Can you kind of explain trichotillomania to me?

[Anonymous]

Ok so in the past I've wondered if I had trichotillomania (urge to continually pullout body hair) when I was really young I would always pull out my eyebrows and lashes and my arm hair. I can control it better now, but it's weird. Anyways, I was in class and the kid down the row from me was leaning his head to his hand and was pulling at his eyebrows. I thought it was just a twitch and he was concentrating but then he started pulling the hair out at the base of his neck, on his jaw and back to his eyebrows. Now that I've noticed it he does it a lot, and it reminds me of me. I do that too and I was wondering what triggers it and why I've started in the first place. Or do you think he has trichotillomania? Do people normally just do that some times. I don't know please elaborate

[Jane47]

Definitely, love. It's a form of OCD. A good friend of mine has it, I have Dermatillomania, it's not a big thing unless it's something you seriously want to quit. Talk to a doctor about it or do some online research. There are great websites and twitter pages with ways to reduce the pulling/picking. It comes from the compulsive need to create order, but self reflected. You subconsciously are getting rid of blemishes. Does this make sense? Trichotillomania is hair pulling, on your head, face, body, anywhere. It becomes a problem if you grind yourself putting the hair in your mouth or with bald spots or bleeding. It's definitely stress related, because the repetitive action and feeling of progress is soothing. You might go into a trace, you might just oddly like the feeling. It's a strange and not quite understood condition. Ask me more if you like.

[Anonymous]

It's from stress, theory is that it's a grooming technique from a gene gone wrong

[relaxrelax]

sounds like a spiritual and emotional issue