I have had a rough two months trying to battle extra weight I gained through the holidays that has been difficult to get off. This combined with trying to remain pull-free has been stressful. I am starting day 1. All the progresss I made earlier has just been for nothing. I am sooo discouraged. I have been reading some new entries and find it amazing at how many success stories there are of those who reach 30 days or more. I longest I managed was 12 days lashes and 15 days brows. The battle continues.....

I hope to hear back from some of you as it was great encouragement.

Don't get down on yourself. As for reading the posts on how many days the others have under their belts go to each of thier pull free's and see how they got there. We all fight daily to reach our goals and have to keep at it to maintain our success.

YOU CAN DO IT!!!

I am still struggling to get past day 1, but I am determined. So many of you have given me such wonderful support whether you realize it or not just from reading earlier posts. Yesterday I saw a young lady with the most beautiful eyes. Really long natural eyelashes and it made me so sad as I remembered what my eyelashes looked like before trich really took over my life. So many times I ask myself if I will ever look pretty again naturally without so much eye make-up, false lashes. In my earlier post when I had made it 12 days lashes/ 15 days brow, I noticed my confidence and self-esteem getting better. I thought, wow, maybe I have this licked. Not so. It is so mammoth. Thanks for listening to me ramble.

You ARE beautiful with or without hair.

Now think about why you think you slipped. Did something happen in your life that shook you up? Or are you afraid that if Trich is gone you won't have it to define yourself? You won't have to hide anymore. No more excuses. It's sometimes scary to come out of our caves. The thought of interacting again is fearful.

Those are good questions. I find when I slip that it is difficult to get back into a pull-free day. I can't think of anything that caused me to slip other than letting my guard down and not being consciencious 24 hours. I am in the process of reading the journey of those who are using the pull free a thon discussions and have started with yours. I am very honest to myself, like you, that when I slip with one hair, the counting of days start over. So far today I have done really well. Maybe I can say Day 2 tomorrow.

It's truly like being in the grip of some alien obsession.
We have to be so determined to quit because, like you say, the minute our guard is down..............Wham, the hand has a mind of it's own.

Hope you had a better day today.

((Hugs))

I was able to get through Day 1 without pulling lashes. I pulled one brow hair right before bed. I was so mad. I need to just stop stroking the hairs and feeling the weird ones that stick up. So I'm still working on Day 1 for brow.

Getting those first couple of weeks under your belt is the hardest part. For one we have done it so long that just recognizing that your hand is doing it is difficult. Two it's hard to find something to replace that action with. But once you get that awareness and can in the beginning stop yourself at one or two hairs and can turn to something to distract yourself from the urge it gets easier. Soon you'll realize that the urges get less and you won't be thinking "hair" all the time.

You don't just stop a "habit", grrr hate that discription, but you replace it with another action. After a time the new activity becomes the natural thing to do and you give up on the old one, or in our case it hibernates. You just have to find a "healthy" new action, not transferring pulling to another body harming thing like biting your nails or picking at your skin.

Well I blew it. My husband has been out of town since Tuesday for a homeschool basketball tournament in Liberty, VA. He is coming home really late tonight. Just having him home in the evening helps me to stay pull-free especially when I can stay focused during the day. I went to see my parents for the weekend(only 45 min. away) for two days. I can't say it was all stressful, but just having my husband around to give support and encouragement helps. I was barely able to talk to him much through the week due to the amount of games he was involved with as an assist. coach. I am still on Day 1 for lashes and brows. I am determined to get through Day 2 tomorrow. I am going to concentrate on a reward system and get that set up Sun. I like what crzychick did with setting points for certain routines that need to be done daily and rewarding herself with a wish list item. That's what I plan to try. I know my husband will be all for it. Consistency is my weak area. I appreciate all the current comments that several of you have written. It keeps me motivated to check in and write.

It's tough when our routine is upset. Once you have some good days under your belt you'll find it won't be so hard to stay pull free if something comes up again out of the ordinary.

Thanks for saying that it was me that used that sort of reward system but I'm afraid it wasn't. I remember reading it on anothers pull free but I'm sorry I can't recall who's it was. I hope it helps you.

That's the great thing about this Group we get to try different techniques and tell about them. Even if it didn't work for us someone else might have success with it. So keep us posted on how it does for you.

I used the reward system in the beginning and it worked well.
The hard part was thinking of things to give myself for one day of not pulling. I usually got some kind of fizzy drink.
After a month I bought several fun items for the house and a CD that I had been wanting.
I learned enough about my pulling during that time to help me get over minor relapses later on.

I decided I wanted a new Easter dress. I haven't bought myself a new dress in a long time. I decided on 4 areas that I needed to develop a better habit. I assigned points and figured I would have enough to buy the dress in 15 days if everything was done. I set up a checklist page in a notebook and a calendar to keep track of the points. I thought this would help me be more accountable. My husband really liked the idea. I will keep you all informed of my progress.

Sounds like a good plan, I hope it works for you!

I guess I'm one of those MIA that Crzychick was talking about. I have been posting some comments in other areas of this site, but have sadly neglected this discussion group. Update: I did get my Easter dress. It took longer than the 15 days and lots of those points came from exercising more so than the pull-free points. Many of you seem to be doing so well and often I don't write because I just get so discouraged with my lack of progress. There are different areas in my life that I need consistency in such as exercising, drinking more water, watching what/how much I eat, and then the dreaded Trich. I told my husband once that I get so overwhelmed with so many things I need to keep track of in order to have good health. Just trying to deal every second with the Trich seems like all I can handle, yet my weight is important too. My doctor doesn't want me gaining too many more pounds. I'm not overweight but on the verge if I let myself go.

I need to start all over on my days for brow/lashes.

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