I also have this problem and remember the day i did it in first school when someone told me to do it and have done since, im now 22. Every now and again I go without pulling, it all looks nice then i pull again. I only pull my eyelashes and eyebrows so seem to be one of the lucky ones if u can say that as i dont pul from my head but really want help in being able to stop this as it is getting me down. I don't feel depressed in myself but I do get stressed a lot and very easy. I recently got married and thanks to my beautician, she managed to cover it all up with make up so you couldn't tell but I cant do this all time and just want to stop. I know it is a type of OCD as have done loads of research but nothing ever suggests a solution. Please help me, i just wanna stop!!!!

im 17, and i started pullin out my eyelashes wen i started studyin 4 GCSEs, im doin a levels n im still doin it! i stopped 4 a while n they all grew bac n looked great, but then i started again, its ruinin my appearance badly, its embarrassin n im worried cos theyre not growin bac as fast as they used 2. i need help, n if any1 nos how 2 make them grow bac faster that wud b good. im tryin not 2 let my mum on that im strugglin 2 cope wid it, so i dont want 2 go 2 docs. thanks

FINALLY A NAME FOR MY HORRBILE HABBIT!!! AND FINALLY I AM NOT ON MY OWN ANY MORE!!! i never kknew other people had this problem or that it was a condition at all!!! i have been pulling my eye lashes and eye browse sinse i was 12 or 13 i am now nearly 17. When i was thirteen i pulled every last lash and brow out till i was bald and became very depressed very quick!!! they were all in the sink!!!

i have my good and bad days…i can go weeks without bothering them, but then all of a sudden i cant stop!!! and it feels good…which is bad :/ i cant feel it either!!!

The other bad thing is i suffer from belapharitis which is a condition where the skin flakes on your eye lids and the eyes are very sesitive and saw, so pulling at them is not helping!!! i look like a druggy, steroids cured this for 3 years and now its back!!!

I have a big gap in my left eye now…i did that today and after i saw the gap i thought ARGH!!! again!!! I use eye brow filler all the time, my eye brows look pretty nice with it as i have hair there now, well mostly…

Thanks to this programme i can now see about treating this horrbile habbit!!! and i hope people with this condition come on here to!!!

lets hope i can get it fixed before my lashes dont grow back at all!!!
x
x

Hi,i'm 36 years old and i've been pulling my eye lashs since i was about 6 years old,I've now started pulling out my eyebrows out.
I thought I was the only one that was doing this, until I saw this website with all these peoples comments.
I don't know why I do it ,but it feels good when my eyelids are bald.
Please,Please help me….

i am nearly 16 now and ive had my condition for just about over a year. im glad i know all about it because i wanted to get it sorted before it gets any worse! i have pulled out the bottom and sides of my hair, luckily the tops of my hair cover it but when the wind blows you can see it! its horrible and ive lost all my confidence now, i just want it to be cured! so many people say it cannot be cured but i think becaus ei havent had it for more than 2 years it might be easy? i hate it when my mum trys to stop me from pulling, it make sme worse. i just cant stop :(

i'm 19 and started pulling my eyebrows out 3 years ago, they have since never grown back completely and every time they are half back to normal i just pull them out again its so frustrating and nobody who i have told seems to understand they just think im weird because i don't want to do it but yet i can't stop it. they dont understand how hard it is.
my pulling got worse a year ago when i began to pull out my eyelashes, thats when most people who know discovered it because i looked so ridiculous. it began by me peeling off the mascara from my eyelashes and the odd one would fall out, and it felt good, i got relief from it so i carried on (also because i was lacking any eyebrows to pull out) it got to the point that i was so annoyed with myself that i went to the doctors, he seemed like he didnt know anything about the condition and i ended up breaking down into tears in front of him, he gave me anti-depressants to try..i think to be honest they only made me worse because i was 18 and was so upset at the fact i had been put on them and felt like even more of a freak.

i read recently on the bbc website that there are these new pills that replace amino acids or something that are meant to help the urge of pulling? that it is genetic?
i am hoping to go back to the doctor soon and try again about asking for help.
pulling is the only way i have found to relieve my stress and its the one thing that stresses me out the most!! what a viscous cycle!!

hey
Firstly i didnt think there would be so many comments about it.

I pull the hair from my head, started when i was 13/14 and it got really bad then, i had 3 bald patches that were clear for anyone to see. Classmates used to think i had cancer! i kind of stopped well tonned down on doing it for a while and my hair grew back to some extent but iv started again over the last 2years, my family and friends know i do it, its never been a secret, they'l tell me to stop if they see my doing it. i never really put it down to stress as i do it most of the time even when im nice and relaxed!

i really just want to stop, i cover it up well it isnt really that noticable at the moment, but i am always aware of it im always touching my head making sure my hair has stayed still and if im (sleeping!) in bed with my boyfriend im really aware some ways il be lying down you'l see it more. im not embarrased in front of him, he's seen my patches but i still wish i didn have them at all! after i seen that girl on the show i realised i will end up like her in the long run.

i just dont really understand it im 22 now and im not stressed, depressed, or unhappy at all. i see it more as a habbit

Oh and as for pulling eyelashes i generally dont but when i have mascarra mostly from the night before i do pick at it and some lashes come out. i remembered the woman saying it on the programme and thought to myself i do that too! but if i have no make up on i dont just pull out my lashes
So if anyone can point me in the right direction to gettin it sorted! thanks

Hi i am 17 and i think i have this condision. i have been pulling my hair for ruffly 2 years and never understood why i do it? sometimes i am constantly pulling my hair out and dont evan realise. i have low self of steam which i have always put it down to be being abit over weight since being a young age, but since losing weight i still feel low sometimes. i am not depressed as i go out with friends and socialise and think i have alot going for me. my boyfriend and family dont understand why i do it and they want me to tell them, but i dont know? they think its because i am unhappy, which is un true.

i have been to my GP, who did not at all understand this condistion. he simply told me to wear mitons! and stop doing it. GREAT HELP! Anti- depressions are not a option as i am 17 and not depressed. i think cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT)would help me, but how do i get it?

i would be grateful of any advice you could kindly offer me.

Thank you

Hi.! I am 23 years old. I have been pulling out my eyelashes since i dont know when.It starts by my eyelashes getting itchy then i start pulling suddely my hearts beats faster and i get the urge to pull out more and more. I like counting them afterwards. when i was younger i also pull out my pubic hair but nowadays i dont. I dont know why i stop. I also sometimes put out my eyebrows but not as common as i pull out my eyelashes. I like pulling out dead hair also. and putting them together. I also get the urge to pull out other peoples eyelashes.
i hate this im trying to stop but its really hard. i hate the way people look at me .

I started pulling my hair out at the age of 14. A year later and it only seems to be getting worse. After reading the other comments above of people that are still doing it as adults it has really shocked me. I pull out the darker, thicker hairs that for some reason i feel shouldn't be there. I tell myself that i will stop once i pull one out that i am happy with. But once i have found a thick one with an odd texture, it just makes me want to do it more. I never seem to realise that i am doing it untill after when i see a handfull of hair next to me.
My family all try to stop me but we have recently found out that that is the wrong thing to do. A specialist in Brighton, kept on reccuring as someone who could cure Tricholtillomania. But after my parents called for help, we were told that he could only treat adults.
I am desperate to stop, and will be very greatfull for any advise!
Thank you.