I feel that trichotillomania, or pulling out your own hair, is something that isn’t really talked about by many people. You may have seen someone do it and thought it was ‘weird’ or if you do it yourself you might think you are the only one. But the truth is that a lot of people do this to themselves. It is common. I once read it was as common as biting your nails.
I decided to do a little search for the statistics of how many people pull out their own hair. Whilst this may not offer much comfort, it always helps to know you are not alone, that it is not ‘weird’.
1. How Many People Have Trichotillomania?
This is unclear due to the fact that many people who pull out their hair go untreated and some do not even realise the condition has a name. The estimates I have found state figures of around 2% of the population (I think this applies to America rather than the UK). As stated above, I read many years ago that it was as common as biting nails, but I am not sure about this.
Cases of trichotillomania (or TTM/ trich) have become more common in recent years. This is probably due to the fact that people are hearing more of the condition and people are therefore more open about it. However, I would still say that there is a lot more to be done to make this condition better understood.
2. What Age Is Most Common For Trichotillomania?
Anyone of any age can develop trichotillomania. However, most sources state that it is most common in the first 20 years of life, though even more so in children between the ages of 9 and 13.
3. Does Trichotillomania Affect Men and Women?
Trichotillomania can affect both men and women. However, statistics say that there are more women with the condition. This does not mean to say that it is ‘unusual’ for a man to develop trichotillomania. Amongst younger children the number of girls and boys to have the condition is fairly equal.
4. Do People Stop Pulling Their Hair?
Trichotillomania is not something that you can just ’stop doing’. So if you know anyone with trichotillomania then telling them to ’stop pulling’ won’t help. However, there are people who have managed to stop pulling. In some cases this may happen naturally, as is common with young children who have TTM. In other cases this is down to treatment and a lot of determination and will power. Even so, there is no cure as such.
5. Other Statistics
Here is an interesting quote from Wikipedia. I know they are still doing research into this all the time:
“When genes that were suspected to cause trichotillomania were injected into laboratory mice in one study, the mice obsessively pulled out their fur and the fur of other mice in the cage. This suggests that the carrying of Trichotillomania is genetic, and may be passed down from generation to generation.”
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