‘Big secret’ revealed: Comedian Amy Schumer talks struggle with hair-pulling disorder

Actress and comedian Amy Schumer is not exactly the shy type, and she routinely mines her own awkward existence for comedy gold, but she recently confessed she’s been keeping a “big secret” that she used her newest project to talk about publicly.

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The “Trainwreck” star revealed In an interview with The Hollywood Reporter published Friday that she has struggled for decades with trichotillomania, a disorder that causes a compulsive need to pull out hair.

“I think everybody has a big secret and that’s mine,” Schumer, 40, told the entertainment news outlet.

“And I’m proud that my big secret only hurts me, but it’s been what I’ve carried so much shame about for so long,” she added.

In turn, the “I Feel Pretty” actress worked the topic into the debut season of her latest project, Hulu’s “Life & Beth,” and worries about passing the chronic, partially hereditary condition on to her nearly 3-year-old son, People magazine reported.

“Every time he touches his head, I’m having a heart attack,” Schumer told THR.

“It’s not that I used to have this problem and now I don’t. It’s still something that I struggle with,” Schumer told the outlet, recounting that it first surfaced during a particularly chaotic portion of her childhood.

“As Schumer revealed in her 2016 essay collection, ‘The Girl with the Lower Back Tattoo,’ her father declared bankruptcy and had been diagnosed with multiple sclerosis, and her mom left him for the married father of her best friend all before Schumer hit her teens,” THR reported.

According to People, trichotillomania is considered both a type of obsessive-compulsive disorder and a form of self-harm, but the severity differs from person to person. The disorder, which makes people feel like they need to pull their hair and won’t feel relief until they do, can be managed with behavioral therapies and medication, the entertainment news outlet reported.

The episode of “Life & Beth” that focuses on the disorder directs anyone suffering from the condition to check out the TLC Foundation for Body-Focused Repetitive Behaviors.

“I really don’t want to have a big secret anymore, and I thought putting it in there would be good for me to alleviate some of my shame and maybe, hopefully, help others alleviate some of theirs, too.” she told THR.

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Amy Schumer Comedian Amy Schumer, recipient of the Charlie Chaplin Britannia Award for Excellence in Comedy, reacts after making a joke during her acceptance speech at the BAFTA Los Angeles Britannia Awards at the Beverly Hilton on Friday, Oct. 30, 2015, in Beverly Hills, Calif. (Photo by Chris Pizzello/Invision/AP) (Chris Pizzello/Chris Pizzello/Invision/AP)

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