How can I help my hair pulling pupil?

Maybe you have Trichotillomania, and perhaps, more likely, it is your pupil whose Trichotillomania you would like to help relieve. Thank you, from the bottom of our

for your interest and if you have a few minutes, let us tell you more about the condition.

Trichotillomania is an impulse control disorder which compels a person to pull out hair from various areas of their body, mainly the scalp, eyelashes and eyebrows. Most people nowadays pronounce it TRICK-Oh-till-oh-mania. We tend to call it tric (pronounced trick).

The affectionate term for a person who has Trichotillomania is “tricster” (pronounced trickster).

If you have a pupil with trichotillomania, observe them writing and talk to them about perfectionism. Please be willing to offer extra time in exams.

Let your pupil know they can come to you with any concerns.

The primary factors involved in Trichotillomania are overwhelm, boredom and attention. It tends to happen to high-functioning individuals, so you might not initially recognise an attention problem.

Does the individual sometimes have problems arriving at school with the right things? Do they sometimes seem zoned-out or over-tired? You can help by watching for the signs which don’t get mentioned.

It usually isn’t a great idea to refer the child to the school counsellor, without that counsellor having training in supporting people with tics or body focused repetitive behaviours. This is a physical condition which usually does not have its roots in trauma. While the individual may have friendship problems, which the counsellor might help with, these will likely be due to emotional sensitivity and will not be the cause of hair pulling. Treatment of Trichotillomania MUST be by specialist in hair pulling recovery as looking for an emotional cause for hair pulling can be very harmful.

True life tale about a teacher with trichotillomania

How many people are affected by trichotillomania?

It is estimated that approximately 3% of the world’s population is affected by the disorder in some way. You’ll know how many children you teach each year, so you can estimate how often you might be in a position to help a child to cope with trichotillomania.

Here at Trichotillomania Support, we provide a safe zone where adults and children can confide, create, recover and discover using interactive, cutting-edge technology, the power to challenge and change, beliefs and behaviours that may have previously lead to hair or eyelash pulling. Our facilities include buddying, coaching and coaxing.

The abbreviated term for Trichotillomania here is tric (pronounced trick) and people with the disorder are known within our community as tricsters. TricSTARS are those who are more than 100 days pull free. You could even make a reward chart or encourage the child to confidentially talk to you about whether they have pulled each day. You really CAN make a difference. We’re grateful for your assistance and research and you can call us on 07910 114739 but we cannot return your call. We’re volunteer run, so if we are on another call or don’t have a volunteer available please try again. Please also give that phone number to your pupil, as we are here to help.