Newbie - eyelash pulling

charlie

Hey! I'm new here, my GP told me about the website. I used to pull hair from my head when I was around 13-15, stopped for ages, now I'm 20 and it's my eyelashes. It's been really hurting the skin around my eyes recently, so any advice would be much appreciated never told anyone about this, so it's nice to have a group who understand

SleepySloth

Welcome aboard @charlie !! First and foremost, please know you are NOT alone. There are plenty of supportive people on this forum that have been suffering for years. While I am not one of the super successful ones that have been able to give up pulling 100%, since I've joined the group in Oct 2020, I feel much more in control and aware of my issues.
Congratulations on taking the first step! T

SleepySloth

Oops.... trouble with internet 🥴

But telling someone and sharing your story is HUGE!! One of the basic first steps is starting a Pull-Journal. Writing down when & where you pull and how you're feeling at the time may lead to discovering the "why" you pull. Once you identify that, you may be able to start to recognize the triggers, and stop yourself before you start.
That advice sounds all well and good, but trust me, it is far from easy! It will take some time, but slowly but surely you WILL see some progress. Right now I concentrate on the times I don't pull. I add up all my pull-free streaks and they currently outweigh my slip-ups. When I fall off my 'wagon', I start my counter over and start again. Don't ever let this thing called Trichotillomania keep you down 💪
Barrier methods like bandaids on your fingers or gloves work good in the beginning when you just need to gain some control without having to think too much.
I wish you the best on your latest Pull-Free journey. Just remember, you've already had success once and were able to stop when you were younger. So you definitely have it in you to succeed!!

Keep posting on the forum and documenting your successes AND your failures. It really does help.

Stay strong and talk soon!

SleepySloth ♥️
(currently 11 hours and 38 minutes pull-free 👍)

Michelle Harper

Hi @charlie! Welcome to the forum. Ugh, eyelashes can be a real pain because they do tend to get irritated and sore, and they can feel like they're prickling when they grow back. This will sound silly, but try putting the back of a metal spoon against your eyes when they're feeling aggravated. The cool metal is soothing, but it also keeps your fingers away so you're less likely to pull.

Also barrier methods like SleepySloth says. Gloves, plasters on finger tips, a little vaseline on your lashes etc. Definitely try keeping the journal too. Often there are patterns and triggers that aren't easy to see until we get it all written down. Diet (sugar and caffeine especially) can impact the urges to pull, along with lack of sleep, idleness (watching television, scrolling through phone), certain points in the menstrual cycle, stress levels - it might be a little bit of lots of things and just improving your overall wellness and awareness of your needs could see you pulling less.

Do get stuck in to the forum. We've all been where are you are now and we're here to support you and cheer you on

charlie

Aww thank you both so much @SleepySloth @Michelle Harper , got so emotional reading this haha😊 I'll definitely start trying all your tips too. Thank you for making me feel so welcome!
We can do this!!❤❤

charlie

ps little update - the metal spoon thing works wonders

Michelle Harper

@charlie oh I'm so glad you found it helpful! So much is trial and error with tric to find what works for us. How are you getting on now?

charlie

@Michelle Harper I'm doing okay! Been busy with moving house for a while so it was a good distraction, nothings painful anymore, figured keeping myself busy as much as possible helps a lot. Hope you're doing well!