Eating roots

I know what you mean about how to pull the hair out so it comes with the root. I 'bounce' my 'plucks'. My boyfriend can feel the bed jerking when I'm doing this and he reminds me I'm pulling.
I'm a 29 yr old female and have had trich since I was 16. Trich usually occurs during a period in your life when you are under alot of stress. I became pregnant at a 16 and my highschool boyfriend and I snuck off to another state and 'took care' of it. Ever since I've had this disease. I've tried to tell myself I was young and didn't know what else to do and I've forgiven myself for it, but can't seem to quit pulling. It's a reliever. Just thought I'd give my 2 cents about my story.

I am the exact same way. I've had trich since I was 12, I'm 18 now. I had a stress factor that I think caused mine but now I can't stop. The term treasure hunt is perfect.That's all I'm looking for, now, when I pull, is that special root. I don't like the roots that are really thinm I like the fat ones that I can hold in my mouth & HEAR the crunch. Every time I hear that crunch, it's exhilarating. I mean, I can almost say it's sort of like an orgasm.It's so satisfactory. I, too, like to run it across my lips & my face to feel the wetness. I hate it but I love it. I wish I could save every root I pull so I could make one big ball & then bite it & hear the crunch whenever I want. I know it's gross. I target around sensitive spots on my head, because I pull so much, I have a lot of scabs and sores. I think if I pull from there it's more likely to come out with a big juicy root because that part of my head is so rawr & sensitive. I also pull out my pubic hairs [ew, I know] because it's so sensitive down there but the root usually isn't big enough, s I just run it across my face for a while. I find that roots come from the temple area a lot. I want to stop, so bad, but it's like I don't even know I'm doing it. Like, even when I check the end of my hair for the root, I don't even know I'm doing it. I can spend hours pulling & it goes by so fast because I'm searching for the right hair. It's really rather annoying..

what type of help should somebody get for this problem?

If I were a guy I'd just get my hair shaved short. . like no 1. I got into a relationship with a guy who...the night I met him I wasn't particularly interested, but when he turned up for our first date. . I was crazy about him.. why? Because he'd shaved his hair and looked really gorgeous. I love short short hair on men!!

I too have this same problem. From the pulling, to the touching the root on my lips, chewing on it, examining, eating it - the whole deal.

When I was younger, I used to save them under my pillow and wait for them to harden and then cultivate the dry ones. The roots fascinated me and still do.

I started when I was really young 7 or 8. I used to have really long dark hair. Off and on, the pulling and consuming continued throughout my life. But, it got to more of a point that it was a habit instead of a stress reliever.

I am 25 (almost 26) now and have not substantially pulled in 2 years. I've pulled one here or there but have completely stopped. I found that I was mainly fixated on the crinkly hairs that weren't perfectly straight. Those were the ones I was pulling out and they usually provided supple roots for crunching.

Unfortunately, pulling those made my hair lighter and thinner. I was almost blonde by the time I was 10 - not because my hair changed color but because I was pulling all the dark hairs out, leaving only the fine light ones.

Eventually, I realized that I could still touch the crinkly hairs if I didn't pull them out. This still didn't solve the root eating problem, but it eliminated the desire to pull. After that, I started craving crunchy things. I still have cravings for something moist and crunchy and have not found anything other than salsa and chips that foots the bill. I want something sweet, moist, and crunchy at all hours of the day now. Sushi has been a nice outlet as well. Unfortunately, I've gained 15 lbs. =(

I'm not replacing it with food, but I used food to ween me off of it. Now, I'm on a diet and I'm having less difficulty staying out of the salsa and chips than I was staying away from my hair. I simply don't purchase salsa and chips.

Like Damijin mentioned, I too have a problem with popping and picking at my skin to the point that it's bleeding. Although, since I stopped pulling and eating roots, I've had desires to eat the product of my skin picking. It's a terrible cycle.

Doctors told me that I needed medication to fix the problem. But I've been two years without pulling.

Now it's time to conquer the picking.

It can be done. I'm walking, living, breathing proof of it. I spent 18 years of my life fighting trich and I conquered it. It took a lot of hard work and devotion (and a little insanity from time to time), but it can be done.

Ok, so I guess I'm not the ony one. I do all the above, and only eat the roots. The only difference with me is that I dont want to stop and dont care... I just do it in private and would never let anyone else know about it.

I'm 40 now and have been doing it as long as I remember. I used to be really bad around the ears, to the point where there were bald spots... I also think now I have gray hair in those sames spots and wonder if it's related to all the picking?

1. Does anyone know if it is harmful (like eating the hair itself)?
2. Does anyone eat other areas like chest hair or pubic hair?
3. Does anyone also eat similar bodily substances like zits or boogers?

You all are describing exactly how I feel. I have been pulling and eating my hair/roots since I was a kid. I can remember in grade 5 when I pulled hair from the top of my head and it created my first huge bald spot. It is the most embarrassing thing, only my immediate family and husband know that I do this. It does give me a sense of relief or satisfaction or maybe pleasure when i pull. I love the feeling of eating the root, when it sticks to my teeth a bit when I bite with the front teeth.
Most of the time I hide my problem. I've never spoken to a professional about it, because I'm so afraid to expose myself. I also feel so embarrassed when I go to get a hair cut. I had one stylist really pick on me about it....mostly I lie and say that I'm stressed out and I have eczema (which I did have and it created a bald spot too).
I feel happy that there is a forum to discuss this problem anonymously. If you have any advice on how to quit, or what to do...without seeing a doctor about it that would be wonderful.

Oh, dear dear me.
I hate to tell you all, but the "root" that you have been eating, or what you think has been the root, has actually been something called demodex. I'll give you a moment to google that. Now you can come back here, horrified, fascinated, what have you, and let me explain to you just how I know this.
I have a form of trichotillomania known as trichophagia (Meaning that I eat the hair, and yes, it's "root"). I also have "dermotillomania" which, understandably, is the alter-ego of the hair-pulling bit- it's where you pick at and eat your skin. Usually around your fingers/cuticles. Yes, skin picking also encompasses eating pustules and blackheads, and all those nasty beasties, but never fear, for if I didn't do it myself I wouldn't be here, now would I?
Lets get back to how I know all of this. Well, I was first diagnosed with OCD back in 1989, when "impulse control" disorders weren't really that far spaced beyond "Compulsions" (Hence the OCD moniker)
Well, I've been to many counselors, psychologists, psychiatrists, hypnotherapists, pet therapists, oh, you name it, and I've probably tried it- because my parents were wonderful, loving, people and they wanted very badly for me to get better. (As far as they know, I have "gotten better", but I'll get to that in a moment)
In any case, I have a wide variety of anxiety-spectrum disorders (that's the nitty gritty of what this really is, anyhow) and I have learned to "deal" with them in a variety of ways. Unfortunately for me (and those who love me) my favorite way of "handling" things is to use narcotic pain medications. (I am NOT CONDONING this as therapy. Not in ANY way. Lets be clear about that. They have anxiety medications that work wonders, Start with those, and move on to some nice behavioral cognitive therapy, and before you know it you'll be all better).
So... Yes, I started pulling out my hair at age 8. I stopped at age 27. (Well, I never really "stopped", but for all intents and purposes, it has grown back, and I have lovely, long beautiful hair with no bald patches, whereas before I was missing 80% of my hair. Not exaggerating.)
In any case. I learned all this- the demodex, the anxiety disorders, the behavioral modification therapy- etc, through years and years of expensive therapy, and more importantly, research. Not google research, but honest-to god Sitting in a freaking university library at 3 in the morning reading journal articles research.
Do I have my psych degree? Oh, heavens no! I couldn't stand to put up with people like me- we're so... annoying. But I absolutely love humans and human behavior, so I did get a degree in a similar field.
And along the way, I gathered research articles, learned a bit of this and that... and dispelled some myths. The first of which, is that you are eating what equates to the "root" of a hair. Eww. I know. I am doing the shudder dance too- I still eat the damn things- can't help myself. But at least I am an advised consumer.
To answer a couple of questions you had:
1. Is it dangerous like eating the entire hair? No, goodness, no. If all you are doing is stripping the skin tag and demodex off of the hair, then you will not be getting any bezoars any time soon. Those are reserved for those people who really like to chow down on hair full-time, and swallow without chewing in some cases. There are also the cases of Pica, but I digress...
2. Can this be fixed? Nope. But it can be helped. And I mentioned a couple of things which will: counseling (specifically cognitive behavioral therapy) and certain medications, such as valium or another benzodiazeprine (when taken in moderation, and as directed, of course. Don't be a druggie like me.) Also helpful: Avoid caffeine and other stimulants. And I mean ALL other stimulants. Like if you have "ADD" OR "ADHD" and take Vyvanse or Adderall? It's just going to make your life worse, not better, because you will spend hours and days picking and pulling until you are a bloody mess. Scouts honor.
3. What causes this? Well, there's been some early research suggesting that this is caused by an "over grooming" gene which just got out of whack. One day we were preening our feathers, and the next, BAM! We were pulling them out. Genetic? Seems to be the case. Have a brother or sister mum or dad that chews their fingers until they are a bloody mess? You can thank them for the hair pulling gene. No, really, you can.
Best wishes, all. Hope this gets past the moderators. Any further questions, just let me know- I'm almost always awake and online.
Cheers.

Hello
I was looking around this Forum.
I then had a thought. I wish I could stop pulling my hair out to get to the roots. It just comes and goes. It started one anxious day when i was about 9-10.
It wasfirst checkIng for any extra nits (headlice) but I just never stopped. In high school I changed my middle part to side to hide the thinning.

At the moment it's thin and last time I cut my hair at hairdressers it was because I wanted to stop pulling the roots.
I hate going to the hairdressers because they always say how fine my hair is. It's quite the oposit.
I have thought that I like the pain of it too. I have also plucked out eyebrows and eyelashes for the same reasons in the past.

I feel like I'm the only one. How do I stop? I'm still shocked I have nice red hair haha
I would like to ask what is the best way to stop? Any tips?

Thanks

Hello!

I have been pulling my hair out since I was 15 - I am now 29. I, too, am obsessed with eating the waxing white thing at the end of the hair and that became the main reason why I pulled out my hair. I was obsessed with them in fact. And finding one was a treat for me. About three years ago, I really had a handle on my hair pulling and the majority of my hair had grown back and I really did not have any bald spots. I then had some traumatic events occur two years ago and my hair pulling urges have been worse than ever. I tried anti depressants and anti anxiety medicine with no results. I'm sure most of you can relate that I was trying to tackle my hair pulling one day at a time. I just wanted to know what it was like to stop wanting to pull out my hair. Determined to find a means to an end, I continued researching online for methods and success stories. Two days ago it dawned on me that in 5 years I will have been pulling my hair out for 20 years. That was the most disturbing thought to me. Twenty years! I had heard about hypnosis being helpful for this condition but thought I couldn't afford to go to a hypnotist. Literally yesterday I found an online hypnosis download made just for trichotillomania. I mean, at this point, what did I have to lose. I bought the download for $9.99, sat on my sofa, and played it immediately. I was a little anxious but my pulling urges were so out of control that I would do anything to stop.

Since listening to the download I have no pulled out not ONE SINGLE HAIR!!!!!!! I have gone over 24 hours without pulling out one hair!!! I haven't even wanted to!! It feels amazing and I wish I had done it a long time ago. Never in 15 years have I gone 24 hours without pulling out a hair.

I truly recommend this for anyone suffering with this condition like I did. If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to ask.