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One of the leading approaches to help people to stop pulling hair out is though the use of antidepressant drugs. Yet despite their widespread usage, antidepressant drugs can actually wind up doing more harm than good.
The reason why has to do with the underlying cause of trichotillomania – a neurotransmitter imbalance. The imbalance is a condition that is known to many psychiatrists who prescribe antidepressant drugs.
What many psychiatrists don’t understand is the root cause of the imbalance. So before we get into the warning signs that your medication isn’t working, let’s delve into the main reason why you can’t stop pulling hair out.
The basic reason why you can’t stop pulling hair out
Neurotransmitters are the chemical messengers that run between nerve cells.
When these neurotransmitters become imbalanced, they can lead to compulsive behaviors. We detail this on our free report “Why You Can’t Stop Pulling Hair Out.”
The general tact among the medical profession is to prescribe antidepressant drugs as a solution. And it may work in some cases – but usually for only a short period. Here’s why: Antidepressant drugs confuse the body, instead of healing it.
The most commonly used antidepressant drugs for treating compulsive disorders like trichotillomania are serotonin-norepinephrine reuptake inhibitors. They perform a function in which they block the “reuptake” of neurotransmitters.
In essence, there is an imbalance in the neurotransmitters in your system, and the drugs are tricking your body into believing there isn’t. This is all done in the hopes that the medications can shuffle enough of the neurotransmitters around to temporarily trick the brain into believing they are balanced (trick the trich), and that you’ll no longer feel the urge to pull.
The truth is, it may not be that you have a lack or a surplus of neurotransmitters, it’s that you don’t have a correct balance between the excitatory and the inhibitory neurotransmitters. And the only way to create that balance is through amino acid supplements and proper diet. It’s the process we use to help our clients.
3 warning signs that the drugs aren’t working
The trick the antidepressants are playing on your body will eventually wear thin. Instead of correcting an imbalance, you body will think it either has to many or too few neurotransmitters, and it will shut down the supply and/or increase their metabolism, leading to lower and lower levels and further imbalance. These warning signs will let you know that this process has begun:
1. You’ll start feeling the urge to pull. It will come on slowly, but eventually, you’ll notice you’re right back to where you started when you couldn’t stop pulling hair out.
2. Your doctor will recommend an increase of the dosage. Sadly, most physicians treat symptoms, and not the underlying cause of trich – your neurotransmitter imbalance. They’ll likely recommend you up the dosage, which will be a mistake.
3. Your doctor will add or change medications. In an attempt to block more receptors and trick the body further, your doctor may ask you to take additional medications or change them all together. However, even if this attempt works, it too will be temporary. Your body is in a downward spiral, and tricking it more won’t help.
These 3 warning signs are quite common among the trichotillomania clients we see. They’re also an indication that the underlying cause of trich isn’t being addressed – it’s being ignored.
If you see some of these warning signs, take a deep breath before you take another pill. Your trichotillomania will only get worse if you throw more pills at the problem. Address the underlying cause, and you’ll be on your way to beating trich.
