Amy Schumer has opened up about her struggles with trichotillomania, also known as 'hair-pulling disorder'.
The writer and actor first hinted that she suffered from the condition in her new comedy-drama series, Life & Beth. In the show, we see Schumer's character and alter ego Beth being diagnosed with trichotillomania as a young girl.
Since the series was released on Hulu, 40-year-old star Schumer has revealed that those experiences are a reflection of her own and that she has been struggling with the conditions since she was in school. In an interview with The Hollywood Reporter, she revealed that she had once considered trichotillomania her "big secret".
"It’s been what I’ve carried so much shame about for so long," she said to the outlet, before revealing that when she was a child she had to wear a wig to school, just like the character Beth does in her new show.
According to Mayo Clinic, trichotillomania is "a mental disorder that involves recurrent, irresistible urges to pull out hair from your scalp, eyebrows or other areas of your body, despite trying to stop". It affects between 0.5% and 2% of people in the U.S. and often leaves sufferers with bald patches on their scalp which cause significant distress.
While it isn't known for certain what causes the condition, researchers suspect it is a combination of biological and psychological factors. As a result, Schumer admitted that she worries she may have passed it down to her two-year-old son Gene, saying she almost has a "heart attack" every time the toddler goes to touch his head.
As for why she's decided to open up about her experiences with the condition now, Schumer told The Hollywood Reporter that she doesn't want to hide her struggle. "I really don’t want to have a big secret anymore."
She went on to say how she hopes that representing trichotillomania accurately and sensitively on-screen will help other sufferers. "I thought putting it in there would be good for me to alleviate some of my shame, and maybe, hopefully, help others alleviate some of theirs too," she said.
