When you feel overwhelmed and anxious, bottled-up emotions can seem to brim over. For some people, this can bring an urge to pull out their hair to get a sense of relief. An expert added clinical context to this common habit.
Reliance Foundation Hospital, revealed that recurrent hair-pulling may indicate trichotillomania, a condition that is more than a habit someone can simply ‘snap out of. Rithika Krishnan, clinical psychologist at Sir H.N. She shared why this cycle develops, what triggers hair-pulling, and when it needs medical attention.
Rithika revealed what this can feel like: “Trichotillomania refers to the recurrent pulling out of one’s hair. The expert revealed that this relief is short-lived, and the cycle is the price you pay as you repeatedly feel the urge to do it again. A hair-pulling habit may feel difficult to resist. It can sometimes result in noticeable hair loss. It occurs when there’s an increasing sense of tension immediately before pulling out the hair or when attempting to resist the behaviour. These individuals experience pleasure, gratification, or relief when pulling out the hair. So, once you give in to the urge to pull your hair, you may feel relieved, but soon it becomes a vicious cycle that is difficult to break. This habit becomes a vicious cycle, not only psychological but also neurological. Rithika listed the parts of the brain involved in this process, in which the behaviour essentially goes into a loop: The psychologist reassured people with this habit that trichotillomania is common and treatable. Habit reversal training is used to treat it.
