I just had a conversation with my almost eight-year-old daughter that I feared and hoped we wouldn’t need to have. Yet here we are.
She’s amazing and we have a trusting, open dialogue, constant communication style family. She felt no guilt, shame, or fear for sharing her enjoyment of pulling her hair. We talked about it for a few minutes. I kept it about being curious about her experience and only slightly touched on it being unhealthy for our hair. I didn’t go into explaining the risks for baldness and social repercussions. Right now I’m just trying to absorb what she’s dealing with and how I’m going to help her.
I missed the signs in my oldest daughter until she was a young teenager and already had a huge bald patch she’d been hiding. It was terrible and I didn’t handle it well at all. I want to do better this time.
A quick internet search led me to these two sites.
I’ll be researching more this weekend and in the coming weeks. If you or someone you love struggles with Trichotillomania, please share your story.
just don't expect a fairly tale.
