Trichotillomania and Hypnosis

Trichotillomania, often referred to as hair-pulling, is best described as an uncontrollable urge to pull out and twist hair until it breaks off.  You may think so what?  All of us at one point in time play with our hair or twist it and may even pull some out.  Well imagine these urges being recurrent, uncontrollable and suffer from them for decades on end.  The repetitive pulling of hair from the scalp, eyebrows or other area's leaves people with broken, thin hair or bald spots.  In some cases the pulled hair is swallowed by the individual and causes obstruction in the digestive system and must be removed surgically.

It is estimated that a whopping 5% of the American population is affected by this emotionally painful impulse. To put this statistic in perspective: 5% of the WORLD population is American, 1.8% of the American population is Jewish.  Needles to say we all may know somebody suffering from trichotillomania and may not even know it!

Compulsive hair-pulling is often associated with feelings of shame, guilt and isolation.  It is often difficult for people not suffering from this condition to understand why somebody just can't control the pulling.  Let me shed a little light by comparing it with different situations we may have an easier time understanding.  Have you ever known somebody that was a smoker, truly wanted to quit but just couldn't stop no matter what they tried?  Have you ever been in a situation where the food was so delicious and appetizing and even though you were no longer hungry you just couldn't stop yourself from eating a bit more?  Now why is that?  Food, cigarettes, alcohol, and many other experiences provide us with something.  That something can vary: gratification, filling a void, covering up emotional pain, a sense of relief, keeping us busy, a sense of satisfaction and so much more.  Well simply put so does hair-pulling in the case of people suffering from trichotillomania.

Why some do and some don't

Recent studies have shown that in some instances genetic factors may be at play.  I would add that it is a matter of what we are suggestible to.  In other words for someone to have a problem, they must be suggestible to it.  I will illustrate with an example.  A Boeing 747 carries over 500 people flying from one destination to another.  During their flight the passengers experience some turbulence.  Some of these 500 people sleep right through it, some look up and go about their business and some may feel fearful.  On the flight back most people have forgotten about the turbulence experienced on the first flight however there are a handful of people that have now developed a fear of flying.  Why? Simply because they are suggestible to it.

This is why hypnosis and hypnotherapy are so effective, since all that hypnosis is, is a heightened state of suggestibility allowing us to alter and replace the response to old triggers.  Simply put; the triggers are the same yet the response is different.  Where in the past boredom, stress, anxiety, mistrust, ... may have resulted in hair-pulling, after the necessary hypnotic sessions these triggers now result in a more desirable outcome such as calmness, breathing, relaxation among other possibilities.

The most important message I would like to share is that trichotillomania CAN be overcome. Taking control of what was once uncontrollable is not a myth...it is reality!

50 Shades of Blues

Have you ever read a self help book? Maybe more than one? Perhaps even devoured anything and everything you can get your hands on.  Reading stories, theories and practices on how to focus on the positive regardless of the feeling state you are in.  The words of the book inspiring and encouraging you to turn your life around.  A few weeks later you find yourself searching for another book that may deliver another message and words of wisdom to allow you truly to see the glass half full and change the way you feel.  Did this practice ever leave you feeling frustrated? Annoyed? Maybe even angry because reality is such that sometimes we do not feel so good and to focus on happy thoughts in that moment seems such a chore, doesn't it?  How can that be, when everybody seems to preach to focus on the positive?  How do we as human beings exclude that which we are feeling?

I am here to incite you to embrace your emotions...ALL of them.  There is a world of negative emotions out there and while they are accompanied by some discomfort, they are designed to make you feel better in the long run.  They are crucial, otherwise they would not exist!

We have always been emotional beings first.  During our first years of life we literally are what we feel.  Our emotions, are the only tool we have to communicate to others what we need.  Our emotions and the expression of them, help us achieve our end result; a baby crying for food,for attention or simply for a diaper change.

Say what?

It is only human to yearn for happiness and dwell on that yearning.  Happiness is a worthy individual goal; however I conclude that socially and culturally there is a sense that anything BUT positive and happy is taboo.  Anger, frustration, sadness and the expression thereof has become unacceptable and a nuisance.  Reality is that we can not all live like Buddha, Jesus, Yogananda, ... and that is ok.  An excessive focus on ones own happiness and judgement of the lack thereof, minimizes emotions that are equally important albeit less fun.

The experiencing of these emotions assists us in finding out what we do want, in detail.  You may have heard the analogy of the contrast of light and dark.  It is only the contrast of them that makes us aware what the other is and allows us to differentiate between them.  When walking into a room at night without any light, you wouldn't walk in and pretend that you can actually see and that there is light in the room.  You just walk in and notice it.

Allow all emotions to be a part of your story, notice them, acknowledge them and feel the contrast to which they are guiding you to.  Instead we suppress them, medicate them, ignore them, numb them.  Allow these emotions to assist you in writing your life story even more clearly, chapter by chapter, discovering what it is specifically, with much detail, that makes your light go on.  Knowing how to better channel and accept these emotions allows you to better live with yourselves and others.

Instead of choosing to see the glass half empty or half full, how about we choose to see the glass in its entirety and let that be enough.  Focusing on the present in itself will be sufficient.  I challenge you to try... you will notice emotions identify opportunities for change and provide feedback and clarity in what you do want.

Would any human being ever have been successful if failure wasn't a part of the experience?