Trichotillomania (or “Trich”) is a condition in which a person has recurrent and irresistible urges to pull hair out from their scalp, eyebrows, or other areas of their body. Repeated hair pulling may lead to bald patches along with anxiety, sad mood, shame or embarrassment. Trichotillomania is classified as a type of Body-Focused Repetitive Behavior (BFRB).
Hair pulling may include focused pulling, meaning the person is aware of the behavior, and automatic pulling, meaning the person is pulling without much conscious awareness. Automatic pulling often takes place in sedentary or solitary situations (e.g., watching TV alone).
In therapy for BFRBs, individuals work on becoming more aware of the triggers and conditions surrounding their hair-pulling behavior, learns techniques for tolerating stress or negative emotions that may trigger or increase hair pulling, and learns to substitute other behaviors when they feel the urge to pull their hair. Therapy also involves working with the individual to create conditions that make hair pulling more difficult, and increasing their self-awareness so they can more easily recognize when they are having an urge to pull.
More information and support for BFRBs is available at https://www.bfrb.org/
Watch Dr. Gordon interview the authors of The BFRB Recovery Workbook here