What is Trichotillomania (and Body Focused Impulse Control Disorders)?
Trichotillomania (TTM) is defined as recurrent pulling out of one’s hair, resulting in noticeable hair loss, which is not due to another medical condition. There is often, but not always, an increasing sense of tension immediately before pulling out the hair, or when attempting to resist the behavior, and pleasure, gratification or relief during and/or immediately after the act. While the diagnostic manual does not yet recognize it, recent researchers have proposed the phrase Body Focused Impulse Control Disorders (BFICD) to describe the full range of behaviors associated with trichotillomania. The most common examples are nail biting, cuticle biting and picking, skin picking, and other compulsive, excessive grooming behaviors. The treatment described here applies equally well to this full range of specific body-focused problems.
