We highly recommend Pass the Baton, a touching and inspirational film about a mother and daughter’s battle with trichotillomania.

The film is directed by Suzi Landolphi, and written by Hannah Sussman and Michael Perricone.  It’s the touching story of a mother’s inability to stop pulling hair out, and her daughter’s attempts to talk about the condition and create public awareness.

Mother unable to stop pulling hair

The film begins with interviews with Hannah and Judith Sussman, who detail the difficulties of dealing with trichotillomania.

Hannah recalls an incident in which she first discovered her mother’s trichotillomania.  When she was a child, Hannah found her mother napping one day, and noticed a significant bald spot on her head.

Alarmed, she woke her mother and alerted her to the bald spot. Hannah’s mother than admitted that she could not stop pulling her hair out – a condition Hannah would later discover was called trichotillomania.

Talking about dealing with trichotillomania is part of the healing

After the candid, heart-warming interviews, the film portrays Hannah as a grown-up performance artist.  Her big show centers on her relationship with her mother, and the emotional toll of dealing with trichotillomania.

Hannah’s mother makes a surprise visit to see the show.  Headstrong and a bit of a curmudgeon, Hannah’s mother obviously isn’t comfortable by her daughter’s performance, making a hasty exit when trichotillomania is mentioned on stage.

The wounds are obviously still fresh, Hannah’s mother is insulted and shamed by her daughter’s performance.  She soon sees the error of her ways when a woman thanks Hannah for gutty performance, which has now allowed her to view her own son’s trichotillomania in an empathetic light.

Suffering from trichotillomania for over 50 years

According to an article in Century City News, Hannah’s mother Judith suffered from trichotillomania for over 50 years.

Hannah helped her mother overcome her compulsion to pull her hair, just as her mother had helped her deal with a debilitating eating disorder.

Hannah Sussman has enjoyed considerable success in Hollywood, with roles in both NYPD Blue and CSI.  We think she should be most proud of this role, and for helping bring trichotillomania more to public light.

We also believe that Judith Sussman would have been greatly helped at an earlier age if she had learned of our natural approach that helps people stop pulling hair out by dealing with neurotransmitter imbalances.

It’s only through brave efforts like these by Hannah and Judith Sussman that trichotillomania will come to light.