A This Morning guest has revealed details about a condition which resulted in her pulling her hair out. Presenters Ben Shephard and Cat Deeley spoke to Laura Darcy on Monday (March 23) regarding her trichotillomania diagnosis at the age of 10. Ben told ITV viewers: "After spending over £20,000 across the years trying to fix her compulsion, Laura has decided to ditch the wigs and instead embrace her baldness."

Intrigued about when the impulse to pull out her hair commenced, the This Morning presenter enquired whether she could recall a specific trigger which initiated it all. Laura responded: "I don't remember the trigger, but I was about nine or 10, and it became a real compulsion, like I would fiddle, play with one hair, and it was one hair at a time. It felt nice to pull out, then discard the hair on the floor."

"I just couldn't stop, I don't remember one event that happened or a reason for it, but I knew once I started, it was so addictive, I just could not stop."

Acknowledging that it didn't hurt and felt like an itch she needed to scratch, Laura's parents grew concerned once they spotted bald patches beginning to emerge, which is when she started to pull her hair out in private, reports The Mirror.

They ultimately took her to the doctors, suspecting there was something amiss, as she remained silent about what she had been doing. She revealed: "I was so embarrassed by it! I didn't say anything. I think because my parents were frantic, I knew I was doing it, but didn't know why I was doing it. I knew I was worrying them. We got referred to a specialist who worked it out, and I had to admit, 'Yes, it was me'."

The guest disclosed that whilst she didn't want to inflict this upon herself, she couldn't stop as the compulsion was overwhelming. It wasn't until secondary school, when she wanted to fit in, that she finally left her hair alone.

Although it regrew, Laura revealed she managed to disguise her bald patches by styling her hair into ponytails and using hairspray. Ben enquired when she decided to explore a more permanent solution, with Laura confirming it was in 2006.

Explaining that a conversation with her brother prompted her to seek help, she said: "I went to the doctor, talked to them about it, and they put me on a list for some neurolinguistics programming therapy and suggested some prozac at the time.

"They thought that might help. I started that right away, went on the waiting list for therapy and in the meantime, I started researching things myself."

Laura explained she paid privately for various treatments, such as hypnotherapy, though whilst some approaches worked temporarily, nothing proved lasting. After a decade of wearing wigs, Laura made the decision to shave her head during lockdown one evening, with her husband lending a hand. She expressed: "I was really freeing, a bit scary, but I did it. I remember going outside and the sun on my head felt amazing."

This Morning airs weekdays on ITV at 10am.