That is the LAST thing to be stressing about! Even if you have a non-pull free day anyway, it's not the end of the world. PF streaks don't last forever, unfortunately...it is all about bouncing back quickly! You are doing great.

I know, I knoooow! Haha. Sometimes I think that I just have to always be worrying about something.

Yeees bouncing back quickly. I can do that. I can do that.

I do that, too - always needing to worry about something, I mean. Or sometimes I worry about stupid trivial things to avoid worrying about larger issues. I really wonder how many of these qualities are shared by trichsters in general!

I wonder too. Reading Claudia Miles' blog - help for hair pullers, she has the opinion that a lot of us share the same traits (perfectionism, trouble saying no). I think when more is known about trich then we'll know about the different types of trich. And the different subtypes maybe!

A 0 for yesterday :)

Yay for 0!

Traits - yep. I also noticed that we all are on the creative side. Lots of artists among us...
We are great. Smart, unfocused at times (great for divergent thinking), perfectionists, yes-ers, artistic....Perhaps we are a more evolved subspecies tending towards hairlessness through introspective self-soothing contemplation! Hah! The most evolved and supreme branch of homo sapien sapien -- we are homo sapien supremus!!! Standing out threatens the others. I'm going "incognito" with my new lashes and I'll know I'm special by the struggle to blend w the others...it's all good! :)

"Perhaps we are a more evolved subspecies tending towards hairlessness through introspective self-soothing contemplation!" - LOLZ! And yes I do keep hearing smart, sensitive, perfectionists, yes-ers.

Another 0 for today :) Thinking this "It's my disorder that makes me want to pull, it's not natural" when I get an urge is helping me. And "I want to pull to get that dopamine hit, my brain knows it will get a reward. But the negative feelings associated with pulling far outweigh the brief positive feeling of pulling." I am trying to concentrate on acknowledging negative feelings, but not ruminating on them. I made a list of all the triggers for my pulling and apart from being hungry and tired, all of my triggers are emotional. So if I can manage my emotions better (not feel so much guilt, regret, not compare myself to others so much, and accept myself as I am, etc) then it makes sense that my urges to pull will decrease dramatically.

I'd really be interested to see if NAC would work for me but I"m worried about the unknown side effects of taking it in such high doses.

Using logic to fight trich like you are doing works really well sometimes! Telling myself "I want to pull because I am stressed, but it will NOT make me feel better" has been helping me lately.

I definitely know that logic doesn't work so well when you're in the thick of pulling.

Like many other things, it works for me at times and has no effect at other times. Lately it's been working for me on days when I've barely pulled at all. If I were in the middle of a pulling spree, it wouldn't help because I just wouldn't care. But I think it helps me avoid turning a pull free day or a light pulling day into a spree.

Middle of a spree is hard - it's "just one more" "just one more" "just one more". We just try to need to stop ourselves from going into that trance... Looking in the mirror helps me.

It's "that fun time" of the month, and I'm treating myself to red wine, sex and the city, my favourite blanket and totally real teddy bear, painkillers, and pizza. I'm loving this self care thing :) Hehe.

Your self-care toolbox sounds great! I've recently realized that I am most prone to pulling one week after that time of the month (TOM). It used to be that during the TOM, I was most prone. Now there's a delay. In any case, self-care is the best idea! Really ramping up soothing and relaxing activities --- sounds good to me!

Have a great day!

Thanks! Interesting about the switch..

Yesterday: 0

Looking in the mirror is a good idea...I haven't tried that one. Great job staying PF!

It's very effective but the tricky part is getting the motivation to break the trance and get up. A good idea Is having mirror near sites where you frequently pull.