psychiatric disorders
Trichotillomania
Introduction
Trichotillomania is characterized by recurrent pulling out of one's hair resulting in hair loss. Patients with trichotillomania repeatedly pull or pluck out their hair for noncosmetic reasons. Most commonly, they pull hair from their scalp, eyebrows, and/or eyelids, but any body hair may be pulled out. Sites of hair pulling may change over time. For some patients, this activity is somewhat automatic (ie, without full awareness); others are more conscious of the activity. Hair pulling is not triggered by obsessions or concerns about appearance (as in Body Dysmorphic Disorder ) but may be preceded by a feeling of tension or anxiety that is relieved by the hair pulling, which is often then followed by a feeling of gratification. Patients with hair-pulling disorder try to stop pulling their hair out or to pull less often, but they are unable to do so. Hair pulling typically begins just before or after puberty. At any given point in time, about 1 to 2% of people have the disorder. In clinical samples, about 80 to 90% of adults with trichotillomania are female. 