My granddaughter Anna, who's 11, has spent much of this year battling some mental health issues, the most physically obvious of which is a disorder called trichotillomania, or the compulsion to pull out her hair.
Trichotillomania is often co-occurring with anxiety and obsessive compulsive disorder. While pulling out your hair is usually not physically harmful, the emotional effects are huge, especially for an adolescent girl. Cutting off long hair is often a very effective way to manage the compulsion to pull, and helps patchy hair loss look less shocking and grow in more evenly. Today, this smart. beautiful and brave girl shaved her head. It was a huge step she has chosen to make toward prioritizing her mental wellness. And..... her stepfather, who loves his hair more than any man I've ever met, also shaved his head in solidarity. They went to a hair salon, and came home looking like this:
This photo saves "LOVE" loud and clear. Anna is a lucky girl to have her mom and stepdad's support as she works through some scary emotional issues.
Creating memories, one page at a time.