MY 20 YEAR SECRET - IT'S NOT ALOPECIA OR CANCER, I HAVE TRICHOTILLOMANIA
A mum who has hid behind the hair loss condition alopecia for the last 20 years has bravely revealed a secret compulsion to tear out her own hair that has tormented her since she was a child. For more than two decades, Zena Williams has allowed anyone who noticed her bald patches to believe that she has the auto immune condition that causes her hair to fall out on its own. But in the wake of No Pulling Week, the mum-of-one has now bravely revealed that she has been pulling out her own hair since she was a child. At various stages in her life, Zena has been left almost completely bald by her compulsive addiction to hair-pulling - a little understood psychological condition called trichotillomania. When age 11, having removed most of her hair over the course of a single summer, she returned to school wearing a wig, cruel classmates soon spread the rumour she had cancer, calling her 'cancer face' and subjecting her to relentless bullying. But still Zena refused to reveal the truth about her condition, believing no one would be sympathetic to the compulsion which has blighted her life ever since.
Other great stories
COUPLE RECREATE ICONIC SCENES FROM THE NOTEBOOK
A Canadian couple celebrated their engagement by recreating iconic moments from the film The Notebook .
SMILEY GECKO ENJOYS HIS VIEW FROM THE TOP
Enjoying life’s little pleasures is something that many struggle to do .
BRAVE LEOPARD BEFRIENDS A CROC
A brave leopard kicks back and relaxes in the sunshine - just inches from an enormous crocodile .
FISHERMEN IN MYANMAR BALANCE ON ONE LEG
Fishermen in Myanmar have perfected an unusual fishing technique by carefully balancing on one leg .
CHIPS IN: MAN MAKES £4K A MONTH SENDING POTATOES IN THE POST
A man has made a SPUD-TACULAR amount of money sending potatoes in the post .
BACK TO THE FUTURE WITH AR' KID
HOTSPOT MEDIA - BACK TO THE FUTURE WITH AR' KID: A POSTAL SORTER has perfected the art of time travel by delivering images that are from the past .
SEXUALLY ABUSED AT 9 BY GRANDAD
A survivor of abuse has bravely waived her anonymity to tell how she was sexually assaulted from the age of nine - by her depraved grandad .
SLEEP DISORDER WOMAN COLLAPSES EVERY TIME SHE LAUGHS
A woman with a rare condition that means she collapses every time she laughs fears she may have passed the rare illness onto her young son .
MODEL SPENDS £22K TO TRANSFORM HER ENTIRE BODY
A GLAMOUR model who has spent £22K on cosmetic procedures is hoping that a revolutionary new treatment to give her a designer vagina will end her quest for perfection .
CAGE -FIGHTER BF FRACTURED MY EYE SOCKET, NOSE, BIT MY FACE AND FORCED ME TO MAKE HIM A SAUSAGE SARNIE AT KNIFEPOINT
After Leigh Hancock, 36, joined Fallon Bramall's boxing gym she owned with her husband, the pair took him under their wing .
GOLDEN EAGLE FESTIVAL
RACING through the mountain range on horseback, the Kazakh people practice their ancient tradition of hunting with golden eagles .
SHEEPDOG GIVES BIRTH TO BUMPER LITTER OF 14 PUPS
One sheepdog is taking a well-deserved rest after giving birth to a whole WHEELBARROW-FUL of puppies .