Teresa was sobbing into the phone as we talked. She was telling me about how she couldn’t stop pulling; how she often pulled and didn’t realize it until she saw the bald spots on her head getting larger and larger; how she was so sad because she felt like she was disappointing her mom and dad and how awful, shameful and depressed she was because of the endless remarks from kids at school.
After she was done pouring out her grief, she got right to the heart of the matter: “I really don’t want to pull, but I can’t stop. Why is it so hard to stop pulling? What’s wrong with me?!” The tone of her voice changed from sadness to anger and frustration as those last words came out of her mouth.
“There is absolutely nothing wrong with you that cannot be corrected.” I waited for these words to sink in. After a few seconds, Teresa’s meek voice flickered with understanding, “You mean I won’t be like this the rest of my life?”
“Absolutely not!” I said. “You just need different tools to address this than you’ve used in the past. This has nothing to do with willpower – you have plenty of that. We just have to give that willpower a little boost.”
I went on to explain that her overwhelming urges to pull stem from a brain chemical imbalance that she cannot control – that is precisely why she feels so “out of control” when the urges come. These urges are not a sign of some flaw in her; it’s a sign of an imbalance that needs to be corrected.
The best part is it can be corrected using some simple tools – called amino acids – that her body needs to balance those brain chemicals. Once they are more balanced, she won’t have the urges to pull anymore.
Teresa was speechless for about 10 seconds, then burst in, “Let’s get started!”
Teresa embodies many of the young girls we speak to that have trichotillomania. They feel so helpless and out of control because they don’t yet know there is a solution.
There is – we’ve seen it work hundreds of times – with people of all ages and from all walks of life. And chances are, it will work for you too.
When you’re ready, contact us. As Teresa said – “Let’s get started!”
