Manda, yes, I definitely feel the same about that! Bleh. But still, I must track.

Thanks luleee :) Yes I find that wearing a silky scarf on may head works amazingly well as a barrier. I wish I could wear it at work.

Well I started to track my pulling yesterday morning, but by the evening I lost count. I think I scored a 4, which is better than my 6s and occasional 5s.

It's usually easier to decrease gradually rather than stop pulling completely and abruptly, so a 4 is good progress! I agree that scarves are easy and comfortable barriers while at home....it just takes serious effort to make myself actually use them once I start pulling.

Yup, i totally get that Manda with the scarves.. once i start, i find it hard to stop to put a scarf on..
so its trying to put the barrier in place before we get too carried away.
Shame you cant wear one at work Sam, even to roll it up, or a thin one to wear as a headband ?!..
though sometimes when we work in an open environment, having people around us is enough of a barrier !
like you say, Score 4 is better than 5... keep it up.. (keep it down in this case ;-)

Lulee, I find headbands themselves can be great barriers in a pinch, and the thicker ones can be good for concealing thinner spots. I've been wearing one lately and that combined with a bit of dark brown eyeshadow hides damage along my part about 90%.

I hope you're doing well!

Keep at it! You've got this! God news for me, planning a trip is wonderful plan to continue this project!

Hurrah for team support, hugs instead of tugs!

Thanks for the comments and tips Manda, luleee and mid. xo

Errrgh, having trich has been difficult lately. Well, it's always difficult but it's been particularly hard. My moderate yet constant pulling will always result in bald patches. And I have a few that i cannot 100% hide at the moment. I can camouflage them but I cannot hide them. A week (or maybe two) ago, I tracked my pulling. I pulled about 55 hairs. So that was more than I thought I was doing each day. I thought it was more like 30ish I think. I'm experiencing a bit of panic occasionally too, I"m sure most of you are familiar with that. When you see the damage, and then you tell yourself you can't pull, then you binge, then you feel crap, then you feel scared/panic because you aren't feeling in control.

Barriers help a lot, so I'll do my best to start using them more. Tracking helps a lot too, I can do it at work by marking small strokes on my arm with a pen.

Today my urges were/are very high. I am at home today so I put on a head scarf, but I kept taking it off to pull. I really don't do that often at all, practically never.

I'm trying to repeat to myself that no one is perfect and I'm fine as I am. However I do want to gain some more control.

Feeling out of control with trich is the worst part about it, I think. Sorry to hear you are having a hard time. One thing I've been thinking about with trich and other things lately is - everything passes. Those out of control times are awful, but they never last forever. Damage doesn't last forever either. That cycle is so hard to break, where pulling resulting in panic makes you want to pull more, which increases panic....on and on. Something I've personally found helpful to break that cycle is to focus on how good it will feel to break that cycle and get back "in control" (which is just a state of mind anyway.) Knowing that it only takes a few days and focusing on that helps me get through those tough times. One really good thing is that once I feel like I'm in control again, I feel so much better about the appearance of my hair - I hope the same is true for you! Hugs.

Thank you very much Manda :) Barriers and tracking for me today.

Wore bandaids today. Was pf most of my work day :) Pulled 1 hair at work in the afternoon. Then 3 in the car on the 10 minute drive home. Then 4 at home (should have out my scarf on). I'm very stressed at the moment, working about 60hrs a week and I hate it. (The extra hrs are due to my freelance work). The next week is going to SUCK because of a huge freelance project.

So 2 days ago I pulled 9 hairs (wooooo!), yesterday I pulled about 25 (so stressed, was working til late at night). Today I've pulled 8 so far. So all this pulling occurred while wearing bandaids, it would have been much worse without barriers.

So, congratulate yourself on having pulled only 1 at work the other day. That is an accomplishment.

Don't beat yourself up. A heavy work load is the hugest challenge to overcome. Damn, I hate those 60 hour weeks. Try to break it into small chunks with mini deadlines to reduce the stress.

Hugs.

Work stress is a huge trigger! Sometimes it helps me to think about it in terms of "Will this stress really matter a week from now? A month from now?". Putting it in perspective can be useful. Totally agree with Phoebe that breaking it into small chunks is best. I love breaking my to-do list down into really small tasks so I can cross stuff off frequently. It makes me feel more productive. Good job with the barriers!

I wish I could erase the stress of the hours...however, all I can do is tell you everyone is right, be easy on your spirit and keep going. You are doing the best you can with what you have! Stay strong!

Good job with the barriers and charting. Being consistent is important, it's a way to stay in control when the pulling seems out of control. Unfortunately we all have those times when trich is extra trichy. Keep fighting and be proud of those good day and good hours. Work stress sucks, I hope things can lighten up for you soon.

Thank you soo much everyone. Truly.

I've been very on and off with my motivation and effort and success. When I'm busy, stressed, or drained, my Trich regime goes to shit.

No point looking back though.

Today I've pulled 8 hairs. I'll be please if I pull no more than 14 (that's a score of 4 for me). I'm at work and I'm not feeling well. But I believe in meeeeeeee.