Hey, could you tell me a bit about trichotillomania? Reading your poem kinda made me realize I do that. I yank on my hair and pull it out, same with my body hair and eyebrows and eyelashes.
Trichotillomania (trich) is a disorder where people pull out their hair. We know it's not good, but it's really hard to stop; it's like an addiction, almost. It usually goes along with OCD, which is how I got it, but it's also common in ADHD and probably some other disorders as well. Scalp hair is I think the most common thing to pull, but other types of hair like eyebrows and eyelashes are fairly common as well.
Here are some... trichs you can use to stop! I'm so sorry but seriously these help.
1. This probably won't work much now, and it won't work for things like eyelashes, but my trich was worst in January-March, so I would often wear hoods and hats so I just... couldn't touch my hair. If it's cold enough to do that, go for it!
2. People with trich and no eyelashes and bald spots are still fucking beautiful. I will fight you. That being said, you would probably still prefer to have more hair in the places hair usually is, so remind yourself of the bald spots every time you go to pull.
3. Find something else to do with your hands! Knotting bracelets is my favorite, I made a lot of pride flags. You can also pull string from clothes, the carpet, grass if you're outside... find something else to pull on that's not attached to you. You can also pick hair from a hairbrush if that helps!
4. Put water on your hair. It is difficult to pull wet hair.
5. I didn't try this one, but name your hairs? Supposedly thinking of your hair as a living entity with a name will make you not want to "kill" it.
6. Get a timer and time how long you can go without pulling. Write down your best time. Try to beat it. This will work for competitive bitches like me. (It also helped me stop self harming.)
7. Know your triggers and avoid them. For example, my biggest trigger was seeing strands of hair that looked easy to pull, so I used hair products to make it less frizzy, and I didn't look in the mirror as much. A lot of people also pull their hair in stressful situations, so you can try to figure out more helpful coping mechanisms for stress.
8. On the flip side of that, exposure tasks. Probably don't do this one without a professional. The way this would work is you would set a timer and expose yourself to your trigger and/or just think about hair pulling for a certain amount of time, without actually letting yourself pull.
9. You will probably experience setbacks. That is okay. That is normal. Don't give up.
10. Know that it does get better. Genuinely, it does get better. I haven't completely quit, and I pull my hair a lot when I'm stressed out or upset, but I have made so much progress from a few months ago, so you are not doomed to suffer forever. I promise it will get better for you.
I really hope this helps, anon!
