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Community Corner

St. Michael Mom Starts Trichotillomania Support Group

The "Trich Free" support group with 39 current members will have it's first anniversary on December 27.

Fifteen years ago, then high school student, Angela Babbe wanted to stop biting her nails.

"I really wanted to quit the habit so I told my friend that instead of biting my nails, everytime I want to I'm going to pull a hair from my eyebrows," she said.

Little did she know, this was just the beginning of trichotillomania.

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Trichotillomania, or as some call it "trich," is the irresistible urge to pull out hair from your scalp, eyebrows or other parts of one's body.

Right away, her parents noticed and took her to the doctor.

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"They tried various medications to help. Anti-depressants when I wasn't even depressed," she recalls.

For the last 15 years, Angela has struggled and tried various different treatments.

"I just realized a year or two ago that it really wasn't my fault," Babbe said. She added that, for a long time, she thought she made this happen.

While each person is different, someone struggling with trich can pull hair from any part of their body.

Last December, Angela, St. Michael wife and mom of three, decided that it was time to look for support and formed her own support group by way of Meetup.com.

"My mom had suggested using Meetup to meet other moms when we were living short term in Louisianna and after doing a search back home in Minnesota for a trich group, I came up with nothing local," she said. So after researching other support groups she decided to start her own.

However, in order to list the group she had to share a picture of herself.

"I really had to put myself out there," she said. 

The support group is now up to 39 members in the metro area, and it meets evey three weeks for an open discussion.

"It's been amazing. We've also been able to do family get-togethers. It's becoming a great resource for spouses and parents to get together as well," Angela said.

One of the members recently made a You Tube video that went viral. Twelve-year-old Chloe McCarty never dreamed her video would get the attention of the Star Tribune, KSTP and singer Nikki Sixx.

Chloe started pulling her hair out two years ago and her parents have spent thousands of dollars looking into treatments.

"It's a compulsion from your brain and it's telling you to do it. I don't know, it just kind of releases pressure on your scalp and it just helps with stress," Chloe told KSTP news Sunday.

Suffering through trichotillomania, Chloe's friends fell to the wayside, and she soon became the victim of bullying. Her You Tube video explains not only what she struggles with but also how others have made her feel. The video currently is knocking on 100,000 views.

Angela is thrilled with the awareness being spread.

"I didn't realize how big this group was going to become," said Angela. "I'd really like to continue bringing awareness and also to have events."

She also would like to be able to help various members with financial difficulties as a result of their trich.

"There are so many different possible treatments and medications that are tried, but they cost a lot of money, without a lot of guarantee they will work."

For more information on Trichotillomaina visit the Trichotillomania Learning Center website or check out the support group.

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