Hi,

How have you been?

Here it has been a busy week! I’m working long hours to finish my book & course about Trichotillomania. In the last 8 years, I invested a lot of time in reading studies, talking to psychologists, and combining the theoretical world with my own practical world. What truly works for someone like me with Trich?

I expect to launch the course in the second half of November. So, now you know what I have been up to.

Let’s talk about the risk of ignoring your Trichotillomania and doing nothing

New study: trichotillomania is associated with brain changes 

Did you know that a recent study suggests that your biological vulnerability plays an important role in your brain changes around Trichotillomania for the coming years?

Biological vulnerability is measurable by examining your brain structure. You are more vulnerable if there is an excess thickness in the right inferior frontal cortex and with chronicity reduced thickness in the medial and superior frontal cortex (John E. Grant, 2020).

This study is the first to suggest that trichotillomania is associated with biological changes over time.

The suggestion is: if you are more vulnerable, you’ll likely have to suffer trichotillomania for a longer duration.

But what does this mean for you exactly?

There are cases where the urges start to weaken after years, but there are also cases of people who suffer from the disorder for their entire life.

It’s difficult to tell if you are biologically vulnerable without expensive research. And besides, it’s no guarantee that, even if you are not biologically vulnerable, your hair-pulling urges will weaken over time.

Biological vulnerability vs Psychological vulnerability

Because vulnerability comes in 2 forms: biological and psychological. Your psychological vulnerability is fed by (childhood) traumas, stress, and anxiety.

Being vulnerable to stress and anxiety will make it more difficult to get rid of trichotillomania. And that’s exactly why it isn’t enough to work on prevention e.g. with finger gloves, a scarf around your head, or tools like that.

To put it boldly, you (just like I do) need to toughen up and make yourself less accessible to stress and anxiety. And yes, you definitely need to do this too if you have biological vulnerability. It’s easy to blame it on your pathology and be done with it. Your brain is immensely powerful in problem-solving.

Trichotillomania awareness

Have you written down my questions from last week?

If not, please start today. It’s so crucial if you ever want to control your urges.

• What causes you the most stress and anxiety?
• Why does it?
• How can you reduce or eliminate the exposure?

The old you will not be able to defeat trichotillomania. There needs to be a change within you. That sounds scary, right? It isn’t! It can be highly enjoyable if you work on yourself and become less afraid of the world.

Next week, I will show you how you can actively work on yourself. But for now, please reflect on the questions above and start thinking about what causes you to be more vulnerable to anxiety, stress, and ultimately; trichotillomania.

With love,

Marnelle

Previous weekly tips

• What causes Trichotillomania?

Be strong. You can learn to control Trichotillomania and by reading articles & deepening your knowledge, you're one step closer. 

P.S. In my course, I explain how to control your urges by habit reversal training, ComB method, and cognitive behavioral training. It will empower you to deal with Trich and overcome the beast.

Trichotillomania Help Podcast

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