Hair-Pulling (Trichotillomania) and SPD

by Nicole
(Colorado Springs, CO)

So is there any research out there that links SPD to hair-pulling, which is usually diagnosed as Trichotillomania?




I've read a ton of research on Trich, but this is the first I've heard of SPD but there are SO many similarities to the two disorders its uncanny!

In Trich, the main thing is a sensory deficit, which causes the child/adult/adolescent, to pull their hair out to meet those sensory needs. Most often they don't even realize they're pulling until someone makes them aware of it. It can mess up their life because some pull until they have bald spots and sores on their scalp.

But the thing that gets me is that most everything I've read about SPD up to this point, tells me that those people who are dealing with hair-pulling would benefit so very much from learning about SPD as well.

Anyone out there have children or you yourself dealing with hair-pulling aspect of SPD and is there any research that links the two disorders?

Thanks!

Here is a link to an article on this very topic in case you didn't see this: Hairpulling & SPD




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Nov 12, 2020
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starstarstarstarstar 		Iron and Magnesium and Vitamin D helped my trich
by: Anonymous

Hi there,

I've had trichotillomania since 9th grade. Diagnosed myself with a google search. Went to lots of counselors to try and fix it but it didn't seem to actually help the trich. Counselors helped me talk through and process my emotions but the physical head pain was still there. Kept thinking it was all mental since that's what doctors would tell me. Made me feel horrible about myself. I'm here to tell you it actually boils down to nutrients and they actually do help!!

Since I got 5 iron infusions in 2020 and started taking magnesium and vitamin D supplements, I have stopped pulling my hair. I have no urge to pull. My head doesn't hurt anymore so I feel no urge to pull. I feel way less anxious. I feel more relaxed. My quality of life is way better!

In the last 2 years and like $5,000 of doctor bills getting everything tested and going to tons of doctors, trying to figure out what was going on with me, I learned that I've been iron deficient pretty much since puberty hit with my period. Learned the loss of blood every month makes you loose iron/ferritin. If you're not replacing it with iron rich food, supplements or infusions, your stores of iron will diminish and you'll feel like crap all the time. Too little iron/ferritin and magnesium equals tons of horrible symptoms.

So in my situation these 3 nutrients were the missing link; IRON aka Ferritin, MAGNESIUM and VITAMIN D. Iron is a major component in blood which delivers oxygen to your entire body. So I learned not only did I have trich but I also had telogen effluvium which is your body losing hair because of some physical or mental stress and for me it was lack of iron. I actually got a biopsy done of my scalp that proved my hair was also falling out excessively along with me pulling it out. Telogen effluvium causes pain on the scalp and it was because my scalp wasn't getting enough oxygen from my low iron blood. Which caused me to want to pull more because the hair literally hurt. It wasn't all in my head! Learning that was such a relief that I could actually do something more than counselors to fix this issue. I also learned I had depression because of low iron. Depression was a symptom of the iron and not a separate problem. I understand sometimes people can have depression because of a genetic mutation or lack of a different nutrient or an event but iron was the cause in my case. Iron helps make serotonin which is a happy hormone. You think of making chocolate chip cookies, you need all the ingredients, right!? Well your body is the same, you need all the ingredients/nutrients to feel good. And a lot of nutrients help make other hormones and processes work so it's important to have the right amount of each.

Magnesium is so important and I first heard about it on a site like this and that's why I had my doctor test my blood level of it. It turned out I was deficient. I think that stems from stress, stress from everyday life and physical stress from low iron. When your body is stressed it uses up magnesium and you can counteract that with supplement pills. Apparently, magnesium is really good at relaxing muscles, helping your body absorb calcium, keeping your blood pressure and hormones in balance and helps you mentally. It helps with over 300 processes in your body.

Vitamin D was low because I live in the northern hemisphere where half the year it's winter so we don't get much sun light and I work inside. This one is actually quite common. Vitamin D works with vitamin k and magnesium to keep bones strong among lots of other purposes.

So here I am 10 years after I diagnosed myself with trichotillomania and I pretty much had to demand my doctor to run all these mineral and vitamin tests to figure out the bigger picture. I also started taking birth control to lower bleeding and keep more iron in my body. At first I thought this was scary but now I feel more knowledgeable, more in power of my own body and literally happier :)

My advice to you is get your nutrient levels tested. Ask your doctor! Ask for blood tests! If you are a woman, ask for a ferritin and iron test. Ferritin should be near 100 ng/ml. My ferritin was at 10 when I felt the worst and I still felt horrible at 50 ferritin. Once I got it above 100 all my symptoms seemed to disappear. That "lab test range" is way to big for ferritin and it's because iron deficiency is really f-ing common. So look at your results yourself and ask your doctor. I really wonder if iron is related to trich for most women? Seems like more women have trich than men so that might explain why since we have periods. Also good to note, vitamin c helps absorb iron. Iron pills come with nasty side effects like nausea fyi but lack of iron came with nastier symptoms. Infusions are way faster than pills. Expensive $3,500 for me but $200 after insurance but way FASTER than pills. I wish I would have gotten infusions instead of pills since I was so low and felt on deaths door with . . . .(extreme exhaustion, headaches, heart pain, craving ice, brain fog, trichotillomania, muscle weakness, cramps, bruises, lower immune system, out of breath, can't think clearly, depression, telogen effluvium, problems swallowing) but now I know IRON/FERRITIN!

For you maybe it's some other nutrient, like B12 is a component in blood. Get tested. Why not rule it out? It might help you. Get tested and talk to a doctor before taking supplements because there is a such thing as having too much as well. Most doctors say what they are taught and might still say it's a mental condition and yes I can agree part of it is mental but it goes deeper than that, it comes down to nutrients which caused it. It did for me!

Best of luck! You're not alone! By the way godivas secret wigs website has amazing wigs to help you feel better about hair loss. I spent years wearing hair extensions worrying if anyone could see my bald spots. Finally got a wig from them and all I have to do is put it on in the morning and I'm good to go. Saves time and even more beautiful than natural hair, seriously! Joined tinder lol this year and been on lots of dates with them and they are great, got lots of compliments. Be you! Embrace it! I know somedays are harder than others but you got this. One day at a time. Sending love your way.
Dec 30, 2018
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starstarstarstarstar 		copper is the culprit
by: Anonymous

all females for the most part dealing with this. it's high copper! a stress mineral, the estrogenic mineral, the mental health problem mineral at high doses. they need zinc! zinc foods like meat! lower high copper foods... like nuts, milk (calcium increa see copper), avocado.

check out Dr l wilson. I healed myself personally. but follow his program exactly and it takes a little. plus the dreaded copper dumps are rough...
Nov 21, 2016
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starstarstarstar 		Trich, Nutrient Deficiency, Mineral Deficiency
by: Crystal

My 11 year old daughter began her trouble with trich and anxiety one year ago. A recent hair follicle test (not covered by insurance, of course) indicated high levels of heavy metals such as aluminum, mercury, lead and copper.

Concurrent with this is a deficiency in zinc and magnesium. This affects adrenals and thyroid functioning. With highly toxic metals in the body they are sure to be in the brain (no testing yet to prove my theory).

When toxic metals enter the brain, strange behaviors can occur. At this time my extensive research leads me to think that she needs magnesium and zinc along with low gluten, organic and probiotic food and drink like Kiefer, Greek Yogurt, Raw Saurkraut.

I will update everyone as I work with the naturpath and pediatrition.
Aug 19, 2015
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starstarstarstarstar 		Occupational therapy assessment & treatment
by: Anonymous

For those of you who want more information and treatment, occupational therapists who work with sensory processing disorders may be of greater help than a psychologist.
Sep 13, 2014
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starstarstarstarstar 		Diet
by: L.K.

I've considered the Kender diet, but it requires getting rid of legumes, which is too big a sacrifice for me.

I am dairy-intolerant, and, for reasons possibly related to bad childhood experiences, I hate the taste of milk or cheese and want to puke.

I don't eat a lot of wheat, although I don't go out of my way to have a gluten-free diet. Bread fills me up quickly, and most bread doesn't taste good to me, which is why I usually avoid it, although sometimes I'll eat a good baguette.

I am very sensitive to clothing in addition to hair and nails. It has to feel just right, or I won't wear it. I don't like the sensory distraction and ambiguity caused by material which is not connected by nerves to the rest of my body.
May 20, 2014
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starstarstarstarstar 		anyone try different diets?
by: Lisa

L.K., wondering if you have ever tried different diets? (not sensory) but sugar free, magnesium rich, no gluten. My daughter ( age 11) has always had extreme tactile defensiveness and just recently trich. She describes it exactly the way you describe the sensation. It has been suggested to us that its either diet related or a 'yeast' problem.
Sep 01, 2011
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starstarstarstarstar 		Sensory ambiguity, Asperger's and Trich
by: L.K.

I have always thought Trichotillomania has been wrongly characterized as one of the following: "Impulse control disorder", "Self-injury", something to set oneself apart socially, etc.

I think Trich is actually closer to SPD. I have it. When my hair grows long, I get "sensory impatience" which results from the projections of hair onto my scalp -- a pull of a hair will get focused at the root even though the thing pulling the hair, e.g. the weight of gravity, is not directly pulling on the root. So my brain is impatiently trying to figure out and correct the sensation which is indirect and ambiguous. Same with fingernails, which I file off. Because there is not enough information to tell what is pulling on the hair, I want to pull it out.

I am male and shave my hair short, which reduces the need to pull. So Trich for me is not an impulse or behavior control problem, but an understandable reaction to a sensory sensation caused by hair's nerveless and ambiguous connection to the body.

I also have Asperger's, although I'm high-functioning in a professional job.
May 29, 2010
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starstarstarstarstar 		More common than I thought!
by: Anonymous

I'm surprised to see so many responses to your question! My daughter started hair pulling this winter right after she received SPD diagnosis and it was awful because I couldn't find much info about SPD kids with that behaviour. I was very grateful to get one comment when I blogged.

We started a strict sensory diet when the trich began and that did help some but she still does it a little. I definitely know their is a connection with spd because while my daughter was really removing the hair at an alarming rate her spd dressing problems disappeared! She'd wear anything without complaint which is NOT typical!!

Their really should be research done on this topic. It is a relief to me to know others are experiencing the same correlation.
May 28, 2010
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starstarstarstarstar 		yes
by: Anonymous

I am relieved to see this comment on spd and trich. My daughter has both severe SPD and trich since she was 1yrs old she has been pulling her hair - yet the doctors focus on the trich as a diagnosis. We are trying to find a good psychologist but its such a confusing road where our pediatrician does not acknowledge SPD. Anyone else with any experience to share?
Oct 26, 2009
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starstarstarstarstar 		trich and SID
by: a mom

I've been researching this because my teenage daughter was diagnosed with Sensory Integration Disorder back in first grade and now has Trich. I took her for Occupational Therapy back then and am wondering if that would help her again...
Aug 18, 2009
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starstarstarstarstar 		SPD, Trichtillomania and RELIEF
by: Anonymous

I have Trichtillomania and related problems such as nail biting and have cut in the past. All those years of mental health evaluations and I'm just now learning about SPD! I definitely think there is a direct link.

I also suffer from Fibromyalgia and ADD, but now there seems to be a link with those problems and SPD in my life as well.

This month I started with some sensory activities. Gross Motor : Dancing, Gardening. Sandwiching by having friend press on my back (I have always loved this and hard massages but didn't connect to the disorder until now). The biggest change is that I made a correlation between my "pressure seeking" and "rubbing seeking" behaviors and am teaching replacements to hair pulling, picking and nailbiting. I use a firm agave cloth in the shower in the morning to rub my skin. Then, I have a pet-hair remover brush with firm carpet-like spikes which I can brush on my skin in the middle of the day. If I don't have the brush, I have been excusing myself to a bathroom to lightly scratch my arms, legs and stomach with my fingernails.

I've discovered that if I regiment myself with sensory activities and brushing during the day 1) I don't touch my head AT ALL 2) My Fibromyalgia/muscle inflammation is remarkably less intense 3) It is easier to concentrate for periods of up to 3 hours! Also, I am generally a nicer person to be around because I am less stressed out.
Dec 02, 2008
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starstarstarstarstar 		Reply to Trichotillomania and SPD
by: Kristin

Hey,

I don't know if there is any research or not (I was actually wondering the same thing, which is how I found this) but I have both trichotillomania and SPD. I didn't really know anything about SPD until recently when I found some old paperwork from evaluations that were done on me when I was little and it had the diagnosis in it.

I googled it, and it describes me exactly. I then started wondering if there was any connection between this and the trichotillomania. I do realize when I'm pulling, but the urge to pull is very strong and I often can't seem to stop.

When I pull a hair out I often get a huge sense of relief, if that makes any sense. I did recently find that wearing tight gloves seems to suppress the urge. Could that be from the SPD, does anyone know? Anyway, that's a very, very brief summary of my problems. :)
Jul 24, 2008
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starstarstarstarstar 		I did see that article
by: Anonymous

Yes I did see that article, but that was the only thing I saw about it. That's why I wanted to post to see if anyone else has found additional info. I was looking on the Trich.org site and didn't see anything specific about SPD, and the article that you guys have don't label the hairpulling Trichotillomania.
Jul 23, 2008
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starstarstarstar 		I understand
by: Cindy P

My daughter was first diagnosed with Trich, a little over year ago. Then, General Anxiety Disorder about 11 months ago. Her therapist helped me to pull together my concerns about her sensory needs, and about 5 months ago she had a SID diagnosis. I can see how these all interrelate, but am unaware of any research. It would be interesting to see if there is a link. It makes sense to me that there is a sensation when a hair is pulled, and how if you are a sensory seeker it would give the release that is part of the Trich symptom list.

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