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Diary of Rebecca Brown’s struggle with hair-pulling condition is viewed 5m times

  • Rebecca Brown, 21, has trichotillomania, the compulsive urge to pull hair
  • She started pulling out her hair when she was 12 and by 16 was nearly bald
  • At 19 her condition deteriorated and she was forced to shave her head
  • She is now recovering and her hair is starting to grow back
  • Her 2,100-selfie time-lapse video spans six and a half years
  • So far has been viewed more than 5 million times on YouTube

By
Deni Kirkova


Published:
08:16 EST, 16 July 2014

|
Updated:
09:13 EST, 16 July 2014

3

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comments

A video of an inspirational young woman with an uncontrollable urge to pull out her hair has attracted more than 5 million views.

Rebecca Brown, 21, from Chelmsford, Essex, blogs about life with trichotillomania and published a six-and-a-half year time-lapse video on her YouTube channel last year.

Extensive news coverage caused the views to soar by around 3 million in just a couple of weeks, and the comments section flood with fan mail.

Scroll down for video

Rebecca Brown, 21, from Chelmsford, Essex, blogs about life with trichotillomania

Whenever Rebecca was stressed or upset when she was growing up she would play with her hair for comfort.

By the time she was 16 her habit had escalated into a full-blown psychological disorder – which left her almost completely bald.

Doctors
failed to diagnose the condition for five years, simply telling her to
stop being a fidget. Meanwhile at school she endured cruel taunts and
nasty looks from her classmates.  

Feeling lost and alone, she started
taking a photograph of herself every day, chronicling her experiences on
the internet in a blog and in YouTube videos with brutal honesty.

In her most-viewed clip she chronicles six-and-a-half years of her life with 2,100 selfies.

The four-minute video shows Rebecca in the depths of depression with
sullen eyes and picking at her skin, and in the highs of health with a
glowing complexion and a wide smile.

To
her utter surprise the response was overwhelming – and to her delight
it was supportive.

 

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    Comments (3)

    what you think

    The comments below have been moderated in advance.

    Happyperson,

    somewhere, United Kingdom,

    1 hour ago

    My four year old daughter has Trich and has been pulling since before she was 18 months. There is no support what so ever for this condition we have been pushed from pillar to post by doctors and we are now on the waiting list for CAMHS (6 Months with still no appointment).

    I would trade all the wishes in the world so my daughter could have enough hair for a bobble or even a clip!

    Munky,

    LDN,

    1 hour ago

    I’ve suffered from this since i was 13 and its been on and off for 15 years. Luckily for me all of my hair grew back but still to this day I have at times the urge to pull my hair. At that time this disorder was unheard of and there was no information or support available. It is nice to see that people are now making others aware of this awful and silent disorder which affects millions of women.

    M1ssH0tCut1e,

    Hull, United Kingdom,

    2 hours ago

    I watch her and she is amazing. Love her videos,

    jan409,

    Glasgow, United Kingdom,

    2 hours ago

    As a fellow trich sufferer I admire her honesty
    The only people who know what I do are close family and one or two friends, as I’m too ashamed to admit my problem to others
    Hopefully she is on the road to recovery and can see a future without trich in it
    A very brave young woman !

    Familylady,

    Kent, United Kingdom,

    3 hours ago

    Brave lady I have suffered since a hairdresser told me my hair was too thick for a certain style and I was dropped as a bridesmaid fifty years ago, it isn’t easy to stop but I now snap ends off more than pull out roots, hope she gets help.

    Edit public profile,

    Midlands, United Kingdom,

    4 hours ago

    My daughter does this, she is 5 and has lost most of the hair on the left side of her head. My children like to play with a neighbors child who’s garden backs on to the end of our garden, part of the fun being to climb through the hedge from one garden to another. Whilst doing this one day when said friends parents had company my son scratched his face in the hedge, just under his eye. Next day the police came round and interrogated us over an allegation that our daughter had clumps of hair missing and my son, aged 3, had a black eye. I hope this helps to highlight the problems this can cause the families of small children with the illness. The police needless to say took no further action after finishing their investigation, but I did. The hedge is now impossible to pass through. Sad eh ? My kids loose a friend because their parents simply did not talk to us.

    Dave Ren,

    Bromley, United Kingdom,

    4 hours ago

    why do people insist on sharing their conditions/ailments/diseases in a collaboration video?…while some may say it’s to provide awareness, I’m sorry but I see it as nothing more than egotistical, narcissistic, oh-woe-is-me-give-me-likes nonsense…this is the world we live in now; people can’t help but share every facet of their lives on-line to massage their egos and be called ‘brave’ and ‘inspirational’.

    see a doctor, asked a loved one, do some research, but don’t show us a few selfie’s over a few years and expect people to be awe struck…

    kimmieg,

    Brighton,

    5 hours ago

    The light goes out of her eyes during her tough times.The beauty is watching it slowly return!What a wonderful,inspirational video!

    DentalMom67,

    Danvers, United States,

    6 hours ago

    Poor girl. I wish her well and better days

    hannah123,

    Portsmouth, United Kingdom,

    7 hours ago

    I have trich too, most people have never heard of it and do not understand, they simply give you a funny look and say ‘just stop’. I’ve been watching her videos for years and she always made me feel better and that I was not alone!

    janon,

    nowhere, United States,

    3 hours ago

    Just wondering- does wearing a wig and pulling the hair out of that help?

    Ivy,

    Seattle, United States,

    1 hour ago

    Same here. I hate the “just stop” comments, and people thinking I do it for attention. Why would I purposely want bald patches on my head??

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