Trichotillomania

What is Trichotillomania Disorder? What is Trichotillomania Pronunciation?

When we talk about mental health disorders, many people are aware with anxiety and depression. Obsessive compulsive disorder are lesser known conditions worldwide. Trichotillomania is such type of condition which is compulsive hair pulling disorder. As people do not know such type of disorder and often they wonder about trichotillomania pronunciation as well. As this word looks complicated to pronounce.

In this article we will discuss about trichotillomania, its relationship with OCD and trichotillomania pronunciation as well.

What is Trichotillomania Pronunciation?

Before diving deeper to understand what is trichotillomania? Let have a look to clarify the trichotillomania pronunciation. You can understand it by breaking the word into smaller parts:

Tri-ko-til-o-MAY-nee-uh

“Tri” sounds like “try.”
“cho” is pronounced as “ko.”
“tillo” sounds like “til-oh.”
“mania” is pronounced as “may-nee-uh.”

So, the correct trichotillomania pronunciation is: try-ko-til-oh-MAY-nee-uh.

What is Trichotillomania Disorder?

Trichotillomania is a disorder which is classified as body-focused repetitive behavior (BFRB). It is generally called “hair pulling disorder”. In this the person feels irresistible impulse to pull out his or her own hair. This hair pulling urge can be either from the scalp, eyelashes, eyebrows, or from any other areas of the body. The disorder start to develop its symptoms in childhood or in adolescence.

Hair pulling act bring temporary pleasure and relief but when it is performed repeatedly it often leads to noticeable hair loss and distress.

Diagnostic criteria of Trichotillomania

Trichotillomania is a recognized mental health disorder in the category of Obsessive-Compulsive and Related Disorders. According to Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5) the diagnostic criteria of Trichotillomania or hair pulling disorder is:

Diagnostic criteria A.

Recurrent urge of pulling out of one’s hair, resulting in significant and noticeable hair loss.

Diagnostic criteria B.

Person repeatedly attempts to reduce and stop hair pulling.

Diagnostic criteria C.

The hair pulling urge causes substantial distress and impairment in social and occupational functioning.

Diagnostic criteria D.

The hair loss is not due to any other medical condition for example dermatological condition.

Diagnostic criteria E.

The hair pulling habit is not symptom of another mental disorder like body dysmorphic disorder.

What is the Link between Trichotillomania Disorder and OCD?

You can understand trichotillomania disorder by understanding its connection to OCD (Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder). From the above mentioned symptoms of trichotillomania you would have a better idea that it is not same to OCD, but both of these disorders share similarities:

Both OCD and Trichotillomania involve obsessions (repetition) and compulsive behaviors.
Both OCD and Trichotillomania are difficult to control despite the person is aware of the negative consequences of these compulsions.
Both OCD and Trichotillomania can cause clinically significant distress in daily life.

However, there are differences in both of these disorders too. If we talk about obsessive compulsive disorder the compulsions usually arise from disturbing thoughts or fears like washing hand repeatedly due to fear of infection. In trichotillomania, the compulsion is specifically centered on hair pulling. This hair pulling is often without a definite intrusive thought or obsession which drive toward this compulsion. Because of similarities in symptoms and features of both these disorders Trichotillomania is placed in group of “Obsessive compulsive and related disorders in DSM 5 TR.

What are its Causes and Risk Factors?

Trichotillomania is a obsessive compulsive disorder and exact cause of it is still not fully understood. Some research studies suggests that it is caused by combination of Psychological, biological, and environmental factors:

Genetic predisposition

People having family history of obsessive compulsive disorder, anxiety and related disorders may be more prone getting trichotillomania.

Brain chemistry

Sometime any imbalances in hormones and neurotransmitters like serotonin and dopamine can also play an important role for a person to have this hair pulling disorder.

Emotional regulation difficulties

Sometime person may have stress and anxiety and to overcome this anxiety they do such type of things to cope with anxiety.

Other mental issues

Sometime other mental issues like ADHD, depression and anxiety also co-occur with trichotillomania or hair pulling disorder.

These all reasons shows that trichotillomania disorder is considered as genuine disorder, it is not only simply a matter of willpower.

Emotional and Social Impact

Living with trichotillomania (hair pulling) disorder can be extremely challenging. People most of the times feel socially isolated because they are uncomfortable about bald patches on their head or missing eyelashes due to consistent hair pulling.

In addition emotional impacts of hair pulling also includes:

Low self-esteem and mental wellbeing.
Anxiety of being “discovered” having any mental issue.
Frustration and guilt after hair pulling.
Disturbed relationship with friends and family.

All these struggles shows that trichotillomania should be recognized and treated as a serious mental health issue.

Treatment Options for Trichotillomania:

As the reasons for trichotillomania are unknown so there is no single cure for it. There are many treatments options used which help to manage trichotillomania disorder including:

1. Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT)

CBT is most effective therapy used to cure such type of disorders. In cognitive behavioral therapy the technique called Habit Reversal Training (HRT) is used to help to get rid of such habits like hair pulling and skin picking etc. In CBT clients are taught to recognize the triggers of hair pulling and to replace the act (hair-pulling) with any healthier activity.

2. Medication

When OCD or trichotillomania is due to imbalance in hormones or due to neurotransmitters than medications are used. To treat for OCD and related mental issues Selective serotonin inhibitors SSRIs or N-acetylcysteine are used to reduce symptoms.

3. Support Groups

Support groups are formed as connecting with others who are living with same problem (trichotillomania) can reduce isolation and provide inspiration to cope with this issue.

4. Stress Management

Since stress and anxiety often worsens symptoms. So some stress management techniques like mindfulness and relaxation exercises can help to cope with stressors.