In the process of writing these blog posts about Trichotillomania I found a new article about Olivia Munn, she too suffers from Trichotillomania.
Olivia Munn is the star of Newsroom and Magic Mike, she recently revealed that she suffers with anxiety issues which manifests itself in the form of an impulse-control disorder called trichotillomania. Here’s the clinical definition via WebMD:
Trichotillomania, a hair-pulling disorder, is a mental disorder that involves an irresistible urge to pull out hair. This behavior occurs to the point of noticeable hair loss. The most common areas for hair pulling are the scalp, eyelashes, and eyebrows but may involve hair anywhere on the body.
Munn told the New York Daily News:
“I don’t bite my nails, but I rip out my eyelashes. It doesn’t hurt, but it’s really annoying. Every time I run out of the house, I have to stop and pick up a whole set of fake eyelashes.’
This struggle with anxiety impacts many parts of Munn’s daily life. For instance, it’s made it difficult for her to meet new people in social settings. “As an Air Force kid, I moved around a lot when I was younger and no one was nice to the new kid. So there is always this feeling that someone will make fun of me.’
The 32-year-old cites anxiety as her primary reason for holding off on becoming a mother as well:
“It’s not that I’m too busy with my career or anything, but I have this huge fear of something happening to a child of mine. What if I’m not a good parent and my child turns out to be a jerk? Like I need more anxiety in my life.’
I applaud Olivia’s openness about her struggles with Trichotillomania and anxiety, we hope that it will encourage other people with Trich to be more open about their concerns and condition and seek help. About 2-4% of the population struggle with Trichotillomania and most guard it with utmost secrecy, rarely speaking to anyone about it. As Munn acknowledges anxiety and trichotillomania can affect anyone, even successful and talented celebrities
Photo: FayesVision/WENN.com
