Trichotillomania (TTM) is an impulse disorder characterised by the repeated urge to pull out scalp hair, eyelashes, eyebrows or other body hair. It is believed to be related to obsessive-compulsive disorder.
Most TTM sufferers live relatively normal lives, except for the shame of having bald spots on one's head. Many clinicianss characterize TTM as a mental disorder: TTM sufferers -- and some clinicians -- view this characterization as inaccurate and misleading, as well as conducive to discrimination against TTM sufferers. According to them, TTM is no more a mental disorder than is any other form of obsessive-compulsive behavior such as nail biting; many TTM sufferers have relatively normal work and social lives; and TTM sufferers are not any more likely to be unfit parents or to have significant personality disorders than anyone else. Shaving one's head is a workaround for some.
There have been recent clinical trials of drug treatment for trichotillomania, for example using anafranil, prozac, and lithium. One should use care in choosing a therapist who has specific experience and insight into the condition, lest one be overdiagnosed or overmedicated. Prozac and other similar drugs, which some professionals prescribe on a one-size-fits-all basis, tend to have limited usefulness in treating TTM, and can often have significant side effects.
A practice related to TTM is trichophagia, in which hairs are sucked and/or eaten. In extreme cases, this can lead to the development of a hairball or trichobezoar in the abdomen, a serious condition in humans.
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