Help! I'm pulling all my hair out!

Also known as Trichotillomania, this is an impulse disorder characterized by the compulsive urge to pull out and in some cases eat one's own hair leading to noticeable hair loss and balding, distress, and social or functional impairment. This is often chronic and difficult to treat.

One of more than a million women in Britain are tormented by the urge to tear out their own hair. Shame and secrecy are part of the condition, which makes it difficult to know for certain how many people are afflicted, but estimates range between two and four per cent of the population, including a small number of men.