Trichotillomania: ‘People who pull out their own hair shouldn’t feel ashamed’

Clare Mackay has lived with trichotillomania for 40 years and now works in partnership with the support group BFRB UK and Ireland.

Her new book, Keep Your Hair On: Understanding Urges to Pick, Pull and Bite, is based on her personal experience and years of research into body-focused repetitive behaviours.

“It’s normal grooming behaviour to pick and pull and bite a bit,” she said.

“But it can be very severe – people can pull out all of their hair. Different people are triggered by different things. It’s fundamentally a self-soothing behaviour.”

She described trichotillomania as a chronic condition, but said it could be managed.

“There are therapists that offer particular therapies, but self-help strategies can be just as effective. And one of the best ones is finding other people who suffer with the same thing.”