This is an excellent place to come for help, support, cheers, and understanding by people who understand!
Start out with smalll goals, if you aim for the biggest goal first, you will get frustrated. Little steps one by one will get you there!
Welcome!

Welcome!
You will find many tips here, and true friends who understand and support you!
Hugs!

Hi! My advice is little steps, do not have big goals in the front of your mind, coming to support groups every day and talk. Read through as many of the posts on here as you can. There is one called "the ABC's" and also another which is "hair regrowth facts". And just reading through our personal pull-free-a-thons will give you TONNES of tips and help.

Thanks guys, Today my goal is to be pull-free today.

I have been off work ill for 3 weeks (with stress - I'm a teacher!) andI am finding it hard to be home and not pull. At work there is always someone around so I can't pull.

I haven't been to a salon in 6 years - I want to be able to have a haircut and style, not a scrap it together to try to hide the bald patches (they are hard to hide now - I teach teenagers who notice these things).

I stopped pulling for a week in January - but I find the stress at work makes me pull more. I have realised that my health and happiness is more important than work - I look at my wedding pictures and although I was a puller then, I had actual hair - you can't notice the patches - I started teaching a month after my wedding and its been downhill ever since. I know now that I need a career change, I can't quit and be a teacher. Its really sad for me but it has to happen.

Am going to go with the reward thing I think, I like the idea of being nice to myself for a change. So today if I am pull-free I will buy myself a new pair of trousers. If I can manage a week I am taking myself out for dinner.

My hair regrowth is mostly white now, on the crown - I am at the age where I would prob get some greys anyway but I am heartened to read that I may get the colour back - weirdly when I was less of a puller I had curly hair now it is flat , I don't mind I don't care what it looks like I just WANT HAIR!!

Lets see,

Thanks for the warm welcome - its inspiring reading about people who have/are beating Trich.

There is a way you can continue to teach, and have help with the not-pulling.
It will take a little bit of creativity to get past the connection trigger of the classroom or management stress and the pulling urges.
Talking here daily will help you sort through the issues, step by step.
We are here to help each other!
You can do this!

Thanks - I need change from where I work currently, its a really negative environment and since things ahve been bad my pulling has been out of control. I went to the drs and she signed me off straight away I was shaky and incoherent. Am better now am at home. I don't think I can fight Trich and my horrible school I am going to be leaving in July - I will do supply work for a while til I figure things out. Am sure I can beat this with the right support and a reduce in stress.

4 hours into a pull-free morning. Deep breath.

welcome!!
if you're looking for support, this is the place to be =]

Welcome!!

Yes, the important thing is to look after your health. Get out of that toxic environment.

Now that you are home, idleness, procrastination, depression maybe, can be trich triggers. You have the time now to work on your awareness and commitment, and figure out which barriers work for you.

HUGS!!

Thanks :)

Well so far today so good - I have not pulled all day! Its nearly 9pm now so just got to get through the next couple hours and fingers crossed. Have had the urge but talked to mself about why I am not going to.

I imagine that being a high school teacher is VERY VERY STRESSFUL! My job is pretty high stress also, and I was contemplating a career change too. (I'm a freelance graphic designer, tight deadlines, unrealistic expectations, constantly having to be creative). If I had a more hands on job my need to pull would reduce by like 70% I think. But.. I won't give up my dream. Not yet at least! I hope you can find a nice new school where the environment is much more relaxing and accepting.

I haven't been to a hair salon in a very long time also, maybe 10 years now :(

You can do this, deep breaths are good! I have made a new rule, every time I get an urge, or find my hand in my hair, I do 5 - 10 deep breaths depending how strong the urge is. Deep breathing really dissipates the urge for a little while.

Well - I have been 24 HOURS WITHOUT PULLING!

It was both easier and harder than I though - harder cos the urges were constant and so easy just to find my hand drifting up without noticiing - but each time I told myelf I control my hands not Trich and brought them down. Why was it easier than I thought? because the urge passed each time, nothing bad happened when I didn't pull, I just didn't pull.

OK - another 24 hours.

This is gonna be tough as I have to write a letter offering to take voluntary redundancy now!

Woo!!!!!!!!!!! That's awesome. I felt the same way on my first day. My advice is wear a beanie or some light gloves while writing your letter.

:)

good for you for being able to recognize something that triggers pulling in such an extreme way! thats awesome that you're taking it so seriously and doing everything you can to get the negative energy away from you!!
how did yesterday go?

Heya guys - yesterday was good. I am now 28 hours pull free! I just so nearly pulled - my hand was there - I had the hair in grasp. I just forced myself to let go and put my hands down and said "noooooo" to myself. Am going out for a walk now - don't want to fester.....I wrote my letter - its gone now! Have a meeting on monday to discuss it all - fingers crossed (and hands sat on lol)

Do you know - many years ago I took up smoking to get me to quit pulling (i was 16) to have something to do with my hands! I stopped that 5 years ago - now its time to realy tackle the pulling.

xxxx

You can do this! Hurrah on the hours you did make it through!
Deep breathing is healthy and really does help reduce the urge.
Keep at it!