Wednesday, January 12, 2011

My Strange Addiction- Review

Okay- for any of you who missed it, tonight (well last night I guess, it's 1:12 AM) TLC premiered a new episode of their show "My Strange Addiction". It is a show that showcases exactly what the title suggests- people who have odd addictions and a glimpse into their struggles. As I said in my last post, I was apprehensive about watching it, fearing it would make people with Trich look like freaks or weirdos. After watching it, though, my main reaction is kind of a "whatever". It wasn't BAD by any means, but it sure wasn't good either.

Here's what happened (I took plenty of notes LOL!)
The half-hour long show was actually based on two different "strange addictions": hair pulling, and a girl who was addicted to buying shoes and thought they had feelings. That immediately left me unsettled. I pull my eyelashes due to a real medical disorder- I don't talk to my high heels. Also, I didn't like how Trich literally had less than 15 minutes of air-time. But anyway, the woman that's story was being shown was a young mother named Haley. She pulls the hair from her head and eats the follicles, and has been doing so since she was sixteen years old. She has a (I believe) two year old daughter that has never seen her without the bandanna she wears whenever she is in contact with people. Her story in the beginning was a bit bland, and really never explained the reasoning behind her Trich except for her saying "it was like this drive inside of me" and that her "obsession with hair led (her) to hair pulling." It also started out a bit negative in the sense that when the text went across the screen explaining her Trich, it said "and even worse- Haley also eats her hair follicles." Okay- we get it, Trich sucks. But I'd rather not see the dramatic wording, especially since people who don't understand that this is actually an incredibly difficult thing to overcome are watching. Haley was mostly shown in her bathroom, pulling out her hair in pain because she had pulled so much her skin was sore. That scene was replayed a lot and should have been filled with more Trich info.

In another scene, she was shown talking to her best friend about her Trich, and how she felt about how it affects her relationships with people. She says "it makes me feel self-conscious, it's humiliating." She proceeds to show her friend her nearly bald head for the first time, and that was one of the true emotional parts of the episode. We all know that revealing our Trichotillomania can be so difficult, and I can't imagine doing it on television. In the episode Haley also visits with a Trichotillomania specialist, Dr. David Wartel. He describes Trich as a habit, which I was wholeheartedly annoyed with. I don't consider it a habit, or an addiction for that matter. I fully believe that it is a disorder due to a chemical imbalance in my brain that I did not purposefully start doing. Everyone will have their opinions, but I think fact should be what is reported on TV. The doctor really gave no good information. No science behind Trich was described, and no real treatment options were given. His best advice to Haley was to "count EVERY single hair and keep them", in order for her to be aware of what she is doing to gain control over this. While this is decent advice to start over-coming Trich, it isn't something that will stop her pulling necessarily and not anything we haven't heard before. Haley did describe a bit of the isolation us Trichsters feel though, which was good to hear. She said "I try to keep myself away from people", and described the loneliness of the disorder a bit. That is something that we can all relate to and may give people without Trich a little sympathy.

The show ended with this update on Haley:
"Haley still struggles with pulling hair. She realizes it will be a life-long battle." Nothing unexpected. We all know it's a life-long battle even if you're years pull-free. Maybe if she had gotten some real help from that specialist. But irregardless, I really just wish that TLC had put more time and research into this issue. It could have been great, but it flopped and was pretty much unsatisfying to me at least. One thing I do want to say though is a congratulations to Haley for her bravery, even though TLC didn't do their part, she sure did hers. I know it must have been so difficult for her to put herself and her Trichotillomania out in that way, and speaking for everyone in the Trich community- we're proud of you girl!


That's all for tonight, folks. I hope everyone isda doing well, and I'd love any feedback you have on the episode!
Savannah


PS: Three days, I've only pulled nine lashes. It might not sound like much, but not too shabby for me when there's other lashes there!

10 comments:

  1. I feel the same way you do about the show. They kind of skimmed the surface of Trich instead of diving in and showing the true pain that we go through. I have had Trich since I was 8 and I am now 30. My hair is shorter that the Hayley's. I Had never seen anyone else with as severe a case as mine until I saw her.

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  2. Hi Savannah, I found your blog thru your comment on TLC's page. I watched that episode last night and was extremely disappointed in the footage they showed. But also so proud of Haley for going on national TV to discuss trich. I am 37 and have been pulling my eyelashes since maybe 5th or 6th grade. I can't even remember exactly when or how or why it started but I do know that by 7th grade I didn't have any eyelashes. My parents have always been supportive and and helped me find therapists over the years. I have had eyelashes for over 10 years now, but they are always sparse and often the bottom ones are pulled out. I definitely still touch them all the time, especially when reading. So despite all my various types of treatments, I have not found a cure yet. My husband helps me by snapping his fingers when I have my hands at my eyes and I'm trying harder than ever now that I have a 16 month old son. I will definitely be reading your blog and hope that more people find you here as well. I am both excited to read your blog but sad that someone else is dealing with this.

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    1. I have been suffering from trich since i was in the 5th grade, after a severe car accident that left me with head trauma. I am now 26 and have a 1year old who I am also trying to stop for so that he does not pick up the habit. You are right, it is very hard to find a cure. I was once on medication that did nothing for me. I wish you the best of luck with finding some sort of cure. People just dont understand how hard it is to fight that urge to pull when it comes on. I wish you and your family well and really commend your husband on being so suttle with helping you acknowledge your pulling instead of embarrasing you.

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  3. @ Christina Marie: I know, very ridiculous if you ask me. My Trich is pretty severe so I wasn't very shocked, but I hope it was a postive thing for you to be able to see you aren't alone!

    @ Anonymous: I agree, Haley is a brave girl! Wow you have been pulling a long time, that must be tough to deal with! Sixteen years for me. That's wonderful that you have a great support system and congratulations on the (not so new) little one.

    Thank you both for supporting my blog, please keep reading!

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  4. You have inspired me to write a blog. I hope you read mine too. It's a bit rusty right now, but I think I'll get through it.
    Some of the things you have put really had affected me as a person and with my Trich.
    I'm learning to control my hands more and I know that the whole "telling yourself 'no'" thing is a flop, but in my opinion, if you use it enough, it works..
    But I just was irritated with Haley because she would lock herself in the bathroom for hours and wouldn't even TRY to stop herself. If I pull, it's no more than 5-15 minutes. I have learned to control myself.. I don't know how, but I have.

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  5. @ Sarahh: Aw, that's awesome! I'm so glad if I've helped you in any way! That's also great that you have learned that self-control, it's something I'm slowly working on myself. I just read your blog by the way, it looks great. I hope you continue with it. :) And thank you so much for mentioning my blog, I really appreciate it.

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  6. this is great idea! i look forward to healing with you.

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  7. Hi everyone,
    As a mother of a teenage daughter who also suffers from
    Trichotillomania, I have tried just about everything except drugs. Two things you all might want to try out that have helped my daughter.
    1. Try putting olive oil on your hair, it makes it too slippery for the fingers to grab the hair.

    2. False nails, this also applies to the above.

    Hope this helps in some way.
    GOOD LUCK

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    1. Tried false nails. Somehow when the urge comes on, they dont stop me. I find a way... isnt that horrible!? With olive oil though, it may prevent you from being able to pull but does it stop the pain? When I have an eyelash that needs to be pulled its starts hurting, and if I cant get it I begin to panic. Do you think that is more of a mentality thing?

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