Myths and facts about trich

There are a huge amount of misinformation about trich floating around.  With this writeup, I'm trying to just put some of it together in one file.  But trich is a tricky devil.  For everything I say here, there will probably be an trichster who is an exception.  With trich there is no black or white rules - if I say that meds normally doesn't work, there will be some people who do find help from it.  If I say that the JK diet does help, there will be people for whom it doesn't help.  So please keep that in mind when you read this, ok?

Myth Truth
We pull because we are stressed Stress does aggravate it, but it isn't the cause for our pulling.  We pull while stressed, but ALSO when relaxed, like reading, watching TV, on the phone, driving etc.

If everyone who was stressed, pulled their hair, there would be no one with hair walking around on this earth!
Depression is the cause of trich Depression is the RESULT of trich, not the cause.   Removing the depression will help, but will not remove the pulling.
We do it because we are perfectionist We do it because we have trich.  Can a newborn baby have a perfectionistic streak?  We do know of babies who have pulled while still being breastfed.
We pull because we have be traumatized e.g. sexually abused, divorced parents etc. That could have an influence in the starting time, but it is NOT the cause of our pulling.  Some people start being a diabetic, directly after trauma.  Something in their bodies just triggers an illness that has been lying dormant in their bodies.  I believe that is the same thing with some of us. 
Trich is primarily a mental/psychological/emotional problem I believe that trich is primarily a physical problem   (like diabetes, something you are born with), but it is a complicated disorder, which are affected by various factors, of which your emotional state is one.
Pulling is caused/started by something that someone did wrong (mother, yourself, whoever) As above, trich is a physical disorder, which you are born with - it is NO ONE'S FAULT!  No one did anything to start it, cause it etc.  If your parents were different, if your life was different, you would probably still pull, because of your chemical and physical makeup.
We pull because we cannot cope with a certain situation. Grr.. nonsense!  It makes it worse when we do have stress, but it isn't the main cause why we pull.  We pull because we have trich! (ummm... have I said this before somewhere?... smile)
Trich is part of OCD NO!  Trich has overlapping characteristics with OCD and ICD, but trich is NOT OCD, and that is one of the reasons why OCD meds aren't successful on trichsters.
Pulling is a habit It doesn't start as a habit... but after years and years of doing the exact same thing, there is definitely a habit component.  Like with depression, even if you succeed in breaking the habit part of it,  you will still have trich.
It is something that affects mostly young girls and then it stops after adolescence. Most people do report that their trich started in adolescence (8-13 years)

It is a chronic disorder (unfortunately).  People just get more clever with their disguises, but I know of people in their 70's who still pull. Sorry... I know it is hard to hear.
It affects only woman/girls Men are definitely affected, but we don't know whether they are less in numbers or if they just get away with it easier (saying it is nomal male baldness) and also, men don't reach out as 'easily' as woman and admit these kind of things.  Emotionally, men are affected just as badly as woman.
It has something to do with your personality, hair colour, race, etc. etc. So far nothing has been found yet that can prove any of that.   It seems to affect people of all ages, races, gender, personalities, outward looks etc.
We pull because we like the feeling. Even though there is a pleasurable feeling when pulling, we don't pull for the nice feeling.  We pull because there is some urge within us urging us to pull. 
We pull because we like to inflict pain on ourselves. It doesn't hurt to pull.  One can feel it, but it doesn't hurt like for people who doesn't have trich.
We pull for self mutilation because we don't like ourselves. The effect on our hair is the result of what we do, not the reason for doing it.  We hate looking the way we do.  And we definitely don't pull to punish ouselves.
We want to pull - we like the behaviour We hate having trich - we would do anything to be free of it.
Everyone with trich has other disorders like OCD, ADHD, Tourettes syndrome etc. Although there is a high frequency of trichsters who do suffer from other disorders, it isn't everyone who is so unfortunate.
Medicines help for trich Here I have to be careful....More and more the evidence shows that medicines does not help for trich.   There is nothing available yet that will take it away.  If you have depression, and you drink meds for it, it WILL help.  But there is no wonder pill yet that will just take trich itself away.  Most meds (esp. OCD meds) seem to work for 8-12 weeks and then stop working for some unknown reason.
It helps to scream at the sufferer, punish her, mock her, tie her hands etc. It makes it worse, it does NOT help!   You may save a few hair, but she can lose that hair again within a very short time, and you may lose the person's trust, love, etc.  You may 'kill' the person emotionally.  PLEASE don't do it!
The JK diet will take away your trich Although it helps a lot of people, it will not take your trich away.  You will still always have to be careful.  The JK diet is a life saver for many people, but for some it doesn't work.
Trichsters pull only their own hair Some people pull from pets, dolls, carpets, clothes, and other people.
Pubic pulling = sexual thoughts Pubic pulling has NOTHING to do with sexual throughts, feelings etc.  The fact that it is 'down there', doesn't mean a thing.  It is just hair.
We don't like having hair - so we pull it out We LOVE having hair! Losing our hair is very painful - that is NOT what we want!
Hormones don't play a role in trich PMS does affect a lot (most) of trichsters.  It seems to affect trichsters in a physical way, not only an emotional way, i.e. don't only pull more because of moods/stress etc.  It seems like the urges are stronger/worse during PMS times.