I've been a better with my hair recently, a mix of pull free days and 3-6 strand days. I've got hold of a stress star keyring that I hold in my left hand and hold my pen in my right hand, that seems to be helping a little!!

Back to pulling BADLY no pull free days, having trouble with an hour without pulling. I think its because I'm so stressed! Can anyone help!!

I am in that exact situation...my hair is looking pretty terrible lately. I wish I could help, but we can both get through it....I have kind of accepted that this past week at work was insane because of the holidays so I cut myself a little slack...but back to being dedicated to being PF soon! Good luck!!!

MY HAIR LOOKS LIKE CRAP!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! LOL

Sounds like we are all in the same boat....

At least now it's 2013!!!

New years, reminds us that we can continue to make changes to better our health. Its never too late to make things better and keep trying what works for us. I like to say," take one day at a time" but also to make room for lifestyle changes that add to our over all well-being.
I hope you are doing better. Keep us posted.

I am now bald all along the left of my crown and this patch is spreadin out still, I've got another bald patch at the base of my parting. It just got worse and worse, I can barely cover it up any more and no one knows the extent to which it has progressed. I'm pulling worse than ever and have barely had a pull free day since my last post here.

On the bright side I've got back into scoobiedouing, which is great for keeping my hands preoccupied and is productive. Highly recomend

Oh this is a terrible condition indeed :(

Have you head of products like Toppik and Dermatch? Many recommend them as cover ups. Also toppers made out of hair can be great.

What is "scoobiedouing"?

Yes, I love Toppers! I have to cover the top and sides- and this is my go to- when I want to go out without a hat or scarf . Its nice to have more options on the days you don't want to wear head coverings. Wearing a ponytail, combs, or barrette with simple style is an option while wearing a topper, its comfortable and cooler to wear than a full wig. The cost of a human hair piece is so worth it, easy to care for and looks and feels like your own- no one knows I wear this in my family or friends circle!
Stay strong- Try and find more things that will relax you.

how are you doing these days? keeping you in mind! hope you've been well and growing :)

How are you?

Its been a while since I came on daily strength, not really sure why. Some updates though: I finally built up the courage to visit my school nurse about my trich and she reffered me to a counceller who I saw weekly up until a few months ago. I did various things with her such as mindfulness and a diary. She helped me to identify some of my triggers and cope with the exams (during which my pulling was still very bad) and I began removing my 'barriers' so that it is me working to prevent this rather than a continued habbit denied. I had a good period of time with very little pulling for about a month, part of it because I had and EXTREMELY busy summer doing NCS.

Now most of the hair has began growing back.I had to start wearing a head scarf again while this hair was growing back as it was too short to style I started pulling them again so I visited my counceller who helped me identify one of the reasons why I was pulling was because I hated the short strands that felt different and looked so strange and also helped me reaslise I had to accept how I looked now. She set me a behavior experiment to go out somewhere with only close friends with my head uncovered and write how I felt before, what I expected to happen and what did happen after. I then did it again but in public and I have now only worn a head scarf if I was in a rush or my hair needed a wash and I didn't have time before I went out! I have a habbit of fluffing my hair around and have started pulling again but at the moment it is fairly minor and my friends call me out on it if they see me.

The short fluffy bits are still a nightmare though as I have curly hair so it is really unruly and flicks randomly and I still can't pin my fringe back as most of it is too short and has gaps in. I'm much happier with how it looks now though, I just need to be careful the pulling doesn't develop as I'm half not caring about pulling it out: not a good mindset to be in.

Thanks for the comments above!!

Hm glad you're seeing someone, she seems to have you helped you and that's great. Coming here regularly can help to keep you accountable also.

I'm glad the counselling is helping. It sounds like the counselor gave you some good tips and strategies. Using the barriers will continue to help, so stick to it! Yes, the regrowth period is frustrating, but give it a month or two and it will look great, so just deal with it the best you can for now. Good luck!

glad the counseling is turning out well - i know what ya mean about not caring about pulling out the little fluffy bits...i always manage to semi convince myself that im actually making my hair look better by "fixing" it
eep... :/

The counsellor sounds great. Keep at it, be patient. Barriers are a great tool, and you need to be mindful enough to use them, so it all works together. You are doing very well. So happy to see you here. I'll bump my "ABC's" for you..... A system that I worked out for myself that really works when I put my mind to it.