.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 D23 Study 1 is completed on May 30th, 2023.
By December ideally 60 people will have participated in D23 Study 2
Status July 3rd: 28 participants, 7 scheduled for appointments
My paternal grand-mother engaged in nail-biting, so did my father for a period of his life. My mother engaged in skin picking.
1974-75 started biting my nails
1978 grew out my bangs, 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.
1982 read the term Trichotillomania for the first time, started to learn everything I could about this and to help myself.
1987 experienced a period of not engaging in hair-focused-repetitive behaviors
1996 started a period of no longer engaging in hair-focused-repetitive behaviors with very few relapses in the first years.
2023 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 a few more relapses and during Covid and more time at the computer I sometimes needed fiddle toys.
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 Hair in the Light represents people who are in harmony with their hair and their life. Hair-related repetitive behaviors like 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.
I hope that my work will contribute to people’s health and happiness.
The time frame for my Dissertation studies is until 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.