TLC has some great information in their pamphlet: Expert Consensus, Treatment Guidelines for Trichotillomania, Skin Picking and Other Body-Focused Repetitive Behaviors.
I briefly skimmed over it today and one thing stuck out to me: (click to enlarge)
You know, I've read those statements before saying that people have trich because of some past trauma or abuse... and I was lost. That's not me... so why do I have trich? I was confused. I didn't feel like I had some past that I needed to work out (and then magically trich would disappear). Sheesh, was there something so awful in past that I blocked it out?! I didn't think. I knew there wasn't- I've had a good life, an easy care-free childhood. So why did I have trich!?! This information has to be wrong.
And it's so great to actually see it in print "these behaviors are not generally an indication of deeper issues or unresolved trauma." Sometimes it just "is what it is." Will we ever learn why we have trich? Maybe not. And that's okay. For whatever reason, this is the card that was dealt to me. There was nothing I did that caused it, nothing in my past, no deep dark issue... I just have trich. And I'm okay with that.
I so agree with this! It just doesn't make sense sometimes why some people develop Trich and others don't. The hardest part for me to understand is when I read about Trich being anxiety driven. Sometimes that's the case, but on the other hand, why have I been able to stay pull-free for the past 6 months while I've had the worst anxiety of my life? And why did I pull non-stop during my teenage years when I had very little anxiety? I feel like there's something that all Trichsters share that contribute to them pulling, but no one has been able to figure it out yet.
ReplyDeleteI've had trich and derm most of my life. I've had anxiety most of my life, but I've only recently been recognizing that it's actual "anxiety" as in diagnosable instead of just "nervous and shy." I have nervous moments and shy moments, but now I can tell the difference between them all, but of course usually only in hindsight. The past 4 years I think I have been dealing with depression, but I only started to really consider and acknowledge that that was the reason I either felt terrible or didn't feel at all. I messed up my schooling a little by not knowing or recognizing that I was in trouble and needed help, but that's almost fixed. Yay! And I only have one recollection of an incident that some might think of as abuse, but I think it was just children exploring, it didn't feel malicious, and it only happened once. I am embarrassed by what happened, but I don't think any of us had any idea that it could ever be considered wrong.
ReplyDeleteYeah, I'm not sure if science will ever know why some people have trich or derm. And I'm not sure if they'll ever find a true "cure" for either of them. Maybe someday we will know- that'd be awesome!
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