Body-Focused Repetitive Behaviors (BFRBs) Affect 1 in 20 People — Yet Most Have Never Heard of Them
According to the Mayo Clinic, an estimated 1 in 20 people live with a body-focused repetitive behavior (BFRB) like hair pulling (trichotillomania), skin picking (dermatillomania), or nail biting — but many don’t even know these behaviors have a name, let alone that effective treatment and support exist. That’s why raising awareness about BFRBs is so critical. The more we spread the word, the more people can recognize their symptoms, realize they’re not alone, and begin their journey toward healing.
Below, you'll find media coverage, powerful personal stories from our community, and featured books and films that shine a light on BFRBs. Explore the stories — you may just find someone who shares your experience and inspires your next step forward.
Also be sure to check out our BFRB Changemakers Community Stories Series.
Know a story we should add? Want to share your own experience?
Contact us to keep the conversation going.
-
Trichotillomania Personal Stories
-
ELLE: Compulsive Hair Pulling May Be Incurable, But the Shame Around It Isn't (Katie Bannon)
-
Washington Post: I couldn’t stop pulling my hair. What was wrong with me?
-
BuzzFeed: 16: Mackensie Is Pulling Out Her Hair - Atlanta (Mackensie)
-
INSIDER: Living With Trichotillomania: I Hide Bald Spots With Hats and Wigs
-
The Atlantic: Why It's So Hard to Treat Compulsive Hair Pulling
-
Refinery29: Jillian Clark Hair Pulling, Trichotillomania Growing Up
-
Bustle: 5 Things People With Trichotillomania Want You To Understand
-
Refinery29: Why Shaving My Daughter's Head Was Our Only Choice — & The Best One We Ever Made
-
ABC News: Trichotillomania: When You Always Want to Literally Pull Out Your Hair (Rebecca Brown)
-
INSIDER: I started pulling out my hair at age 8. Telling my husband I wore a wig to hide bald spots was terrifying, but I shouldn't have worried. (Katie Bannon)
-
TODAY: Bald teen with hair-pulling disorder wins beauty pageant - and raises awareness
-
The Atlantic: The Woman Who Pulled Out All Her Own Hair
-
HelloGiggles: One brave girl's battle with trichotillomania — a disorder we don't talk about enough (Mackensie)
-
Washington Post: Pulling your hair or picking at skin can be signs of serious disorders
-
Washington Post: Growing up, I hid my compulsive hair pulling. It was trichotillomania.
-
Allure: Living With Trichotillomania: Six People Share Their Stories
-
HabitAware: Recovery Success Stories
-
Salon: My first date as a bald woman: Romance with trichotillomania
-
-
Dermatillomania Stories in the News
-
BuzzFeed: People With Dermatillomania Are Turning To TikTok To Spread Awareness
-
The Guardian: Dermatillomania: meet the people who can’t stop skin picking
-
The New York Times: Fighting the Shame of Skin Picking
-
Women’s Health: 6 Photos That Perfectly Explain This Heartbreaking Skin Disorder
-
Harper’s Bazaar India: I was stuck in a skin-picking shame spiral—until I decided to speak about it
-
Teen Vogue: How I'm Living With a Skin Picking Disorder
-
Cosmopolitan: I Turned My Skin-Picking Disorder, Dermatillomania, Into a Safe Space on Social Media
-
Refinery29: How I Learned To Stop Picking And Love My Skin
-
MindBodyGreen: I Have Dermatillomania: Here's What Finally Helped Me Stop Picking My Skin
-
Scripps News: Living With And Embracing A Skin-Picking Disorder
BFRB Awareness in the News
-
Well+Good: How Aneela Idnani Is Bringing Awareness to Body-Focused Repetitive Behaviors—In More Ways Than One
-
The New York Times: Trichotillomania, Isolation and Anxiety: What to Do?
-
Teen Vogue: Why These Hair Salons Are So Special For People Suffering from Trichotillomania
Movies with BFRBs
Books / Memoirs about BFRBs
-
FOREVER MARKED: A Dermatillomania Diary - Angela Hartlin
-
Life is Trichy: Memoir of a mental health therapist with a mental health disorder
- My Trichster Diaries - Journal - Barbara Lally
-
The Hair Pulling "Habit" and You: How to Solve the Trichotillomania Puzzle
-
Marni: My True Story of Stress, Hair-Pulling, and Other Obsessions
BFRB TEDx Talks
-
Liz Atkin - Liz Atkin: Re-imagining Compulsive Skin Picking: Art for Recovery
-
Jude Stevenson - Judith Stevenson: "What the Pluck? Living with Trichotillomania"
-
Aneela Idnani - Aneela Idnani: Overcoming Trichotillomania: The Power of Awareness
-
Dr. Keita Joy - Mental Health is declining and Black women are hit the hardest
Compiled by BFRB Advocate, Mackensie F.