I told my friend about my baldness in intermediate (ages 11-13). I didn't really have proper friends in that year and there was a lot of petty cat fights too. I pulled out my hair a lot in yr 8 (ages 12-13), and the kids in my class were begging to notice. I got comments all the time about how it looked like I was balding or if I had shaved the sides of my head. I couldn't snap at them or anything because they didn't know about my problem, I can't blame them. I didn't have anyone to support me and know about my trich. I felt as though I needed to tell someone, so they would support me when people comment... so I did.
It went something like this:
*walking around school*
Me: "You know how people were commenting in class, like how it looks like I'm balding and things."
Friend: "yeah..."
Me: "Well I have this thing, and it makes me lose my hair (I didn't have the guts to say that I pulled it out). But don't tell anyone"
Friend: "Like cancer?"
Me: "No, I do not have cancer."
Friend: "But like you lose your hair and cancer patients lose their hair too."
Me: "I suppose"
After I told her all hell broke loose, she had told other people about how I was balding and compared it to cancer. After a while the rumor turned out to be that I had cancer. I had people come up to me, random people, asking if I had cancer. It made me feel really upset and very stupid.
Looking back now, the person I told wasn't the best person to tell, but she was the 'leader' of our friend group (the group that always had fights). I also didn't know who to go to, my school didn't have councilors or anything like that.
A/N: This is why schools should have an annual mental health check-ups done on their students. Like psychologists going to all the schools and checking up on all of the students, because I strongly believe that going to them is very difficult especially when you're like 11 and don't know what to do, therefore they should come to us.
