Mine got worse as I grew older. Not because my pulling increased but because when I get a bald spot I pull from somewhere else, then somewhere else. And because hair grows so slow, over time I end up with large-ish areas of short hair that I'm always tempted to pull. After my 8 month pull free period ended in August 2011 it took 3 years for it to get to what it is now; not great. Also, I've never had thick hair so I think I get bald spots faster than some other people :(

I am kind of the same way, I pull from all over the left side of the head, so I don't really have all bald spots per se, but just really really thin hair on my side.

I wonder why trich always begins in middle/primary school.... I thought mine began in middle school, but I found a journal from 5th grade in which I was agonizing about my "bald spots." Which means OH MY GOD I've been pulling since I was like eleven. I've spent like 75% of my life pulling out my hair!!!

Anyway, doing pretty good. I almost totally pull free Saturday, then broke down and pulled 22 hairs (still under my goal of pulling <50 hairs, so it's all good). Yesterday I just pulled 3 (but nor did I do anything stressful).

So last week was good! There was only one day when I pulled more than 50 hairs. Not bad. Not bad at all!

My goal this week is to once again only have one day when I pull more than 50 hairs.

I bought a tangle toy and I AM SO ADDICTED. So much fun to play with! It's really helped me keep my hands down. I hope I don't get sick of it. I never realized how much nervous energy I have in my hands. For now it's been very effective. I am also trying to wear a hat (an extra barrier) when I am working, to at least keep me from pulling from the top of my head. Saturday I just pulled the hair that wasn't covered by my hat, oh well.

I am doing well and am pleased with myself! I've made good progress!

Good for you!!! I am glad to hear you are making progress.

I think I was eleven as well when I started pulling. 48 years. Yowzer. I am also a disperser. After my major bald spots in my 20's I stared spreading the joy around, but I always want to default to ground zero, on the top right side of my head, where the hair is definitely thinner, and I fear permanently so.

I discovered the most beautiful and mesmerizing game on my iPad/iPhone, called Monument Valley. Now there is a distraction, and unfortunately a time suck, but as long as you are sitting on that left hand, or have it in some kind of PF shackle, there is no way you will want to pull while playing this game. Curious about that tangle toy. What does it look like?

Yay you're doing great!!! So good :) You'll have a big bunch of crosses or smiley faces or whatever on your calendar!

I started when I was 11 too. Ughhh.

Phoebe, I favour the left side of my head. Your hair looks great though. I don't think I'll be looking up that game, I don't need any more distractions! A tangle looks like a big colorful bendy plastic worm that bends in small segments. They were originally developed for autistic kids in the 80s I think. They're all over amazon & ebay. I've been meaning to buy one for ages for when I'm working at my computer.

A tangle sounds like a great idea. I'm glad it's working for you! That's interesting, I didn't know they were developed for autistic kids originally. I always play with something in my hands when I'm sitting still, or tap my fingers against something. My hands just cannot stay still, ever.

You are doing so well!

I use the clipboard with the saying that I'm using for the moment to help me with the one place I have a problem with.

My tweezers are my instrument of pulling.

I am going to tweeze my eyebrows.

I could not deny myself use of tweezers (freezing, hiding, or other long term option not useful). I did put the tweezers into a small plastic bag, to add a step to the process of tweezing.

I use a magnifying mirror. I do not recommend getting started on this one, as it's my worse nightmare, and my best friend, all rolled into one tool that can be for pleasure or pain. I tried long term options with this, and use the plastic bag, separate from the one with tweezers, for the process.

I use a cool washcloth to soothe the eyebrows, before, during, and after.

My clipboard has a space for marking each time I stop at the mirror, and I use a positive saying to help me see the best of me in the mirror. There is a spot for the tweezers, mirror, and washcloth, and a blank spot for any more options.

When I first started, I was trying to go "tweeze free" or "pull free", and I added so much stress to the situation, that I made it much more difficult for myself to manage. I know that pulling is a natural sensation, and that pushing is a natural sensation.

By accepting that it is natural, I gave myself a way to use the sensation for me, rather than fight me.

I use sticky notes to help with some things with the clipboard project. I started out using the sticky notes, and they got so messy, that confident mentioned a clipboard, and that organized the area next to the mirror to allow me to work directly with the tweezers, the mirror, and the words.

I love the reward of Italian food! Hurrah for those special moments!

Best wishes! I know I'm leaving a lot out of the explanation of the clipboard, because in the beginning, it was a major decision to attempt, and so there were a lot of trial and trick options to get to this point.

You are doing wonderful!

Thank you everyone for your kind thoughtful comments as always! : )) I definitely feel like I am doing better than before.

Mid, very interesting. I relate to how you say the magnifying mirror is your nightmare and your best fRiend. I feel that way about the internet sometimes ha ha. So you keep a clipboard with inspirational quotes next to your mirror? That sounds like a great strategy. I also printed out some images that I found helpful and posted them next to my door. My old therapist used to say looking at visuals is very important and the older I get the more true it becomes. Very interesting to hear about your approach to manage your tweezing mid, thank you for sharing!

I agree with sam phoebe ha ha the last thing I need in my life is another excuse to distract myself and procrastinate! So no online games for me heh heh.

That is sooooo interesting that tangles were developed for autistic kids. I read the reviews for my tangle on amazon and there were all these moms posting reviews there being like oh this has really helped my son to relax while avoiding making eye contact with people. When I first read those I was like wow what a lot of reviews related to autistic children, what's up with that? Now I get it ha ha.

Monday I was pull free almost the whole day then broke down at night and pulled more than 50 hairs. Yesterday I pulled over 100, at one point I just stopped counting. Not good. So I did not meet my goal of having only one day this week in which I pulled more than 50 hairs. Maybe that is not a realistic goal for me yet.

Today I did not pull but I was traveling, so I wasn't doing any stressful work. I'm hopeful I can have a good day tomorrow. I did not bring my extensions with me on this trip, I hope I dont regret that.... they are a confidence booster for me when I am feeling self conscious about how thin and uneven my hair looks. Anyway, I feel good about my pf day today.

What's your 3? A 3 or below is still good, but maybe for now you need to set the limit at a 4 or below to be good. Then again. I think you're getting a lot of 3 or below days and the goal here is not to get sequential good days, just as many as you can.

Feeling good about your yourself today is a great way to do well! Yaaay!

Are you traveling for work?

You can do this! You've got this!

Doing ok. Pulled exactly 50 hairs yesterday. Mostly from boredom.

My week so far:
53 hairs --- 125++ hairs (didn't count very well today) --- 0 hairs -- 9 hairs -- 50 hairs.

If I can be pull free today and tomorrow, I will be pretty pleased with myself. I just need to keep my hand OUT of my hair at all costs, and think encouraging compassionate thoughts.

I reckon you've had 4 good days, and two of those were fantastic days. Remember that your 3 and under is good :)

That is pretty good! And yes, keep those hands down! Keeping my hands out of my hair is so much harder than not pulling.

Wasn't pull free during the weekend but oh well. I feel like I have a lot more self-control over this condition, compared to two months ago, when the idea of trying to remain pull free for a couple of hours just seemed insane.

I only had 1 pull free day last week and two days in which I pulled more than 50 hairs. It's still better than pulling over 300 hairs a day.

I am in a GOOD MOOD this week because my boyfriend is visiting. YAAY! I think the fact that we will do lots of fun activities in the evening (going to museums, going out to eat, going for walks/jogging together, etc) is going to do wonders for my mood, as opposed to me going home and watching TV on my computer by myself and feeling bummed.

This week I hope I can have NO days in which I pull more than 50 hairs. I am going to use my barriers (hat while on computer) and my tangle (STILL LOVE THE TANGLE!) and the fact that my bf is visting, which I'm hoping will motivate me to use my time really wisely during the day, that way we can relax guilt-free in the late afternoons/evenings.

DATA TIME!

Days in which I've pulled 50 or less hairs: 18 out of 24 days. Success rate of 75%. Not bad! Not bad at all!

Pull free days: 5 days out of 24. Would like to see this go up but we will get there.

Not bad at all AT ALL! In fact, that's great! Great job :)

Ya say that fb is visiting. Are you away from home? Or are you two long distance?

You're doing great. Gradual progress is the key to long term recovery. Or so I've heard, lolz.

Bf not fb. Not sure if that was an autocorrect or if I'm a little dyslexic. I think the latter.