Understanding of Hidden Behavioral Disorder Expands: 10th Annual Awareness Week for Body-Focused Repetitive Behaviors

Understanding of Hidden Behavioral Disorder Expands: 10th Annual Awareness Week for Body-Focused Repetitive Behaviors Expected to Engage Unprecedented Numbers

(October 1, 2016) – The TLC Foundation for Body-Focused Repetitive Behaviors is launching its Awareness Week for hair pulling, skin picking, and related disorders. From October 1-7, 2016, The Foundation aims to empower and support the 15 million Americans (and millions more globally) who struggle with body-focused repetitive behaviors (BFRBs), and to promote knowledge and understanding of these common disorders among the public.

At least 2 out of 50 people have trichotillomania (hair pulling), excoriation (skin picking), and related BFRBs. Those with BFRBs experience uncontrollable urges to pull out their hair, pick their skin, and more; the disorders are damaging and hugely disruptive. Despite their high prevalence, BFRBs are largely misunderstood; few are familiar with the disorders, and even fewer understand how to treat them. BFRBs are disorders of isolation, and they create feelings of shame, anxiety, and intense sadness. Most sufferers are too ashamed to seek help, and many believe they are the only one to do what they do. 70 percent of people who pull their hair and pick their skin have never sought treatment.

Last year's Awareness Week reached over 1.15 million people on Facebook alone. The 2016 Awareness Week campaign promises to engage the larger public in understanding, support, and empowerment related to BFRBs.

Seventeen year old BFRB advocate Gessie Perez from Hicksville, who has been pulling her hair since age 11, says, “I used to be so ashamed about my trichotillomania. I was hiding my true self from everyone else, both figuratively and literally. Although not everyone has a BFRB, I'm sure everyone can relate to feeling different or out of place at some point in their life. Now, I'm no longer hiding who I am; I proudly sport a shaved head and sometimes go out without filling in my sparse eyebrows, and I am an outspoken advocate for people with BFRBs. I want to help people so that they no longer suffer like I used to."

17 year old Gessie Perez proudly displays a freshly shaved head, and a makeup-less face.

“Much of the suffering experienced by those of us with a BFRB is caused by shame we feel about the disorder, and that is curable now,” says Jennifer Raikes, Executive Director of The TLC Foundation for BFRBs. “By raising awareness about BFRBs, we can end the isolation and suffering that are so prevalent with these disorders.”

To get involved, watch and share the campaign video at https://youtu.be/THni9LEWa3o. The Foundation will hold live chats with members of the BFRB community at www.facebook.com/tlcbfrb. Community events will take place in Chicago, Los Angeles, Nashville, as well as Canada, Australia, and the United Kingdom. A complete calendar of BFRB Awareness Week events, which include a joint campaign with The Mighty, can be found at www.bfrb.org/notalone.
To learn more about BFRBs, visit www.bfrb.org or use hashtag #notalone on social media.

Gessie Perez will be hosting a live Q&A video about living with trichotillomania on The Mighty's Mental Health Facebook page on October 3, 2016 at 4:00pm EST. The page can be found at:
https://www.facebook.com/Menta...

About The TLC Foundation for Body-Focused Repetitive Behaviors
The TLC Foundation for Body-Focused Repetitive Behaviors is the world’s leading authority on hair pulling, skin picking, and related disorders that affect at least three percent of the population. Guided by a Scientific Advisory Board of the foremost clinical and research professionals in the field, we take a comprehensive approach to helping people overcome their disorder and heal.
Our approach includes: creating a community of support for affected individuals, providing referrals to treatment specialists and resources, training professionals to recognize and treat BFRBs, and directing research into their causes, treatment, and prevention. The TLC Foundation for Body-Focused Repetitive Behaviors is a donor-supported, nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization founded in 1991 as the Trichotillomania Learning Center. Learn more about us at bfrb.org.