She has an overwhelming urge to pull the hair out of the scalp whenever she feels anxious and the act of pulling her hair calms her down. This disorder called Trichotillomaina.  Isabelle Ivankovich has struggled with pulling her hair out for three years.

The most common pulling area is the scalp or eyebrows and younger children are most likely to pull from the scalp. The symptoms most often start between 10 and 13 years of age and can continue for life with varying degrees of severity. Teenagers and children have a better chance of stopping the urge to pull their hair out than older adults. Ivankovich has uncontrollably pulled out her hair and hasn’t been able to stop when she feels anxious.

Her anxiety gets the best of her when she is stressed about school work, after school activities or too many commitments.  According to the Mayo Clinic website, people with trichotillomania often find that pulling out hair feels satisfying and provides a measure of relief. As a result, they continue to pull their hair to maintain these positive feelings. In the case o Ivankovich, she pulls her hair to calm down. Only a handful of things calm her down as an alternative to pulling out her hair. “Over the years, I’ve learned that yoga has really helped me calm down and also talking to people has helped me,” Ivankovich said.

Ivankovich is a successful student. She is on the cheer team and is involved in DECA. The hair pulling has been awkward for her toto talk about, however some of her friends who know about her disorder chose a kind way to support her. “When one of my closest friends Eleanor Molver found out, she started the trend of wearing hair wraps,” she said.

Wearing wraps caught on with her other friends and continues to spread. “This was a very powerful action my friends took to make me feel good about myself. I am overall very grateful to be surrounded by such great people that support me through my ups and downs through life,” Ivankovich said.

The kindness shown by others and the ability to talk openly about this gives some relief from hiding her condition. “I’m just grateful to be in my position to share the most personal parts of my life and be accepted for more than them,” she said.