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Why Do I Have the Urge to Pull Out My Hair?


Since you were a kid, you have been pulling out your hair. You are embarrassed by this situation and want to avoid but you feel a continuous urge to pull hairs. Or even you may not realize when you pull hair. If you are in such a situation, you might have trichotillomania.

Trichotillomania is a kind of mental health disorder called impulse control condition. This is the situation that involved uncontrollable and strong urges to do self-destructive behaviors. Other examples of impulsive control disorder include skin picking, nail biting, kleptomania, the urge to steal, and pyromania, the urge to set fires.

People with trichotillomania have recurrent urges to pull hairs not only from the scalp but also from their eyelashes, eyebrows as well as other body parts. This hair pulling habit leads to the partial removal of eyebrows and eyelashes. This also results in hair thinning or patches of hair loss or even a bald scalp.


The hair loss that happens due to the hair pulling habit can also lead to distress in a person. People suffering from trichotillomania report feeling humiliation, embarrassment, and shame. Such people may experience anxiety, depression, and low self-esteem. People with such a condition may try to stop this habit but they often fail. If you are the one asking the question “why do I have the urge to pull my hair out”, then please continue reading this article, you will find out some of the reasons behind the urge to pull hair.

Since you were a kid, you have been pulling out your hair. You are embarrassed by this situation and want to avoid but you feel a continuous urge to pull hairs. Or even you may not realize when you pull hair. If you are in such a situation, you might have trichotillomania.

Trichotillomania is a kind of mental health disorder called impulse control condition. This is the situation that involved uncontrollable and strong urges to do self-destructive behaviors. Other examples of impulsive control disorder include skin picking, nail biting, kleptomania, the urge to steal, and pyromania, the urge to set fires.

People with trichotillomania have recurrent urges to pull hairs not only from the scalp but also from their eyelashes, eyebrows as well as other body parts. This hair pulling habit leads to the partial removal of eyebrows and eyelashes. This also results in hair thinning or patches of hair loss or even a bald scalp.

The hair loss that happens due to the hair pulling habit can also lead to distress in a person. People suffering from trichotillomania report feeling humiliation, embarrassment, and shame. Such people may experience anxiety, depression, and low self-esteem. People with such a condition may try to stop this habit but they often fail. If you are the one asking the question “why do I have the urge to pull my hair out”, then please continue reading this article, you will find out some of the reasons behind the urge to pull hair.


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