Excessive hair-pulling can result in baldness, which may cause significant emotional distress and interfere with an individual’s ability to function.

As a result, many people with trichotillomania may go to significant lengths to disguise their hair loss and other symptoms of the disorder, which can be a stressful and isolating experience.

The Symptoms Of Hair-Pulling Disorder

Perhaps the most obvious sign of hair-pulling disorder can be the hair-pulling itself. Those with the disorder may pick at their eyebrows, eyelashes, and scalp often. Also notable in many cases can be the bald spots that may appear in these areas. 

As mentioned, someone living with trichotillomania may dedicate a lot of effort to trying to hide their behavior. They may feel a sense of guilt or shame that motivates them to withdraw from others, a tendency that can exacerbate symptoms. The urge to cover up hair loss, and hair-pulling habits, in general, might lead someone living with hair-pulling disorder to turn to potentially unhealthy coping mechanisms, like excessive substance use, or lead to the development of other mental health disorders. 

Understanding the intensity of the urges that can come with trichotillomania may be a key part of differentiating it from other mental health disorder symptoms. Typically, an individual feels a sense of tension or overwhelming anxiety right before they engage in the behavior, which may get stronger the longer they try to resist the impulse. 

As soon as they pull the hair, they might feel a sense of gratification or pleasure that can seem intensely rewarding, though it’s often short-lived. This pattern is often cyclical, and the impulse to pull hair again may return soon after relief is found.

Other behaviors involving hair may also be commonplace for those experiencing this disorder. They may play with their hair after they pull it out, eat it, examine it, chew on it, or engage in any number of other activities involving the hair. 

By watching for any of these types of behaviors, it can be possible to encourage someone with this disorder to seek the help they may need to manage symptoms. 

Who Has Hair-Pulling Disorder?

While anyone can develop hair-pulling disorder, it can be common for it to run in families, which generally means that if someone in your immediate family has the disorder, you may have a higher likelihood of developing it yourself. Knowing your risk may help you keep an eye out for symptoms and learn to identify them in others who are close to you.

Additionally, those with obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) may experience trichotillomania as a manifestation of its symptoms. Because it's usually considered an impulse control disorder, trichotillomania can be tied to the anxiety that may occur because of OCD or similar mental health disorders. If you’re living with OCD, an anxiety disorder, or another condition that may produce heightened feelings of anxiety, it's possible that trichotillomania could be connected to it. 

Because of this, it can be important to watch for symptoms that don't fit with other disorders you've been diagnosed with so you can be diagnosed properly.

Finally, those who experience high amounts of stress, even in the absence of a mental health diagnosis, may be susceptible to this disorder. For many who live with it, trichotillomania usually acts as a stress reliever. Pulling hair can feel like a way to express and let go of pent-up stress in the body. Though it may temporarily relieve tension and offer an outlet for stress, this sort of behavior can quickly and easily spiral out of an individual’s control.  

Getting Help For Hair-Pulling Disorder

If you or someone you know show signs of hair-pulling disorder, it can be beneficial to speak with both a physician and a licensed mental health professional. Seeking a medical opinion can help you make sure that the symptoms you're experiencing aren't the result of an underlying medical condition or the side effects of a medication you're taking. 

Meanwhile, a mental health professional can help you understand what might be driving you to pull your hair, what you can do to halt the behavior, and other solutions that can address underlying emotions in a healthier way.

Because hair-pulling disorder is normally considered a type of impulse control disorder and often coincides with other mental health disorders, including obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), it may be difficult to manage symptoms on your own. Resources that make receiving care and support more accessible may be useful, especially if you’re not comfortable navigating traditional in-person treatment options. 

Benefits Of Online Therapy

Online therapy may empower you to connect with a professional without leaving the comfort of your own home. It can also enable you to choose between phone call and online chat if you don’t feel comfortable with the video call format.

Effectiveness Of Online Therapy

Current research suggests that online therapy can be just as effective as in-person therapy for treating symptoms of a variety of mental health disorders. A 2022 study investigated the efficacy of online therapy for treating trichotillomania and skin-picking disorder and found that it could be an effective and acceptable form of treatment.