Today, I regretfully confessed to my parents I have trichotillomania. There was a torturous pause, followed by the question, "Are you gay?" FML
Collection
Fall
Dead leaves, the first cold of the season and an umbrella flipped inside out: fall, the season of grace.
Today, I told my parents that I'm a smoker. My mother started crying, and said she worried I was gay, but this is almost as bad. That lead on to part two of my confession. FML
Today, after weeks of thinking and playing every outcome possible in my head, I told my parents I'm gay. My dad nodded and didn't even look up from his book; my mom told me to go to the doctor if it starts to itch. FML
Today, I finally got the courage to tell my parents that I'm gay. My mom said "Yeah, we know." When I asked how they knew, my dad, without looking up from the tv, said, "We've been monitoring your Internet history." FML
Today, I was leaving to go over to a friend's and my parents suddenly ask if I'm gay. I reply that no, I'm bisexual. My mom then asks if I've ever made out with someone of the same sex and I say yes. She turns to my dad and says 'I told you so. You owe me $20'. My parents bet on my sexuality. FML
Today, at 18, I finally told my mom I was gay. She spent the rest of the day bringing up my "future wife" at every possible chance she had. FML
Today, I came out to my mom. I had an epic speech planned, and when I tried to tell her, it all fell apart and I started crying and just said, "I'm gay." After a few seconds silence, my mom sighs and says, "Duh." FML
Today, I came out to my therapist as gay. Claiming that my parents "can't be that homophobic", my therapist outed me to them. They kicked me out of the house. FML
Today, I finally worked up the courage to tell my mom that I'm gay. She sympathetically patted my back and told me I don't need to make up excuses for me being so unattractive to women. FML
Today, I told my friends I had been hiding something that I wanted to come clean on. My one friend responds by saying, "FINALLY you come out of the closet. It's about time." I'm not gay. I was just going to tell them my parents were getting a divorce. FML
Today, I came out to my parents and siblings as gay. They were very accepting and asked me why I waited until I was 25 to do so. I didn't have the heart to tell them it was their own homophobic remarks that kept me closeted since I realized it at 14, and that a previous coming-out to a parent was dismissed as 'a phase'. FML
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Top comments
boating_guy 33
Hold on while I google trichotillomania...
boating_guy 33
OP get some help for that! It's not good for your hair, it's pretty gross darn gross, and it's not very appealing for anyone to see! For those of you who are wondering: Trichotillomania- is the compulsive urge to pull out (and in some cases, eat) one's own hair leading to noticeable hair loss, distress, and social or functional impairment
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Comments (207)
olpally 33
That's a hairy situation there op. glad I read the comments before commenting. Get help op.
etishuman22 32
My brother had that when he was little. It was really sad. He was in Kindergarten and my dad would shave his head so he couldn't do it. It's because his Kindergarten teacher was always picking on him and terrorizing him. Luckily, he stopped doing that after a while. But there were times were he had bald spots. Now he's 19 and has a head full of thick hair. Thank goodness! :)
armonicavita 13
What does that have to do with anything?-.-
reflexion213 11
This is not FML worthy. If you didn't get the diagnosis and read up on it, you probably wouldn't know what it is either.
\ 28
I sure hope you gave them a definition, OP.
ksks1234 33
I think I saw that...they pull out ALL hair. *shudders*
SparrowMint 11
Good luck OP. I have Trich too and telling my parents made it 5x worse. They killed my self esteem (ugly/crazy biotch, freak, etc) which just made me want to pull more. Your parents sound similar if that's the first thing they ask. Luckily I've been pull free completely from my head and most of the rest of my body for 1.5 months. Wearing a hat from the moment I woke up and went to sleep really helped.
jem970 19
Why was this thumbed down? It is supportive.
gracehi 33
Sounds to me like OP's parents just didn't know what he was talking about and so made their best guess. But I'm glad that your condition is improving and hopefully OP finds your comment helpful.
jenn1808 16
Congrats on the improvement, you should be proud of your progress.
BellaBelle_fml 23
I will never understand why some people put others down for something that they can't control, especially a parent. Like having trich, a birth defect, being gay/lesbian, a mental disorder, or anything else like that. It's not their fault that they are a little different. And I'm proud of your improvement! Keep up the good work!
babeababe 16
Wouldn't your parents already have noticed if you had been pulling out your hair? Do you just hide it? Or not see them very often? Because I think if my kid was pulling out their hair, even if they were a grown adult and out of the house, I think I would notice when I saw them. I guess unless you hide it all the time with a hat. But I would start to wonder why they wore a hat all the time.
babeababe 16
Had*
SparrowMint 11
You find ways to hide it. Parting your hair certain ways, styling, haircuts... my parents only stared to realize something was up when my hair got extremely thin.
Ameel_fml 19
I guess it depends on the parents. I've had trichotillomania since I was in grade six, and my parents thought it was funny at best and annoying at worst. But they never seemed to stop me from doing it or indicate it was something to go to the doctor about. I wish they had tbh. Because I'm an adult now and still have it, and I'm terrified of getting permanent bald spots as a result of it. But no doctors have been able to help so far, and I sometimes wonder if they had caught it sooner would it have been easier to stop. And yet, despite these worries, when my parents see me pulling at my hair, they just laugh and say, "Oh, you still do that?" or "I remember you did that when you were little!" It's so frustrating >_>
BellaBelle_fml 23
I know it's not the same thing as trich, but I used to be a cutter and trust me, you find ways to hide it. And that's what made it worse for me because no one knew until I eventually cut way too much and way too deep and it scared me so badly I had to tell my parents and get help. Had I not hidden it so well for so long I could've gotten help sooner and I wouldn't have horrid scars to remind me of it everyday. I'm so glad that the OP overcame their anxiety and told their parents about it. But it's unfortunate how they responded. I can only hope that once they learn what it is they will be supportive and get them the help they need.
ShayMarie99 15
I have it, too. Except I'm afraid to tell my parents. They took me to the dermatologist and they diagnosed me with alopecia areata.
5t3ff1k4h 47
Alopecia is not the same as trichotillomania.
gracehi 33
I'd imagine not, but if his parents don't know his real condition and assumed his hair was falling out on its own, and in turn described it to the dermatologist that way, it's likely that the doctor would misdiagnose the condition. 56, you should tell your parents the truth. It sounds like they want to help you. They can't do that if you're not honest with them. If you tell them what's really going on, they may be able to get you an effective treatment.
redmane 21
I struggle with the related disorder, dermatillomania. I've torn and picked and scarred my skin since 1 year old. I make my cuticles bleed during particularly bad bouts. It's embarrassing and traumatising. Get help. I wish you the best of luck.
jenn1808 16
Me too! Mine is pretty severe, and its so hard to deal with. Even specialists can't agree on how to classify or treat it - is it OCD, self harm, an addiction, body dysmorphia, etc?
redmane 21
It's technically considered a subcategory of OCD but hardly anyone recognises it as such.
KSlocum 5
It's a horrible disorder to have. I'm constantly getting looked at and told 'knock it off'. Ive had it since i was young :( Haven't been diagnosed by a doc, but it's super obvious. I know how you feel OP. dermatillomania is just as bad.