Wørd of the week – Trichotillomania

Trichotillomania  n

Trichotillomania (TTM) or "trich" is an impulse control disorder characterised by the repeated urge to pull out scalp hair, eyelashes, beard hair, nose hair, pubic hair, eyebrows or other body hair. It may be distantly related to obsessive-compulsive disorder, with which it shares both similarities and differences.

Trichotillomania has been mentioned as a disorder in very early historical records. Onset generally occurs at puberty. There is a strong stress-related component, that is, in low-stress environments some stop pulling altogether. Pulling resumes when one leaves this environment. 80% of those afflicted are female. Evidence is now starting to accumulate pointing to TTM as being genetic in origin. Stimulant abuse has also been known to cause, or at least trigger episodes of, trichotillomania