Trich Tips

Joy

Hi All

Just though we can get a new thread running for some practical and helpful tips and advice to stop pulling and lower urges.

Would love to hear from all of you out there what you try to do when urges are high? Does it work? Or does it not?
Maybe how you even prevent the urges altogether?

We could all be helping each by sharing those ideas!

Waiting to hear from you all.
Who know's who will help you or who you will help!😉

Lots of love and pull freedom,
😘 Joy

Michelle Harper

Great thread Joy. Stress is a big problem for me, but it often sneaks up on me. I try now to do 1 or 2 small stress relieving activities every day to try to keep it at bay, rather than waiting until it's a problem again.

Joy

Hey Michelle

So good hearing from you again!😍😍

Stress is a hard one for me too. It also gets me so busy overthinking... The worst is before traveling. Like I'm travelling tomorrow night, so I was up quite a few hours last night pulling late into the night, stressing about packing, having everything sorted before then, and how my itinerary is going to play out. Dah!

But then decided I better get up and move somewhere else to stop my pulling. Better yet, I got up for a shower! Then my hair wasn't so easy to pull anyway.

Geraldine

Hi everyone. I'm new to the forum, hoping to get some good tips & support from like minded people! I'm 35 (almost 36) & I have had trich since I was 12. I wear a full wig as there's no covering the damage anymore!! The longest I was pull free was 6 months, then I had a family incident & fell apart. I undid 6 months of hard effort in a matter of minutes. But I'm back on the wagon & have been pull free (more or less) since Christmas. I have two tips to share that I hope help others!! First, is castor oil. I pour a tablespoon or so & massage it into my head every other day - its really thick & sticky & not nice to touch. You have to wash it off with shampoo which is why I don't use it every night. But another good thing about it is it really helps thicken existing hair. There's claims it speeds growth bug I don't know about that. I have visible improvements in terms of thickness each time I use it. Second tip I have is switching to watching TV on my phone. Sounds mad but because I have to physically hold my phone up, it occupies my hands so they don't wander upwards. I find most of my pulling happens when my hands are idle, regardless of my mood. Hoping to hear what works for you guys!

mhairi

Hi all also new here and hoping to get some tips. Pulling since I was 15, 39 now and desperate to stop. Keeping hands busy (candy crush!) is a definite one for me, but tbh sometimes the impulse is so strong and ingrained I don’t know I’m even doing it, my hands literally move to my head before it registers with me. Keeping my hair styled up, keeping it super clean and slippery helps. I need to work on it though, just small steps. I’ve just had enough and just can’t keep doing it any more. Hope you’re all doing okay.

Neo

Hey Mhairi and thanks to Joy for posting this topic. Hey Lisa and Michelle too!

So many positive reasons to stay positive and free of unwanted behaviours.

I am sitting on my balcony on 1st Feb in brilliant sunshine, looking out on a beautiful sea view. Happy and feeling so best, not least about having this lovely community to connect with.

My best tip would be acrylic nails.

I dare say Michelle will post the link to our 100 tips for BFRB freedom page soon ... or you could just go to trichotillomania.co.uk and select Help>how we can help you. Then it is the bottom option, I think xxx

Katy

Hello all
I’ve just signed up. I am so desperate to stop pulling! I’m 32 and I have had Trich for 20 years now. I didn’t even know it was ‘a thing’ until I stumbled across an article in a magazine 8 years ago about a young woman living with Trichotillomania.
In the 20 years that I have been living with this disorder, I have had many ups and downs. I would say that I have only ever probably had a maximum of a week where I didn’t pull at all. My hair has grown back and looked nice at times, but I have pulled out so much hair recently that I have bald patches again on the right side of my head.
I feel so ashamed of my self and very unattractive after a pulling episode 😞
I have only ever told 1 person that I have Trich. I told my partner 2 & a half years ago, and I only told him because I noticed that my 2 year old son was trying to pull at his hair on his head. It shocked me to see him doing this and I went out the room and cried. I felt like a huge failure as a parent! I made the decision to pluck up the courage and visit my GP. I explained everything to her, while sobbing my eyes out, but I got nothing from that visit unfortunately. It was very clear that my GP was clueless about Trich, as her solution for me was to pull the hair from my arms or legs instead. My goal is to STOP pulling hair completely-not just shifting my habit from one place on my body to another.
I have a little girl now too, and I just so desperately want to stop this. I don’t want my children to see me pulling my hair out from the root and then copy that behaviour. I want to be able to get my hair done at a salon and experiment with different styles again without feeling the desperate need to keep my bald patches hidden. I want to be able to go a day without feeling ashamed of myself 😢
Sorry for the long post.

mhairi

Hi everyone!
Katy I sympathise as I have a small child and really worry about them picking up on it as well. Sorry to hear your gp is clueless, I’ve never mentioned it to mine but I’ve had a bunch of other mental health issues and don’t have the strength to go back agywith something else! Having a kid is one one of the main reasons I want to stop. As they get bigger it’s really worrying me on top of all the worrying I have already as an anxious parent. On top of the Trich pregnancy and over styling my hair (to try and compensate) has left it in awful condition, the worst it’s ever looked and it’s really getting me down. I’ve had a good few days but today it all went out the window, pulling all day and back to square one. Having a really stressful time with work, money and relationships and health and I think it all caught up with me. Tomorrow is a new day to start again anyway! One day at a time. Wishing you all the best,
Mhairi

Lisa A

Hi all,

Anxiety is the worst for me with the overthinking. I've just completed a list of 30 reasons why I want to remain PF. I've been reading it 3x's a day, and when I didn't, I pulled the other day.
I also have a blue spimey exercise ball. I keep one on the couch and the other in bed. Every night I fiddle with it., and I drop off much easier. Its not for everybody, but drfinity works for me.
Take care everyone. Great thread Joy xx

annette

Hello everyone, I am new but have been pulling since the age of 12 or 13. I am sorry to say that I am now 53 and still pulling. I am going through the menopause and have found that the pulling has been worse. Anxiety, low mood, skin picking has also got worse and am blaming my hormones.
I find when reading I will automatically start fiddling with my hair. When concentrating at the computer I will start pulling out my eyebrows.
It is a terrible disease and so bizarre. Interestingly my father is a skin picker and the first recollection I have of pulling out a hair was when I was about 12, may be younger and I picked at a mole on my arm which had a long hair attached.
I wonder if the behaviour was copied although I believe that the release of dopamine at that time probably enforced the behaviour.
It wasn't until 2002 when I was 45yrs that I heard of trichotillomania.
Things I try: do not look in mirror, soothing cream on eyebrows, cotton gloves when watching TV. Share with your family so they can help you in a loving caring way.
All the best Annette

Neo

Hi Annette,

I don't think the behaviour was copied, but more genetic. I'm so glad that you wear cotton gloves. You're doing the right thing - keep posting about how well you are doing because that is a lot healthier than theorising about how it started.

Love and pull freedom
Neo