One of the questions that has been coming to mind as I’ve been working my way towards overcoming Trich is whether or not more women have this than men.
The reason I wonder this is because most of the groups that I’m a part of are made up of women.
Even my private group is almost all women. Only 1.5% of the members are men.
Why Does It Look Like More Women Have Trichotillomania?
I started doing some research on the topic and asking myself some deeper questions about women vs. men in general.
The Mayo Clinic says that perhaps more women are coming for help than men because in children, Trichotillomania effects just as many boys as girls.
I could see where men wouldn’t want to tell their doctor about this, a lot of men avoid the doctor more than women do, I’ve seen this in my own life.
Are Men Outgrowing Trichotillomania More Than Women?
Girls deal with a lot of pressure in youth and even more as they grow older.
While boys do have pressures too, I feel like girls have a different kind of pressure that leads to more insecurities.
I looked up some statistics and found that..
- More girls are sexually abused than boys. It’s 1 and 5 for girls and 1 in 20 for boys.
- Girls are equally if not more involved in substance abuse than boys are.
- Women tend to work harder than men, we’re hard wired that way, “Google it”, you’ll see there’s all sorts of studies on this, I’m not just burning my bra here.
- Women are more likely to be more insecure than men and that could be a major contributing factor.
- Women have hormones that men do not, we experience PMS, pregnancy and postpartum changes.
Women deal with a ridiculous amount of pressure when it comes to their body changes, more so than men, you can see that on any magazine rack.
And What Makes Me Look at These Insecurity Factors?
I know I grew up dealing with so many insecurities and it’s one of the things that I think triggers Trichotillomania in children.
It certainly was the case with me.
I can tell you that over the past few months of just working through my own thoughts on this blog that insecurity seems to be a lot of what started this for me as a child and I still have a lot of insecurities today.
Related articles: What Causes Trichotillomania? Reflecting On 30+ Yrs of A Hair Pulling Disorder
My business really makes me insecure when things aren’t going well.
My business is how I feed my family, pay my bills, etc.
It just makes me wonder if more women are dealing with Trichotillomania because of insecurity?
I do notice that a lot more women are speaking up on Instagram and Facebook.
Are we just more social?
…or are more women dealing with Trichotillomania than men?
What’s been your observation?
Leave me a comment.
Hi Leslie! I have read about this as well, I do think stats suggest less men are affected, but maybe they just suffer in silence, or maybe they are just able to deal with it, practically, more easily. For example, I have seem some trich-like behaviors in my husband (hair pulling from his beard when he is bored or uncomfortable, rubbing the hair in his lips… rings a bell?) but then I I think he rarely gets urges to do this, and also he just shaves his beard frequently so, problem solved! He is has a very at-ease personality and doesn’t let insecurities/anxiety overwhelm him, which I am the opposite (hence, my less effectiveness in dealing with trich thus far), but I am working on it! and I feel a change is coming 😀 (Luke 12:7). Have a wonderful week. Cheers