Pulling Hair Out

Our son, who is now 11 years old, has a habit when he is under stress, to pull his hair out.  When he was potty training, we pushed him too hard and this made him nervous and he pulled a large circle of hair out over a period of weeks.  After backing off, he not only learned to potty quickly, but he stopped pulling his hair and all grew out.

We did not have this problem again until this year when he turned 11 years old.  My wife and I encountered some marriage problems.  For a while there were arguments and we even discussed separation.  We worked things out and all is well now, but I did not realize how this affected our son.  He once again pulled out a large circle of hair.  It seems now to be growing back out, and we have reassured him that our family is in tact and no one is leaving.

My question: is this simply a nervous reaction to situations he can't control or is this a sign of something else.  He, like me, is very introverted but he participates in activites at school like sports.  He is not real out going, but probably is more than I was.  I just wanted to double check to see if I should be concerned about anything.

Thanks for your help.

Jim

[Kevin Kennedy, Ph.D.]

Dear Jim,

Your son displays a condition called trichotillomania, and his pattern indicates that it is not a chronic, enduring situation but rather a relection of situation-specific anxiety. It really does not potend anything else, and in that sense you really don't have to worry. Just keep attuned to events or circumstances in your son's life that might induce stress, and encourage him to talk about these and express his worries. It sounds like he is somewhat reticent or shy by nature, but that he is developing well, and you can take comfort from that. Dr. KDK

[kelly]

i am  and have suffered from trichotillomania since i was 8 it is a serious life controlling problem at times affecting my health, relationships and self esteem.
i pull out hair on my eyes, eyebrows head hair ect.
i try to stop but always fail
i have tried many things to get over this condition to no evale
can any one help me im at my wits end!!!!!!!
www.leka_80***@****