About the Author
I’m just a 28-year old girl struggling with this affliction. I have had TTM for over 12 years now.. before much was known at all about this disorder. It started when I was a young child, and it has been an ongoing battle. Although this journal is mostly for my own personal recordkeeping and frustration venting, I am open to sharing it with others - I am hoping that by letting my journal be read by other people with this disorder, I can help others with trichotillomania know that they aren’t alone and they AREN’T “crazy” because of this strange, and often illogical compulsion.TTM, or Trich, is a disease that is still widely unknown about, and part of the reason is that it can be so easy to hide most of the time, so we don’t end up talking about it. If it’s not easy to hide then we find ways to hide it. I haven’t actually met or seen all that many people that I knew to have Trich, but I have come across at least a few… enough to know that I’m not the only one - and because of websites and forums I know there are LOTS of people with Trich.The disorder is often called a cousin of OCD, and I do have some OCD symptoms myself. It has also been referred to as a “grooming disorder”. I bite my nails from time to time and also am somewhat obsessed with grooming my face (mostly picking and scratching at blemishes). Trich is not OCD, however… it is in a category by itself, and it’s workings are still very much a mystery. It is estimated that approximately 2% of the earth’s population is afflicted …. that may not sound like a lot, but its THOUSANDS of people! The internet has been a wonderful resource, and I highly recommend checking out trich.org … the Trich Learning Center.If you enjoy reading this journal and would like to show some support, please take a moment to visit my sponser links on the right, whenever you visit, to help pay for my web hosting. Thanks =)^Isis^