FELIZ Cumpleanos !!! (happy birthday lady). i'm glad you said you are going to be compassionate with yourself..
we all think you rock !, the best present you can give yourself is kindness.. let those lovely hairs on your head enjoying growing while you enjoy your rooftop pool - oh yea !!! x

Muchas gracias luleee! I've been learning spanish for a while so I did know that but I'm still defend nicely a beginner.

Hmm yes. Kindness. I've been doing that and sometimes that also equals baldness. I need to be kind AND strict. At the moment.

So I pulled 18 hairs yesterday (from 3pm). Eek! I guess I've been pulled about 50+ hairs a day then, based on that.

In my first message it was meant to say "but I'm still definitely a beginner".

It's hard to find a balance between wanting to do a pull free a thon and still being kind and forgiving to yourself. Allowing minor slip ups is a good way to do it! Sometimes I don't count hairs that were pulled subconscioulsy if it's kept to a minimum. And, happy birthday!!

Indeed, and good advice :) Thanks. And thanks for the birthday wishes!

I'm in beautiful Antigua, Guatemala at the moment. It is just such an amazing place. I can't deal with the beauty! It's surrounded by 3 volcanos, the colonial architecture is stunning, the whole city is filled with pastel and earth tone buildings and cobblestone streets, and there are some very lovely parks.

My commitment (re: trich) has not been very strong. At all. But it's growing. At the moment I'm focusing on not pulling intentionally. Doing well today.

Antigua sounds amazing!! It wasn't on my list of places to eventually visit before, but it is now! Yeah, starting with a focus on intentional pulling is a good way to go, I think. At least for me, when I get more control of that, the subconscious pulling diminishes over time.

Cool, I think this city would appeal to a very wide range of people. I also forgot to mention the abundance of boutique cafes and restaurants, and so much organic/vegetarian/gluten free food!

Yes, when I control conscious pulling then the subconscious pulling tapers too.

Not a good day yesterday, but I was aware a lot and that is progress. I will continue with the awareness today too and trying to stop pulling when I can.

The food there sounds great! I've been transitioning into being vegetarian, which is pretty easy to do in Asia because tofu might as well be a food group here with how often it's included in dishes.

Being aware is the first step! It usually takes me a few days of just being aware of pulling before I can begin to fight off urges.

Glad to hear you are enjoying your trip. I agree with what you said, that being aware is definitely progress. Good for you !

Hey guys. Long time. Pulling is going meh. After I said I was working towards a pull free type thing I decided I was going to give gradually cutting back (as championed by Claudia Miles) another go. So my current goal is to collect 30 days where I score a 4 (out of 10) or under, out of a total of 60 days. Err, I've collected 3 (4s) so far out of a possible 13 I think. It's pretty hard right now with the breakdown of my relationship.. Stupid time to attempt to cut down really, but I feel like I need to. Or I'll be bald.

Manda - ah, interesting. I always thought it's be hard to be vegetarian there.

Thank you Trickster :) :)

So im having a lot of very tough times, but a lot of great times too :) I'm currently staying at a ridiculously amazing place on lake Atitlán in Guatemala.

Gradually cutting back is easier sometimes! I think you have a good goal in mind...sorry to hear it's a difficult time for you right now!

I like your idea for gradual cutting back. I think it's a great goal that I'm going to borrow. I'm sorry you're having a tough time now. Making a goal and focusing on the good things is a great attitude. I love your preservence. Keep it up. :)

Thanks Manda :) And thanks trichdr. I'm glad I could be of help!

Hmm. So I'm not going super great with my goal. I've collected a total of 8 good days out of the past 25 days. My goal was to get 30 good days out of a total of 60 days. I could still achieve that goal but I think I need to step it up a little.

I'm using the way of life app to track, which is helpful. Thanks for reminding me about it Manda!

Btw if I don't achieve my goal then I'll just try the same goal again during the next 60 days.