Most TTM sufferers live relatively normal lives, except for the shame of having bald spots on one's head. Many clinicians characterize TTM as a mental disorder: TTM sufferers -- and some clinicians -- view this characterization as inaccurate and misleading, as well as conducive to discrimination against TTM sufferers. According to them, TTM is no more a mental disorder than is any other form of obsessive-compulsive behavior such as nail biting; many TTM sufferers have relatively normal work and social lives; and TTM sufferers are not any more likely to be unfit parents or to have significant personality disorders[?] than anyone else.
Shaving one's head is a workaround for some.
There have been recent clinical trials of drug treatment for trichotillomania, for example using anafranil[?], prozac, and lithium. One should use care in choosing a therapist who has specific experience and insight into the condition, lest one be overdiagnosed or overmedicated. Prozac and other similar drugs, which some professionals prescribe on a one-size-fits-all basis, tend to have limited usefulness in treating TTM, and can often have significant side effects.
wikipedia.org dumped 2003-03-17 with terodump