Essay On Trichotillomania

Trichotillomania is a chronic disorder the main symptom is recurrent hair pulling. An overwhelming urge to pull out one 's hair from several places on the body, with the scalp being the most common location. Trichotillomania presents defies to clinicians in many areas as well as assessment, treatment, and research
Several assessment techniques to measure the severity of trichotillomania exist, each of which has advantages and disadvantages in establishing a diagnosis. Because it is still a relatively poorly understood disorder, treatment options for patients reporting these behaviors are limited and generally are confined to pharmacological therapy and habit-reversal behavior therapy. Mansueto, Stemberger, Thomas, and Golomb have published some information in the effort to explain some cues and fact about trichotillomania.
In 1889, a French dermatologist name Francois Hallopeau came up with the term "trichotillomania" to define the compulsive, irresistible urge to pull out hair that he noticed in patients (Anders &. Jefferson, 1994). The word is comes from the Greek "thrix," meaning hair, "tillein," meaning to pull, and "mania," referring to madness or

Once presumed to be a relatively rare disorder, research suggests that trichotillomania is more common than previously believed (Christenson, Mackenzie, & Mitchell, 1991). In a recent survey of college students, the estimated lifetime prevalence rate for men was approximately 1.5% and 3.4% for women (Christenson et al., 1991), suggesting there may be more than 2.5 million people with trichotillomania in the United States alone. Among children with trichotillomania, boys and girls appear to be represented equally, while adult women tend to be more likely than adult men to have trichotillomania (Christenson et al., 1991). This may reflect the true gender ratio of the condition, or it simply may reflect the tendency of women to seek treatment more often than men, especially among adolescent and adult