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Valuable Tips For Treating Pulling Hair

21st November, 2010 - Posted by health news - No Comments

Throughout the years, a lot of habits have appeared due to the stress existent currently in modern life.In this way, the mania of pulling hair has appeared. Severe hair-pulling is characteristic of trichotillomania, an impulse control condition not otherwise classified. Other pathological habits, including severe nail-biting and skin-picking, are also prevalent and are potentially diagnosable as stereotypic movement condition. There is increasing awareness of the morbidity linked with these kind of habit disorders but, to date, relatively few randomized controlled trials of pharmacotherapy or psychotherapy have been undertaken. Trichotillomania can involve hair on any part of the body – head, face, genitals, and so on. Most individuals with Trichotillomania focus on one distinct type of hair and favor that above the others. Individual characteristics of the target hairs, such as color, texture, and size can also be important. People sometimes have characteristic responses to their hair pulling – rubbing the hairs against their skin or lips, disposing (or saving) of the hair in a distinct way, even swallowing the hair.

If you are looking for a way to stop hair pulling, you must firstly understand the causes of this condition.Research has revealed that a specific mutation in a gene can trigger this form of obsessive-compulsive disorder. In fact, this particular genetic mutation is related to Tourette syndrome as well.Abnormalities in the brain chemicals serotonin and dopamine may be related to trichotillomania. These chemicals are linked to other mental health issues, such as depression or other obsessive-compulsive behaviors. The etiology of trichotillomania continues to be unknown. However, one explanation is proposed hypotheses for the onset and maintenance of the hair-pulling behavior:structural brain abnormalities: Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) studies have demonstrated that some individuals with trichotillomania have abnormalities of the lenticulate. There are many reasons that people may engage in hair pulling. Young children may simply be flexing their own muscles and discovering how to move their arms and fingers through grasping and pulling the hair of others. Adults may simply be fascinated in what others feel like or how much strength they have and decide to find out through hair pulling. Others may be imitating a new friend who pulls hair or they may have pent-up aggression that they can not verbalise so they act out through hair pulling.

It is very hard to learn how to stop hair pulling. Therapy is an effective tool used to treat trichotillomania. There are several techniques that have been proved to help patients resist their urges. Cognitive-behavior therapy is used most often to treat the disorder. It helps patients learn how to stand against their urges by finding other behaviors to engage in when an urge presents itself. Therapy also helps to identify the stress that causes the urge to pull out hair—and assists the patients in learning how to avoid these situations. An useful tool in overcoming hair pulling is the acquiring of a muscle tensing activity which is somewhat opposite to, and incompatible with hair pulling. It is known as a ‘competing response’. In this step, patents are taught to make a clenched fist with the hand that they use to pull hair, to bend the arm at the elbow 90 degrees and to press the arm and hand firmly against their side at about waist level. This position is then held for one minute. This is practiced in the office, and then at home over the following week. As a consequence, the sufferers of trichotillomania should never lose hope and do their best to cope with therapy.Good luck!