11-Year-Old Emily Can't Stop Pulling Her Hair Out

Aug. 3, 2009— -- Eleven-year old Emily Simmons has always been hard on herself.

"I was such a perfectionist at such a young age. I needed everything to be perfect. I have to have everything in the right order. I have to have my grades all A's. I have to have the right friends. I mean, I have to have the perfect clothes," said Emily.

But two years ago, when Emily was just 9, the stress of living this perfect life led to an unexpected result: She started pulling out her hair.

"I remember just fidgeting with my hair, you know? Trying to braid it a little. And then I pulled out a hair," she said.

Watch "Primetime: Family Secrets" this Tuesday at 10 p.m. ET.

What started with a single strand grew into an all-consuming compulsion. Before long, Emily was pulling out more and more of her hair.

"Right before Thanksgiving, I got my first bald spot. It's about the size of a penny ... I remember thinking, 'Oh, gosh. What now?' ... And I remember going to my mom and showing her. And I remember her being a little freaked out. Like, 'Oh, my gosh. What are we gonna do?'" Emily said.

Emily's parents, Michelle and Steven Simmons, were shocked to discover their daughter's hair-pulling compulsion.

"It was devastating. I remember before going into my bathroom and seeing so much hair on the floor that it truly looked like a barbershop," recalled Michelle. "I would sweep it up and then go back in my bathroom an hour later and it would be the exact same way. It was amazing. I never knew that a person could do that."

Emily's hair-pulling would only get worse from there.

"I would pull so much that I made a spot within, like, five minutes, you know? And it'd become really raw. And it would hurt. I remember it would sting, because of all the rawness," she said.