"I"m so stressed; I could pull my hair out!" We have all heard this _expression before. However, for millions of people around the world, this is not just an _expression. About five percent of the population pull out their own hair. This is a medical disorder, classified as an Impulsive Control Disorder, called Trichotillomania. I have this disorder.
I remember the exact day it all started. I was in 5th grade and had just gotten my hair cut. I hated it! After examining it, I decided there were a few uneven pieces. I started measuring my hair and pulling out the longer ones. I am not really sure what happened after that, but I continued pulling for no apparent reason. It slowly formed into an uncontrollable habit and I just couldn't control the urges. It's like having to scratch a mosquito bite. You get this feeling and all you can think about is scratching. It's the same with pulling my hair. I couldn't not do it. Eventually my mom and sister noticed and told me that I"d better stop or I might go completely bald. That really scared me, but no matter how hard I tried I couldn't control myself.
I felt really ashamed, like I was the weirdest person on the planet-- until that summer. I had been pulling a lot and it showed so my mother took me to a doctor to see why I was doing such an awful thing. It would always embarrass me when my mother would talk about it or told people about my condition, but for some reason when she told the doctor I felt more comfortable than I ever had. My doctor examined my head and told me that what I do has a name. Trichotillomania. I couldn't believe what he told me. All this time I thought I was completely crazy. When kids at school called me a freak I figured they were right.
It's not like cancer or anything. I mean, you can't die from it-- but it can ruin your life. It was definitely ruining mine. After a while, it started getting worse and I started pulling out the hair on top of my head.
