We have had a number of clients lately that have come to us experiencing intense cravings for sweets along with the urges to pull associated with trichotillomania. Part of the reason is that we also run a weight management program that targets the specific underlying metabolic imbalances each person has to help them discover the reason’s weight loss may have been difficult for them in the past. One of those reasons is often neurotransmitter imbalances. This leads not only to the urge to pull, but to many things that can sabotage weight loss efforts.
Many people that have tried to lose weight without success try to power themselves through diet after diet using super-human willpower to accomplish their goals. The problem is that the intense cravings, increased appetite and binging behaviors they often experience are caused by underlying neurotransmitter imbalances in the brain that don’t go away. Unfortunately, willpower is no match for brain chemistry; eventually a person has to give in to these intense urges and they ‘blow’ their diet.
This isn’t unlike trichotillomania – many people attempt to use willpower alone or in combination with some behavioral modifications to try and prevent themselves from pulling. However, most of these attempts result in failure because the underlying neurotransmitter imbalances that are causing those powerful urges to pull haven’t been addressed.
The great news is that correcting those underlying neurotransmitter imbalances often results in the complete resolution of whatever symptoms were linked to the imbalance. This includes the urge to pull, sugar cravings, binging behavior and/or increased appetite. Once eliminated, this frees a person to more easily pursue the behavioral, dietary and/or lifestyle changes that may need to happen to get them to their goals. In the case of those that are trying to lose weight, that means they are now better able to make a choice on what they eat or do not it, rather than feeling compelled or driven to do so
