In London alone, there are almost 914,300 adults of working age who are affected by a common mental disorder like depression or anxiety. Health costs for treating mental disorders amount to £2.8b every year. This is already a big number; and treatment costs are expected to grow over the next two decades.
Despite all these, diagnosis and treatment rates for mental disorders are poorer than most physical health conditions.
Trichotillomania is an under-diagnosed disease. Up until now, there is still no one who knows the cause of it. When England invests £115m per year in mental health research, why is there a lack of funding into more neurological research in trichotillomania?
I spoke to Angela, who has had trich for 48 years about her story with TTM. Lucinda Ellery – a hair extension technician. And neurology expert, Dr Himanshu Tyagi who encourages us to not lose our hope just yet.