1965 born in Hamburg
1984 Abitur/High School Diploma
1984-89 University of Hamburg, Psychology Major and Degree Diplom Psychologin, Thesis on Hair – A Way of Self-Experience and Self-Finding for Human Beings. Includes a chapter on Trichotillomania
1990-2017 Emigrated to the USA, 5 years Oahu, 6 years Santa Monica, 12 years Maui, 4 years Sonoma County
1992-1993 University of Hawaii, MA European Languages and Literature, wrote several papers about hair in literature, thesis on Hair Imagery in Grimm’s Fairy Tales
1999 Birth of my daughter
2004-2009 Published Haare im Licht/Hair in the Light, 2004, Nie mehr Haarausfall/Never Hairloss Again, 2007, Die Kleiderdiät/The Wardrobe Diet, 2009
2007 American Citizenship
2017 Return to Hamburg
2020 Enrollment as an external student in the doctoral program at the University of Cologne. Participate in meetings and seminars online
2021 Launching D23 Study 1 in February
2022 Launching D23 Study 2 in February
2023 Data collection for Study 1 was completed on May 30, 2023. Data collection for Study 2 was completed on December 31st.
2024 The data was processed, and three articles were written. The first article was submitted.
2025 The first article , Validation of the German Beliefs in Trichotillomania Scale, was published on March 19th.
https://econtent.hogrefe.com/doi/10.1026/1616-3443/a000793
Articles 2 and 3 are in revision.
My paternal grandmother engaged in nail-biting, and so did my father for a period of his life. My mother engaged in skin picking.
1974-75 I started biting my nails
In 1978, my bangs grew out, and I saw a split hair hanging in front of my eyes. It bothered me, and I felt compelled to cut it off. Didn’t stop looking and feeling for dry and split hairs, breaking or cutting them off for years.
In 1982, I first encountered the term Trichotillomania and began learning everything I could about it to help myself.
In 1987, I experienced a period of not engaging in hair-focused repetitive behaviors
1996 marked the beginning of a period during which I no longer engaged in hair-focused repetitive behaviors, with relapses in the first few years.
2025 looking back…I have two scars on the insides of my cheeks, which must have come from automatic-unconscious cheek biting while sleeping. I had very few relapses up to my early fifties. During the pandemic, I spent more time at the computer, and sometimes needed fiddle toys, but I have stayed free from symptomatic behavior.
What does D23 stand for?
The fact that I can now officially research what has helped and what has not helped me and others in my professional field is a Dream come true. Never before has anything felt more like Destiny.
My vision for Hair in the Light is to represent people who are in harmony with their hair and their life. Hair-related repetitive behaviors, such as hair pulling (trichotillomania), breaking hair off (trichocryptomania), and obsessive haircutting (trichotemnomania), are among the shadow aspects of hair and being human. There is often deep despair, suffering, and pain.
If my work contributes to the health and well-being of just one other person, I feel grateful.
The execution and data collection of the Dissertation studies were completed by December 2023.
Upon request, I am happy to share my story of recovery and what is helping me to live symptom-free to this day.