Why is my daughter pulling her eyelashes out?
Trichotillomania. This condition is an impulse control disorder caused by anxiety or stress. Often called “hair-pulling disorder,” people with trichotillomania have the irresistible urge to pull out their own hair, eyelashes or eyebrows. The area of hair loss is usually asymmetric and follows an irregular pattern.
Table of Contents
How do you get my daughter to stop pulling out her eyelashes?
Don’t say “stop it”
In fact it makes things worse. The child will feel ashamed and likely do the behavior more. Instead, try encouraging them to take stock of what they are feeling and do something more positive, like deep breathing or playing with fidget toys.
Is pulling out your lashes a disorder?
Trichotillomania, also known as trich, is when someone cannot resist the urge to pull out their hair. They may pull out the hair on their head or in other places, such as their eyebrows or eyelashes. Trich is more common in teenagers and young adults.
Does puberty cause trichotillomania?
Trichotillomania is several times more common in women and has peak onset around puberty.
Why do children develop trichotillomania?
The cause of trichotillomania is not known. For some children, trichotillomania becomes damaging and very difficult to control. Hair pulling can occur anytime but may become worse in stressful situations. Most children with trichotillomania feel shame, embarrassment or guilt about their hair loss.
What causes someone to pull out their eyelashes?
Trichotillomania (pronounced: trik-oh-till-oh-MAY-nee-uh) is a condition that gives some people strong urges to pull out their own hair. It can affect people of any age. People with trichotillomania pull hair out at the root from places like the scalp, eyebrows, eyelashes, or pubic area.
Is trichotillomania an anxiety disorder?
Trichotillomania appears to be a fairly common disorder, with high rates of co-occurring anxiety disorders. Many individuals with trichotillomania also report that pulling worsens during periods of increased anxiety.
Is trichotillomania a form of OCD?
What is trichotillomania? Trichotillomania (often abbreviated as TTM) is a mental health disorder where a person compulsively pulls out or breaks their own hair. This condition falls under the classification of obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD).
Is trichotillomania a mental disorder?
Overview. Trichotillomania (trik-o-til-o-MAY-nee-uh), also called hair-pulling disorder, is a mental disorder that involves recurrent, irresistible urges to pull out hair from your scalp, eyebrows or other areas of your body, despite trying to stop.
What are 3 symptoms of trichotillomania?
Noticeable hair loss, such as shortened hair or thinned or bald areas on the scalp or other areas of your body, including sparse or missing eyelashes or eyebrows. Preference for specific types of hair, rituals that accompany hair pulling or patterns of hair pulling. Biting, chewing or eating pulled-out hair.
Is trichotillomania an OCD or anxiety?
What happens if trichotillomania is left untreated?
If left untreated, trichotillomania can lead to hair loss, bald spots, lack of eyebrows or eyelashes, and skin damage at the follicles.
What is the best medication for trichotillomania?
SSRIs and clomipramine are considered first-line in TTM. In addition, family members of TTM patients are often affected by obsessive-compulsive spectrum disorders. Other drugs used in the treatment of TTM are lamotrigine, olanzapine, N-Acetylcysteine, inositol, and naltrexone.
Is trichotillomania a form of anxiety?
Trichotillomania can be related to emotions: Negative emotions. For many people with trichotillomania, hair pulling is a way of dealing with negative or uncomfortable feelings, such as stress, anxiety, tension, boredom, loneliness, fatigue or frustration.