The article discusses the mystery of trichotillomania in that the psychiatric community has a hard time classifying the disease.  The article states:
“It’s called trichotillomania, or “trich” for short. Although trich is treated as a psychiatric illness, the latest evidence suggests that it’s not a “bad habit” like biting your nails or cracking your knuckles, or even an obsessive compulsive disorder.
Trich may have more in common with Tourette’s syndrome, a neurological disorder characterized by repetitive, involuntary movements or vocalizations called “tics.”
“Trichotillomania is such a medical mystery because we still know very little about the genetics and biology of it,” says Dr. Nancy Keuthen, who heads a trichotillomania clinic in Boston.
According to the Trichotillomania Learning Center (TLC), up to 11 million people in the U.S. suffer from the uncontrollable urge to pull out their own hair, eyebrows, even their eyelashes.
“They may spend hours in front of a mirror in these very odd postures trying to locate that one hair that they know is there that they feel doesn’t belong,” Keuthen said.

While researching this disease, or gene mutation, or whatever it is- I felt very lucky to only have a mild condition.  While it is embarrassing to usually not have any eyelashes I feel fortunate that I am able to control the impulses enough that I don’t need to wear wigs or go to other extreme measures.

I have however started to wear headbands on occasion to hold down the newly grown hairs that were recently pulled out.  Instead of focusing on why I am wearing the headband, Tareak is always quick to comment how cute he thinks my new hair style is.  I am very lucky to have a supportive and optimistic husband.  The video is about 9 minutes long, but shows clearly the pain and embarrasment usually associated with this disorder.  Click Here to watch the video.

This week a family that we know needed help.  They asked Leslie if she would “babysit” their grandma who is completely blind, mostly deaf, and only speaks Spanish.  I told Leslie she should help them if she thought she could handle it mentally.  I new she would think that she couldn’t but at the same time I knew that she would want to help this family.  She agreed to taking care of this little grandma while the family had to take care of an emergency out of town.  I was at work encouraging her to do it.  It took every ounce of energy she had to take of this lady and I must say she did a fantastic job. I have noticed that her mood has been considerably better this week and she has been quite busy.  I’m going to have to find more people for her to help-  It might be great medicine.

I’m not the most paitent person in the world, but as I work with Leslie I have disovered a side of me I didn’t know existed.  A little more compassion, a little more understanding a whole lot of patience and a quiet resolve to conquor the depression beast within my wife are the things I’m learning.  I accept the responsibility of helping Leslie overcome her disorders so she can expirence the great joy of life in its fullness.  It will take a great effort on my behalf but I believe I’m ready now and beside wouldn’t you do the same for someone you love?

Moms pass depression on to kids

By Rita Rubin, USA TODAY

But a mother’s continued depression increases her child’s risk of such problems, the study shows. Researchers said it is the first published study to show that a child will benefit if the mother’s depression is treated effectively.

Researchers studied 151 mother-child pairs. The mothers were taking medication as part of a larger study about treating depression in the general population. The children’s ages were 7 to 17, and the average age was 12.

At the beginning of the study, about a third of the children had a psychiatric disorder, including depression, anxiety and disruptive behavior.

By the end of three months, about a third of the mothers saw their depression go into remission. Among their children, there was an 11% drop in rates of psychiatric diagnoses. Among children of mothers who were still depressed, there was an 8% rise in diagnoses.

The relationship between mothers’ depression and children’s diagnoses at the end of three months was similar whether or not the children had a diagnosis at the beginning of the study, the researchers write in The Journal of the American Medical Association.

“We know that depression and other disorders are brought on by strong environmental stresses,” says lead author Myrna Weissman, a psychologist at Columbia University and the New York State Psychiatric Institute. “Having a parent with an illness is a big environmental stress.”

Weissman and her colleagues speculate that the mothers’ remission initiated a “virtuous cycle” in which the mothers and children positively influenced each other. Researchers are continuing to assess the mothers’ depression and children’s diagnoses every three months for a total of two years.

William Beardslee, academic chair of psychiatry at Children’s Hospital Boston, called Weissman’s data “very encouraging.”

“In our view, depression in parents is a family calamity, but it is one that can be overcome.”

Tareak and I have been talking about starting a family for a while now.  Among many other reasons, I am afraid to get pregnant because of the possible effects my depression will have on the baby.  Everyone wants the “perfect baby”, and getting pregnant knowing that I could harm the baby before it is even born scares me.  But what worries me even more is that after the baby is born I won’t be able to take care of it.  What if I have one of my “episodes” and just can’t get myself out of bed that day?  What if I don’t change my baby’s diaper all day because I’m too absorbed in my own misery?  Because Tareak is an optimist he will say, “This is why we are learning to cope with your depression now, so it won’t be as big of an issue when we have kids.”  “Don’t worry about it Leslie, I’m going to be there to help you.”  But somehow, I still feel overwhelmed and unequal to the task.