She spent 12 years grappling with a hair-pulling disorder
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She spent 12 years grappling with a hair-pulling disorder
Photo: CNA/Tan Wen Lin
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Ms Lynette Kua has a condition called trichotillomania, a type of obsessive-compulsive disorder centred on the act of repetitive hair-pulling.
Photo: Lynette Kua
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Academic stress in junior college was the initial trigger that led her to pulling her hair.
Photo: Lynette Kua
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She also suffers from depression as the hair-pulling affected her self-image.
Photo: Lynette Kua
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Wearing wigs made Ms Kua feel better, but the relief they brought her proved to be limited.
Photo: CNA/Ooi Boon Keong
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Tired of wearing wigs, Ms Kua eventually switched to using bandanas.
Photo: CNA/Tan Wen Lin
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She now sports a close-cropped cut for both aesthetic and practical reasons. "I just wanted to leave the house without any head coverings."
Photo: CNA/Ooi Boon Keong
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Ms Kua now talks about her struggles with trichotillomania on social media, receiving positive responses from others who suffer the same condition.
Photo: Lynette Kua