About The Film

Trichster follows seven individuals, ranging from eight years old to late twenties, as they navigate the complicated emotions surrounding trichotillomania and the effect it has on their daily lives. Whether dealing with family and friends to budding relationships and careers, each is affected differently and have unique obstacles to overcome. Ultimately each must decide how much they allow their disorder to define who they are as people.

So what is Trichotillomania? Trichotillomania, or trich for short, is a disorder where sufferers pull out their hair and pick at their skin. This includes scalp hair, body hair, eyebrows, and eyelashes. It is currently defined as an impulse control disorder but there are some objections about how it should be classified. Recently, it’s been associated within the family of body-focused repetitive behaviors (BFRBs), which includes skin picking and nail biting. The ultimate takeaway being that this is a behavior that the sufferer cannot control. They can’t simply stop pulling.

An estimated fifteen million people in the United States suffer from this disorder, yet it remains unknown to the majority of the public. Trichster aims to normalize this disorder, which often isolates and alienates its sufferers, by showcasing the perspective of those who live with it every day.

Trichster is a story of overcoming life’s challenges and finding the inner strength to accept your true self. It is the goal of this documentary to present this disorder honestly and accurately while showing the emotional and human side of each sufferer. It is our hope to be the first steps toward starting a larger conversation about hair pulling and other BFRBs. By raising awareness both inside and outside the trich community, we hope to generate interest and ultimately empower those who are suffering silently to come forward and seek help.