5 Ways to Stop Pulling Out Hair

Pulling out hair might seem like a weird habit, but the truth is that around two percent of the population also do this. Pulling your hair from any area of the body is known as trichotillomania (or trich), which is a disorder causing you to pull out your own hair.

This habit can have devastating effects, both physically and mentally. If you are trying to cure pulling then here are a few things to think about.

1) Find the Cause:

There are many common causes of trichotillomania:

• A way to cope with stress,
• Boredom,
• Childhood trauma,
• Diet,
• Tiredness,
• And more.

The more you can learn about why you pull your hair out, the easier it will become to treat that cause and improve your situation.

2) Learn How to Cope With Stress:

No matter what the underlying cause of your trich, learning how to handle stress will help you to handle your hair pulling.

This might be easier said than done, but over time you will learn to recognise the stressful situations that trigger trichotillomania. Talk about them to your friends and family if possible, and consider counselling to help you work through underlying stress.

3) Medication:

You shouldn’t rely on medication as a way of making trich disappear. Some doctors don’t understand the condition and will simply prescribe Prozac. This doesn’t tend to work, so start asking for different treatments, which will include relaxation techniques and habit reversal training.

4) Meditation and Hypnosis:

These are just two examples of alternative therapies that can help you cure hair pulling. They help for a number of reasons:

• They can clear your mind of stress and worry,
• They can help you to understand yourself,
• They help you to relax,
• They can prevent you from blaming yourself.

5) Acceptance: This is by far the best way you can stop pulling out hair – or at least stop hurting yourself emotionally for doing so. Once you come to realise hair pulling is common, and that it’s a part of you, you will be in the best place to work on stopping.