100 Changemakers for 100 days of BFRB Awareness
Bridget Bradley managed to get a PhD in hair pulling! As an anthropologist working at the University of St Andrews in Scotland, Bridget has spent the last 10 years researching and advocating for BFRBs. Like many people in our community for a long time she lived with a strong sense of shame and loneliness because of her hair pulling, which started around the age of nine. For years she kept it a secret, afraid to speak out and admit that she pulled out her hair. Now she dedicates her life to talking about it and helping others struggling with BFRB stigma.
Doing research into BFRBs opened many doors for Bridget – it helped her to come out and feel less shame through telling her story alongside those she was doing research with. Through this, she has made lifelong BFRB friends in the community. Her research has been featured in the national UK press, and published in top academic journals. In particular, she has written about the social aspects of BFRBs, and how finding out the medical name for these disorders can bring people together in powerful ways and lead to new forms of recovery. Her research also draws attention to the importance of family in BFRB experiences, how parents and loved ones often struggle to support their children with BFRBs, and how the love, care and connection found in the BFRB community can make us feel like family.
During her PhD, Bridget collaborated with another BFRB Changemaker, Pavitt, and together they started support groups in the UK. They went on to form the charitable organisation called BFRB UK & Ireland, which Bridget is involved in running with a team of incredible volunteers. Check out the first ever conference hosted by BFRB U&I with University of Oxford this September!
Support BFRB Changemakers
BFRB Changemakers supports BFRB healing through community. Our mission is 3-fold:
- raise awareness of debilitating conditions of Body-Focused Repetitive Behaviors (BFRBs) such as compulsive hair pulling (trichtotillomania), nail biting (onychophagia), and skin picking (dermatillomania),
- increase and improve access to care, and
- advance community recovery.
Through the BFRB Changemakers Training Academy we strive to increase access to care by offering Continuing Education training to new and seasoned mental health treatment professionals.
BFRB Changemakers is a 501c3 non-profit (EIN #93-1544492). Please make a donation to support these efforts!
