You're doing it, and like Phoebe says, you're still here, keeping it in front, and we're cheering you on!

Thanks so much for the kind words everyone! You're the best :) :) :) :) :) :)

I'm sorry I've been so absent, I've just been off from trying lately. No awareness, no counting, no using my chart, no barriers, no coming here.

Thank you Manda and phoebe for sharing your personal side of things.

I've been away at the beach this week. It's been quite lovely. I really wanted to swim with my head under water though, but I haven't felt confident enough. There was only one day the weather allowed for swimming though, so it's not like it's been difficult.

Coming here daily is the first step for me.

CHeers for the beach! Stay with coming here daily, stay strong!

Thank you! :)

For the past two days I've been aware of my pulling, by counting the hairs I'm pulling etc. Ratings of 5 both days (about 25 hairs), though yesterday was going much better until the evening when I binged.

Hey! Good luck and please check out NAC for trich, my hair is growing back and the pulling is way, way less.
Here's the info.. Check out NAC (N-Acetyl cysteine) for Trich, It's an amino acid and totally natural for depression. The clinical trials on the national institute of health's website for Nac have strong positive reviews. It's helped my depression and trich immensely. Go to amazon and look at the reviews for the source naturals ones; it's a really powerful antioxidant that not only cures Trich but grooming disorders like skin picking and hair pulling, but they think it cures addiction and depression too by calming inflamed brain pathways from trauma or stress. It's helped me immensely and it also detoxes your body from environmental pollutants. Go look at the reviews on amazon.

I've been pretty absent from here, too, and also not counting or trying that hard with trich lately. I always push myself way too hard in every aspect of my life, and I've been trying to prioritize things better lately and not try to do everything perfectly. It's good in some ways, but trich is not even close to being a priority, and it shows a lot in my hair right now. I'm quite interested in the supplement mentioned above....I might try it out if I can find it available.

Thanks Cali, I have heard of it (NAC) but I might check it out again. Thanks :)

Thanks Manda, yeah.. It's not a huge priority, but it is at the same time. I guess I'm saying that because the appearance of my hair is getting close to my all time low.

Haven't been aware/counting for maybe 5 days, well since I last posted. I think today is a day for barriers.

There are times we have to take a step back, renew our strength, and push ahead again. We help each other, whether we are on here or not, by caring, sharing, and being. Stay strong, and know you are doing it!

My hair isn't at an all time low, but it's worse than I"m used to. I hate that feeling. I just want to not constantly have it in the back of my mind. Often, when my students are looking at me, I'm convinced my headband has slipped out of place and they're staring at my hair, when probably they're just looking at me because I'm standing in the front of the room talking to them!

Sometimes, not counting days has taken the stress off me and hasn't affected my pulling habits. Sometimes (like recently) it's allowed me to get lazy about it. Trich is never consistent...so annoying.

Use your barriers if you know they help you. Not feeling like your hair is a huge priority is good...there's so many more worthwhile things to think about!

Thanks Mid! Great advice :)

Manda, thanks too for your great comment. I agree that it's so frustrating that Trich isn't consistent and that we always need to work on it differently.

I don't like being absent here, it's not good for my recovery. Hm, I don't like to use the word "recovery" any more. I think I prefer the phrase "trich management". No.. That's a bit cold. Any ideas? Hehe.

Anyway I've not being doing very well as I haven't been applying much effort. I was reading an interesting article about motivation, and the main point was that for most things the traditional carrot/stick approach doesn't work like we have assumed in the past. I know for me, rewards and punishments don't work. And certainly the promise of hair if I don't pull doesn't work either! For me a just have to want to get better, to "recover". So with that new/renewed realisation in mind, I really need to try to focus on managing my Trich and not getting my hair back. It IS pretty hard not to focus on the hair, because I think that's the reason why we're all here. Man, this was pretty convoluted. I praise anyone who understood!

Xo

Awesome way to eloquently state the issue we all face with this battle between our hands, our minds, and our bodies.

I found peace with the simple motto added to my routine for my hands, hug each hand together and tug them apart, hugs instead of tugs. I don't know how it worked, I just know it did. Finding peace helped me forgive my lapses, my loss, my lack of motivation. Once I forgave myself (and this one, I had to do time and time again), it became easier to let go fingering the hair. Instead I hug my hands and if I am on the computer, it's just the two finger touch.

You have discovered the hard part of using words to explain what each of us do each and every day. One of the little ones I am around sometimes, mentioned, " you're taking care of your pain now" as she touched my sensitive area. I smiled and told her thank you. I am, however, pain is not the first thought anyone mentions with this condition. So, it depends on what you think of as it applies to you as an individual.

I know when I accidentally removed my journey on this group, I felt release of the old hope, and yet, I miss reading some of the entries that make a lot more sense now than they did before.

All I can do is wish the best for you, and know you're gonna win this one, one way or another!

Never alone, always beautiful, and amazing strength! ;)

Wow mid! That was beautiful! So very thoughtful and insightful.

I'm sorry you lost your thread :( I think this site could be built a little better.. But I'm grateful it's at least here!

I love what you said about finding peace and forgiving yourself again and again.

Hurrah! Keep at it, together all of us are gonna walk with our hair swinging around us! We will!

Hi, I've been away for awhile but I wanted to write in to tell you how important your thread, experiences, honesty is for me when I read them. Hope you're feeling strong and peaceful today!

I have been using the term "trich management" for awhile! I guess it does sound kind of cold, but I dislike the term "beating trich". Because it will always be a battle. There will never be a winning moment, and it doesn't work to think in those terms (for me, anyway.) It makes me feel like I'm trying to attain the impossible, instead of focusing on gradual improvement.