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
THE SECRET LIFE OF SQUIRRELS
PICKING up a tiny tea-pot with its paws, a little red squirrel struggles to prepare its morning tea .
INTIMATE PORTRAITS OF HINDU HOLY MEN
COVERING themselves in ash and face paint, these are the holy men who live their lives away from everyday society .
THEY'RE BEHIND YOU!
SURROUNDED by tens of thousands of fish, this outnumbered diver is dwarfed by a mass of sea life .
COME DINE AT SEA: RESTAURANT ON A ROCK
The rock restaurant, located in Zanzibar – THIS unique restaurant really does boast breath-taking views - as it is perched on a rock in the middle of the sea .
TERRIFIED TEACHER TALKED MURDERER OUT OF STRANGLING HER
A teacher has told how she was attacked by a murderer on her way home from a night out but courageously managed to charm him out of strangling her .
CHEEKY OWL’S UNUSUAL LANDING SPOT
An owl swoops through the air before making an unorthodox landing - right on top of an unsuspecting man's head .
SURREAL WILDLIFE
AN EXERCISING turtle and an ice-skating chick are hardly everyday exploits in the animal community .
MUM SPENDS £17K ON HER REBORN BABIES
When mum-of-three Becky Tully was told she couldn’t have any more children due to health reasons, she refused to give up on having the little girl she had always wanted .
FUNERAL COMPANY MAKE DIAMONDS FROM CREMATED REMAINS
SPARKLING bright inside their box, it’s hard to believe these diamonds are made from the cremated remains of the deceased .
SURPRISE BABY: WOMAN REVEALS SHE DIDN’T KNOW SHE WAS PREGNANT UNTIL SHE SAW HER BABY’S HEAD CROWNING
A woman has revealed how she didn’t know she was pregnant until she saw her baby’s head crowning .
BIRD FISHING
DIVING down at a speed of 75mph, this is the moment a hungry osprey caught his prey .