What is Trichotillomania?
Trichotillomania involves repetitive hair pulling that can feel automatic, soothing, or hard to resist. Treatment helps patients understand triggers and build competing responses.
Common signs and symptoms
- Pulling hair from scalp, eyebrows, eyelashes, beard, or body
- Urges, tension, relief, or trance-like episodes around pulling
- Avoiding hairstyles, swimming, intimacy, or photos
- Shame, hiding, or repeated attempts to stop
- Skin irritation or noticeable hair loss
How Westwood Institute treats it
- Habit reversal training and competing responses
- Stimulus control for high-risk settings
- Awareness training for automatic pulling
- CBT for shame, perfectionism, or emotional triggers
- Relapse planning for stress periods