Why Talk About Trichotillomania?

For me there are three answers to this question. First, the hardest thing about having trichotillomania is the intense secrecy attached to it. As with all secrets the more time that passes without your secret being revealed the deeper your secret becomes imbedded within you. For me this secrecy only served as a feeder to my trichotillomania which worsened as the years passed. In fact my trichotillomania started when I was eleven years old and I turned forty before I decided to bring my secret completely into the open. Once I started talking I found that I couldn’t stop, and as I continue talking, I realise that I am looking deeper and deeper into myself and as a result of this am being really honest about my trichotillomania. The necessity for honesty became the second hardest aspect of facing up to my trichotillomania. I know that to simply say I have trichotillomania is not enough, as it is my behaviour whilst carrying out the trichotillomania and the feelings and visual impact (the bald and sore patches)that I am left with afterwards that have the most profound effect on me. The third hardest aspect was in deciding how I want to define myself. Do I want to be a victim suffering from trichotillomania? Or do I want to be a survivor dealing with trichotillomania? I choose that I will be the latter. A survivor dealing with trichotillomania.
My decision to write my memoirs was borne from my honesty and I accept that some of the details of my trichotillomania behaviour are graphic. My reasons for being so honest and graphic are my desire to leave no stone of my experience unturned so that others who carry out the same or similar trichotillomania behaviour know that they are not alone, and that their own honesty may inspire them to become trichotillomania survivors.