why bald/no eyebrow edits are extremely harmful: a thread

before i start i'm going to add a trigger warning for self harm as themes of self harm will be present in this thread

so for starters, i want to introduce you all to a disorder called trichotillomania. it is where the victim compulsively rips out their own hair in a self harming pattern. sufferers can pull out any type of hair on their body, from the hair on their scalp or their eyebrows/lashes

here are some helpful links for trichotillomania, also called trich :))

WARNING: some of the images may be a bit shocking!! (mainly bald patches and such)
https://kidshealth.org/en/teens/trichotillomania.html
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trichotillomania https://www.bfrb.org/learn-about-bfrbs/trichotillomania

trichotillomania is actually quite common, however there is a large stigma surrounding it and it's largely undiagnosed. most suffer in silence. it's estimated that up to 4% of the population will face it in their lifetime. you do the math, that's a lot of people.

with that said, there has been a large uptick in edits/memes of idols without hair, without eyebrows, et cetera. it's often for humorous purposes, however for many people with trichotillomania this is extremely triggering.

major tw // self harm

.

as someone who has battled trichotillomania (but has largely recovered), seeing edits like these is like seeing self harm scars/fresh cuts for others. many people don't know abt the disorder and therefore don't realize how triggering these edits are.

if you have at least 25 followers, at least one likely has trichotillomania (1/25 ppl likely have it). if you want, you can multiply your follower count by 0.04 to see (on average) how many of your followers may battle this. with every edit you tweet, you could be triggering them

so, i hope this thread was able to educate you!! i battled this disorder for about five years and as i said i have mostly recovered, however im quite familiar with it and im happy to answer any questions you may have. my dms are always open.

thank you for reading through this, i would greatly appreciate it if you spread the message!!

stay safe, don't forget to smile today, drink water, and have a wonderful day/night :))

~ also!! ~
please do NOT qrt this on priv. if you disagree, just block me. bc priv interactions and especially floods of qrts are a major trigger for me and if you go out of your way to trigger me over this then you're a shitty person :)

ok so i just properly woke up and oh my god?? i didnt expect this to get much attention but it did. thank you to those who took time to read it and spread the message, and thank you especially to those who went out of their way to send me sweet messages!!

i have had ppl go out of their way to intentionally trigger me/send me triggering messages on cc, but unfortunately i saw it coming. im trying not to let it bother me, bc why would i be intimidated by a coward who can't even show their face? the good outweighs the bad though!

update: ive had many people bring kpop idols into this, such as idols who choose to go bald or do their hair/makeup a certain way. i don't want to bring fanwars into this. im doing this to bring awareness to the disorder and how ppl can inadvertently trigger others. please.