Hairobsession: Mental Disorder?

[x0h_bother]

What came first: the LHC or the Mental Disorder? We will never know :D:D

I watched a video in Psychopathology of a woman referred to a psychologist by a plastic surgeon she went to see for hair transplants. The woman wore a headscarf and noted that her chief complaint was that her hair was thinning. Her hair status kept her at home most of the time and she said it was frustrating to have social interaction with this glaring problem of balding. She believed that her hair had been thinning for seven years, and she went to numerous doctors with no diagnosis, finally landing at the plastic surgeons to correct her hair loss. The psychologist asked her if she would show him her hair. She took off her scarf and...She had a 'full' head of hair!! She complained of 'diffuse' thinning, and showed a 'receeding' hairline. When the psychologist pointed out her full head of hair, she responded, "Thank you for being nice, but you really don't have to be. I know it's really thin."
Axis I: Body Dysmorphic Disorder...excessively concerned about and preoccupied by a perceived defect in his or her physical features..

:o Sound familiar to anyone?? (raises hand) It really struck me because I find myself preoccupied with my hair, its legnth, and its shedding. I am fine to go out of the house, but at one time I was convinced everyone could see my 'receeding' hairline. Not to mention the 8 million other things I find wrong about my hair! I know I do not have BDD, but I just want to share about hair concerns and how they can become impairing to some people.

[tinti]

Oh, I have to stop obsessing about my high forehead at ONCE :o No, I don't think I'll ever be that obsessed, but it's scary so I canunderstand how a person can "fool" themself to believe that they're beginning to go bald.

[HereIGrowAgain]

Well.... we ARE on a hair forum.

But, this lady went to several doctors, and none of them were able to convince her that she did not have thinning hair. Like that quip about if you can see something, hear something, or taste something, what keeps it from being real? Third-party verification. Someone else agreeing that it's real. So, she didn't allow multiple third-party verifications to convince her that the problem might not be ON her head, but IN her head.

And, you know, when you have a hobby, it does tend to consume your free thoughts. So I don't think it's odd that anyone on here thinks about what new things they could do with their hair. :)

[DragonLady]

But

But

But

If no one saw her hair before, how do the doctors know it isn't thinning?

If Igor suddenly woke up with my hair one morning, she would have the same complaint. And the fact that I have a full head of hair wouldn't do much to console her, as it would be pretty obvous to her that her hair was in fact thinner -almost two inches thinner overall.

Sorry, but sometimes I think doctors become so used to seeing disorders that they fail to really consider that maybe it isn't all in one's head. Especially if they aren't familiar with that person's history or earlier condition -and I can't recall ever being asked by a doctor what my ponytail circumference is, even just for future reference. And who, outside of LHC really knows those things about themselves to be able to point to the quantifiable changes?

[DecafJane]

But


Sorry, but sometimes I think doctors become so used to seeing disorders that they fail to really consider that maybe it isn't all in one's head. Especially if they aren't familiar with that person's history or earlier condition -and I can't recall ever being asked by a doctor what my ponytail circumference is, even just for future reference. And who, outside of LHC really knows those things about themselves to be able to point to the quantifiable changes?

If a person is so worried about something that nobody else can see that it is restricting their life and leaving them locked in their home, unable to leave or live a fulfilling life, I think they deserve help to get their life back. This is the crux of the diagnosis - the loss of social or occupational function due to her perception of the condition.

People get so preoccupied with labels that they tend to forget that it is all about actually helping a person adapt, cope and move on to live a fulfilling life. I get so sick of people blaming doctors for trying to help when complete strangers are willing to let a person live with pain and disability, because they project their own ideas onto what they see and read and don't look at what is right there in front of them. People deserve help.

[LittleOrca]

I have yet to find hair obsession in the DSM-IV (book that categorizes mental health disorders). Perhaps it will make it into the DSM-V in 2012? :rolleyes:

[DragonLady]

People get so preoccupied with labels that they tend to forget that it is all about actually helping a person adapt, cope and move on to live a fulfilling life. I get so sick of people blaming doctors for trying to help when complete strangers are willing to let a person live with pain and disability, because they project their own ideas onto what they see and read and don't look at what is right there in front of them. People deserve help.

Yes, they do. However, I respectfully disagree that said help is always best administered in the form of calling them mentally disordered or making their very personal perceptions into illnesses.

[JenniferNoel]

There are a lot of so-called "illnesses" that are completely wrongly labeled. Like certain variations of "anorexia" for one (what about people who have a happy life but just love the look of being skinny for no other reason but so, eh?) or ADD (some people just think too much?). Severe BDD however is a type of delusion, and generally calls for help. A lot of people "suffer" from a mild version of it without knowledge, it's simple nature to see a different image in the mirror than what everyone else sees. Almost everyone in the universe has that type of perception for some body part, hair, weight, face, or not.

[XSerendipityX]

I have yet to find hair obsession in the DSM-IV (book that categorizes mental health disorders). Perhaps it will make it into the DSM-V in 2012? :rolleyes:

Hiya! I'm doing psychology too... :)
Body Dysmorphic Disorder covers the entire body, there isn't a separate classification for those that think that their nose is ugly, another for those that think their ears are big and another for those that think their skin is bad. It is all classified under the same umbrella.
I am waiting for DSM V... my lecturers are already critiquing it to bits, and it isnt even published yet!
One good thing that will come out of it, is that people will be diagnosed on a continuum rather than a checklist :)

[HereIGrowAgain]

Very good point, DragonLady. If she was constantly going to different doctors, it might have been thinning, but they wouldn't know what the baseline was.

Hey, I wonder if she's on here? Maybe she was measuring her ponytail circumference? Hmm...

[ilovelonghair]

Hiya! I'm doing psychology too... :)
Body Dysmorphic Disorder covers the entire body, there isn't a separate classification for those that think that their nose is ugly, another for those that think their ears are big and another for those that think their skin is bad. It is all classified under the same umbrella.
I am waiting for DSM V... my lecturers are already critiquing it to bits, and it isnt even published yet!
One good thing that will come out of it, is that people will be diagnosed on a continuum rather than a checklist :)

I was just about to mention body dysmorphic disorder! My hairdresser in Holland knew a lady like this and she made wigs for the lady because there was just no way that lady would believe she had normal hair, my hair dresser felt bad for her so made the wigs.

[x0h_bother]

But

But

But

If no one saw her hair before, how do the doctors know it isn't thinning?
I had this thought, and people with Somatoform disorders typically have a slight 'defect' (hair thinning). It's the fact that it causes them more than slight (significant) impairment and distress is concerning.

Hiya! I'm doing psychology too... :)
Body Dysmorphic Disorder covers the entire body, there isn't a separate classification for those that think that their nose is ugly, another for those that think their ears are big and another for those that think their skin is bad. It is all classified under the same umbrella.
Yep yep!

Also something to ponder: if your hair is not 'perfect' or is 'defective', are YOU defective? I would guess that thoughts and feelings around the hair become generalized to the self.

[ElusiveMuse]

I've often been struck by the similarities between this community and online eating disorder communities. Granted, focusing on your haircare is ostensibly less dangerous and certainly less deadly, but I see how it can walk the line of obsessive-compulsive or body dysmorphic disorders.

[picklepie]

I've often been struck by the similarities between this community and online eating disorder communities. Granted, focusing on your haircare is ostensibly less dangerous and certainly less deadly, but I see how it can walk the line of obsessive-compulsive or body dysmorphic disorders.

I've never looked into eating disorder communitites, but I have been trying to put my finger on this for a while (I'm new, but I lurked a bit before). The emotions that people here express about their hair sometimes seem to me to be out of proportion to the subject. But.

I have been enjoying the way this forum serves as an outlet for me as a person who doesn't have a lot of time or energy to spend on myself, especially my appearance. I've also been noticing too how thinking about my hair, and the encouragement to do so I find on this site, can be kind of an outlet for anxiety in general. I look forward to it, as a treat.

I know that there is an element of anxiety-management in focusing this way on any aspect of your body that is controllable, when other elements of your life seem less so-- in my case, my hair. It makes a lot of sense to connect it to the way people manage anxiety or pain with disordered or very controlled eating. Not necessarily because of BDD, but as a coping mechanism.

[angelfell]

The most obsessed I've been with my hair is that I didn't want to leave without straightening it because of the awkward wave I have at the bottom from leftover perm. But now, after joining LHC, well.. since I've joined, I haven't styled it at all. Freeddoommm :D.

I agree that she may have actually had thinning hair, however the fact that there was still a full head of hair indicates it may not have been as bad as she was allowing herself to believe. Regardless, some doctors don't tend to admit a problem unless it's blatantly visible, especially when it's something 'superficial' like that, like if she had bald spots. Even so, if her hair was thinning but still looked full, she shouldn't have been wrapping it up or afraid to go into public.

So.. I THINK WE'RE ALL CRAZY. HOW'S ABOUT THAT :)?! Hehe.

[mizsunshyne]

If only someone would have led her here!! She'd get real advice!!

When I joined here, I didn't think that obsessive people were going to be here. I actually thought people with hair ******es were going to be here. I was suprised to find neither. It's like a quiet lil world where it's ok to take care of your hair as a hobby. I think it's great!

[Dreams_in_Pink]

that's me! :( I always thought i had lots of hair, but now it seems to be getting thin.I don't really know if i'm shedding or that's just paranoia...

[Schipperchow]

Although I don't agree with categorizing all "dysfunctional" behaviors as illness, I think it helps those in the helping professions by giving them a baseline from which to help the individual. Yes, she may have been experiencing some thinning, but if medical tests had ruled out chemical imbalances or serious illnesses & she had a full head of head with no evidence of a receding hairline, I would be inclined to call the situation a case of BDD as she allowed her perception to hinder & dictate her behavior, & where she went, if she went anywhere. However, certain measurements could be suggested every month or every other month to confirm for both her & the helping professional that she was or was NOT losing her hair.

On another note, the mind is a very powerful organ. She could be willing herself to lose hair by convincing herself that she is indeed going bald until she acts in accordance with her beliefs:shrug:

For myself, my hair care/obsession is a way of focused self-care. I make sure I take a multi-vitamin, drink water, eat well & exercise, because my hair will benefit, reflecting my overall health:)

[ilovelonghair]

OK I have to say something really really weird as a LHC-er: I have become less hair obsessed over time when being on LHC. The reason being: my hair isn't falling out like crazy anymore, it's healthier, thicker and it grows properly. So I don't need to worry about it anymore :)