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Trichotillomania And Dermatillomania.


Ravenwing

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I'm not sure if this is the right place for this. I've done a search on these subjects and there does not seem to have been talked about for a while. I suffer with Dermatillomania and Trichotillomania. These get worse not only when my OCD is flaring but when I am anxious or depressed also. How do you cope if you have it? :-(

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I used to pull my hair out. I was never diagnosed with trich because I hid it but yes, I had a compulsion to pull my hair out. It wasn't in anger, I just couldn't stop myself. I wound up with a bald patch, not as bad as some but a bald patch none the less. I even went as far as wearing a hat for a long time and buying various cover-up remedies online designed for balding men..... (nothing wrong with balding men I should add!).

I still have a small area with no hair (no bigger than a 5 pence piece now) that will probably never grow back. It's not noticable, it's at the back and my hair covers it.

Anyway, I stopped pulling. There is a part of me that consciously thinks "don't do it you don't want a bald patch again" but mostly I stopped when my medication was changed.

I believe that medication AND therapy play a role in recovery, and I know that there are a lot of psychs/GPs/therapists out there who believe medication plays no part in BPD but if I hadn't been given the medication I've had I wouldn't be here now.

Have you spoken to your psych about it? It might be worth a meds review if your OCD is worse......

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(((RavenWing))).........Hello and welcome and good to see you getting right in the middle of the bed here (lol)..........I haven't personally experienced what you describe but I thought you might be interested in this lady and how she has learned to manage with both of what you describe................I went to one of her live exhibitions where she acted out her struggles...........and I suppose by facing them head on and incorporating them into recovery and helping others at the same time...........well it was amazing...............If you haven't heard of her, here is her website................http://www.lizatkin.com/

Again, good to see you and a huge :bigarmhug[1]: .xxx

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Thank you so much guys. I have to wear head bands to keep my hair back and cover the bald spots I have. I have scars all over the back of my hands from my picking. I pick the skin all down the sides of my fingers too.

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Skin heals, and hair grows. It may not ever be perfect, but who is? What's important is that you are talking about it and this means you recognise this as an issue.

Can I be really nosy and ask if you're on any meds that help with the OCD? (It is my understanding that the trich and derma are compulsions rather than a form of self-harm?)....

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  • 2 months later...

Can you speak with your doctor?

I know medications aren't the only answer, but I am currently med-free and I have started pulling again. I don't even know why, I just find myself rooting out the rougher, wiry hairs and before I know what I'm doing I've yanked it out. It's not serious, and if I make the effort I can stop, just seems a coincidence that I come off my meds and a month or so later the behavior emerges....

Hope you're getting by...

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