Trichotillomania is definitely a tricky topic. It seems that nobody really agrees on just how to define it. I have heard so many times that this problem is like nail biting. But is it really?
Hair Pulling, Nail Biting and Skin Picking
These are three separate conditions but they’ve all been linked together as ‘related’ disorders.
My initial instinct is to say it’s just wrong. But there is a difference between traditional ‘nail biting’ that loads of us do, and when this nail biting becomes compulsive, just like skin picking or hair pulling.
A Habit?
There comes a point when something becomes more than a habit. You might have a habit to pull out your hair in certain situations, or bite your nails when they break. But do you feel a compulsion to do it? That’s why I’ve always believed trichotillomania to be a little different to a habit.
Trichsters will not feel compelled to pull out there hair 24/7. It can be brought on by stress and boredom, or it can just happen for absolutely no reason at all. In many ways it’s pleasurable, and in other ways that feeling is what causes us to want to get rid of the hair. Nail-biting as everyone is commonly aware might not be that strong, but when it becomes serious there seems to be a huge link to trichotillomania.
Emotional Effects
After reading up on nail biting (also called onychophagia), it’s clear that nail-biters go through the exact shame feelings of shame as trichsters. Asking why they can’t stop, feeling ‘weird’, trying to cover up… and all of this again in skin pickers.
What I want to know is, what makes us go for the nails instead of the skin? Why choose our hair?
Is it just the same disorder, but a different area of the body being targeted?
I’m afraid I don’t know any of the answers, but I’d love to hear your thoughts on this. You can read a little more by clicking here.
My name's Penny, and I started OnTrich (a trichotillomania blog) to try and raise awareness about hair pulling, and also as a way to help me deal with my own pulling. I'm a 23 year old girl from the UK and I've been pulling for 13 years. Get in touch if you want to chat or need any help - I love meeting people here.
I do all three unfortunately, but hair pulling is the worst. I just bite my nails if they get too long and haven’t had time to cut them, and then because of that i pick at the skin around my nails too, and because of this my finger tips looks horrible lol.
My mum keeps saying it’s a habit, but if it really were, then it would be a lot easier to stop than if something else was causing it, because we usually have control over all our habits, because it’s something we can consciously stop but i don’t think trich is like that at all.
Thank you for your comments. What you say about the habit, I think that’s true. I think there are different levels of these things – sometimes it’s a habit and then sometimes, somehow it becomes more. It must be hard having all three of these. I used to bite my nails, but for me it was a habit and quite easy not to do it (fortunately).