"My boyfriend has trichotillomania (he pulls out his beard and mustache hairs when he's anxious or bored without thinking about it). He considers it to be relatively mild because it has never caused any serious physical harm like an infection, and while I've suggested that therapy might help, he thinks that the stress of finding a therapist will just make it worse, but that is an issue for another letter."
"The current issue is that recently, he has been pulling out his mustache hairs from the outside in a way that his mustache now has a slight resemblance to-I can't believe I have to say this-a Hitler mustache. I noticed while under some fluorescent lighting and told him, but he absolutely disagrees with me and thinks I'm being ridiculous. His hair grows very slowly, so it's not going to get any less obvious unless he shaves it,"
"We live in a heavily Jewish enclave of a major city and aren't even Jewish ourselves, which doesn't help matters. This feels like such a ridiculous situation, but it's becoming genuinely distracting to me, and I'm concerned about how others might react to it. Are we at the point where I should go on a Lysistrata-style sex strike and withhold sex until he shaves it? I know that's not the healthiest approach, but we seem to be at an impasse, and I just really want it gone. Help!"
The boyfriend pulls out beard and mustache hairs unconsciously when anxious or bored due to trichotillomania. He considers the behavior mild, resists therapy, and fears the stress of finding a therapist. Hair removal has produced a patchy mustache resembling a Hitler mustache, and he disagrees that it looks problematic and refuses to shave. Slow facial hair growth will prolong the appearance, and friends have noticed and made jokes. Colorblindness may limit his ability to perceive the resemblance. The partner is worried about public reaction in a heavily Jewish neighborhood and is considering withholding sex to compel shaving.
Read at Slate Magazine
Unable to calculate read time
Collection
[
|
...
]