Your Child’s Hair Pulling Habit May Be More Serious Than You Think

Previously classified as an impulse control disorder, now according to the psychiatric Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, hair-pulling is categorized as an obsessive-compulsive disorder. This disorder may affect about 4% of the U.S. population with symptoms starting before 17 years of age.

While the physical trauma of this disorder is grizzly, emotional impact can have far more long-term effects with how sufferers see themselves in society.

The Emotional Impact of Trichotillomania

Be it any mental disorder, the sufferer will look and seem fine on the outside (or relatively unscathed). It’s the inside that’s important for parents to take note of. For example, trichotillomania sufferers carry a lot of anxiety.

Children might feel ashamed, overly nervous or stressed out in social situations where the physical manifestation of this disorder is there for everyone to see. As a parent, you must be extra supportive of your child.

A Strong Sense of Depression

Your child will be inclined to self-isolate herself, especially after feeling helplessness because of the situation. This can bring on a sense of depression which will lead to more hair-pulling or other negative catalysts.

Remember this: even adults acknowledging they have this disorder find it hard to deal with hair-pulling. A child sufferer will grow up to be reckless and blame herself for this disorder.

Extremely Low Self Esteem

This is by far the most damaging emotional aspect of trichotillomania. Hair-pulling can negatively impact a person’s self esteem, whether an adult or a child. The sufferer will simply not feel good about himself or herself when it comes to engaging and interacting in social situations, at home or at school.

This will slowly build the cycle of depression, anxiety, withdrawal, and other negative emotional feelings will continue.

Treating Trichotillomania

There’s disparity of thinking when it comes to finding the real cause for this disorder. But in the end, this isn’t important. How you’ll treat this disorder and prevent the negative effects from changing your child’s personality is the important thing.

Regardless of whether hair-pulling can be traced back to a chemical imbalance or high emotional trauma, consistent treatment is needed for trichotillomania.

Hypnosis has proved effective results in treating Anxiety disorders. Trichotillomania can be effectively treated with hypnosis. Rekha has successfully worked with clients suffering from trichotillomania. She has managed to achieve tremendous success, when her patients stopped their hair pulling behaviors within two to four sessions.

Find out how you can help your child or even an adult in the family by consulting Rekha Shrivastava. treating anxiety and depression,