Thank you mid :) I know what you say is true. Social conditioning is strong though...

Thanks Manda :) And no problem at all. Good advice :)

I put a new calendar up and I've been tracking my pulling by marking each hair on my arm in pen as I pull it. I'm using my 0-10 rating system. In the past 3 days I've gotten a 5, a 5 and a 6. Today I'm hovering over a rating of 3 (6-9 hairs). I have bandaids on :)

Super dreading my hair cut this sat. The worst part is when they're blow drying it after it's been dyed and it's wet and I have to look in the mirror and they ask me which side it's parted on. And it's such a mess that honestly neither side is good. It sucks.

I would give you a big hug if I could. Please know we understand your struggle. It is great that you have some hair to even have a need to go to the hairdresser. I know it is embarrassing because your hair is thin and the hairdressers and clients with perfect hair make you feel uncomfortable. But you will get there one day - you must believe that and picture that for yourself. Have been reading some good books like THE SECRET and THE POWER. In these books it tells you about picturing what you want in your life and believing it has already happened. Feel the feeling of what it would feel like to have the wind blowing your beautiful thick hair, tossing it back off your face because there is so much of it. :) I have to work on this myself, so this advice is for me too. If you see someone with beautiful healthy hair, say "I love her hair" and picture yourself with a full head of hair. Visualization works to help you to attract good things into your life. The Law of Attraction - think and feel positive and attract good and positive things into your life.

How was the cut? I try to avoid looking at my hair when it's wet or before it's styled because it just emphasizes damage I can easily cover. It's just disheartening and frustrating, and likely to make me pull more. I bet it looks better after you cut it!

Hi Confidenticandoit, sending some hugs your way!! I hope the hairdresser went better than expected.

Wow, thanks so much everyone! Trickster, that was a lovely message :) I used to work on positive affirmations several years ago, and I believe it contributed to my pull free success then. I must try them again, thank you! And you're right, at least I have some hair to go to get cut..

Manda the cut went well. The staff are just SO lovely. They just don't ever treat me any differently. Which they shouldn't, I know that. It was just lovely. And my hair always looks SO much better after it's been dyed. My regrowth really emphasises my damage. I try not to look at my hair when it's wet or before its styled either. A self preservation thing, and like you said is disheartening, and there's no need to feel that every day!

Hi foundmyvoice, thank you so much for the support. It did go well, I always forget that I'M my harshest critic.

Hm, so I've been scoring a lot of 6s lately. I've been having crazy strong urges. Like when I wear a beanie all day or something, when I take it off my urges just scream at me. I'm aiming for 3s, I'll just keep trying. To be honest the past 3 days I haven't really tried to resist at all.

Another 6 for yesterday. I actually had 2 bandaids sitting in my work desk the whole day in front of me but I didn't put them on. There is a huge part of me that wants to keep pulling.

*on my work desk. Right next to my keyboard in fact.

Keep up the good work Confident. Pulling 6 hairs certainly beats pulling 60 or 600.
You will get there.

Sometimes I wish we could just chop of our hands. Sure, we can throw away tweezers or other tools that assist the pull... but we can't separate ourselves from ourselves. We have got to be the strongest warriors ever, we fight us every day!

Work on self care and eliminating stress if you can. Sometimes we need to get to the root of the problem rather than dealing with just the symptom of pulling. I sympathize with pulling while at the computer...it's a big trigger for me, too. Hugs!

Hi Confident. Just stopping in to say hello and thinking of you. We are here for you, for each other. I understand ( we all do) what you are going through. Please just keep checking in regularly here. Hope you had a good day xo

Hope you are doing well! For me, the holiday from the computer showed me a specific pattern of thought and hand that I'm changing. It's so hard to keep our hands organized to keep them out of the scalp. I did put a comb next to the keyboard, works wonder for me at the moment, and I'm glad I have the barrier techniques you share with everyone to help as well!

You're not alone!

Thanks trickster. When I say I pulled a 6, I mean a rating of six from 0 to 10. I've rated my pukling and I know how many hairs equal what rating. It's a nicer way to count hairs. Thanks so much for your support and for checking on me :) I'mnot doing well at checking in every day!

Foundmyvoice - exactly, we can't seperate ourselves from ourselves. For me, fighting myself doesn't work because I AM me. What Manda beliw suggested is key; self care and reducing stress. Also positive self talk.

Thank you Manda! The odd thing is, I don't feel like I really have a lot of stress in my life at the moment. No more than average. Life is pretty good! So that's interesting.

Thank you mid. Ah, I'd love to take an endless holiday from the computer, truly! Good idea with the comb. Thank you :)

Ok so after that day where I scored a 6 I scored a 3 the next day. Yay! From like 30+ hairs to 6 hairs. Then the past 5 days I've scored 4s. Not great but not terrible. Perhaps more self care..

Another reply to you Manda, I was thinking about the ways I could improve my self care, and I realised how far I've come with it. At the moment I do yoga 3-4 times a week, I meditate almost every morning, I walk or bike ride almost every day. My job isn't stressful (though it is often boring), my commute is 7 minutes, and I have time and energy to cook meals at night. I talk to my friends regularly, and I take a bath if I'm stressed. Wow, har far have I come!? Very far is the answer.