Trichotillomania and eyebrow plucking haram?
Salam, i am a 19 yr old muslimah and i've suffered from Trichotillomania since the 7th grade. Trichotillomania is an impulse control disorder, its a mental disorder where i get the irresistible urge to pull out hair with my fingers, for me its usually eyebrow hair. I really can't control it, i've tried. Sometimes i'm not aware i'm pulling out my eyebrows until after. My eyebrows get so bad, they virtually disappear or have empty patches, so i fill them up or even them out by plucking with an eyebrow plucker to hide the fact that anything is wrong. I've been keeping this secret for years now. This has caused a huge rift between me and my mother because she believes im doing them to alter Allah's creation, and she keeps telling me how haram it is. I know its haram, and every time i do pull them out i feel so horrible after, because i know whoever plucks their eyebrows is cursed by Allah. I don't know what to do, i know i should get help for my problem but i am way too embarrassed to tell my parents or anyone for that matter. What should i do? Is it still considered haram? They're really damaged now and grow out really dark and so i end up fixing them up with tweezers. Is THAT haram?
Is there anything caring I can do for my girlfriend with trichotillomania? (hair pulling disorder)?
Stay out of the way or you will become the focus of her anxiety and inadvertently make things worse. Men like to fix things but we cant so all we can do is ignore it, act like we don't see it and if she talks about it be sympathetic but don't get involved or you will be sorry. You can't fix her you can only break your relationship. Don't ask how she is doing with it once she does get help as that draws attention to it and trust me there is no other way to handle it but keep your nose out of it. Point her to get some help but if after a few gentle reminders she does not then you shut up. The best way to show you care is not to acknowledge it and just love her as she is or don't love her and get away. Make sure you can put up with it because if not ... you better find a new girlfriend.