I'm sorry you're dealing with this. :/ It's sooo hard. My 7th and 8th grade years were REALLY hard... the hardest of my llife with trich. I was made fun of a lot and it was when my hair looked the worst. I hadn't learned to cover/hide it yet. But I learned to sort of use humor to battle the teasing... because besides pulling hair, I was also skinny with no boobs and worse glasses... so... I was an easy target. However, I think because of all that I went through/dealt with in school, it made me who I am today.... gave me the sense of humor I have today. By the time I went to high school, I'd learned to cover my patchy spots and I also wasn't pulling AS much... so my hair was looking better (not 100% normal, but pretty good). So the teasing stopped pretty much.

Since then I've just learned to deal with it. I have never had a year or even a month, really, being pulled free... but I've managed. I hate that I'm in hiding all the time, but I married and have kids and really a pretty normal life. Since joining this forum and trying to think positively... writing in a journal, I've REALLY cut down my pulling!! I'm over a week now not being totally 100% pull free, but sooooo much better than I had been. I really have hope for the future that I will be able to stop this completely. :)

Good luck to you! It's not an easy journey, but it doesn't have to mean that you are miserable or that you can't lead a good/normal life with people who love you.

middle school is by far the worst time to have trich... because not only are we self-conscious and have low self-esteem, but every other girl is also self-conscious, and therefore they look for any weak point in another girl so they can use it against her in order to feel better about themselves. She has her own problems, and her way of coping is putting other people down. Girls are the worst.

The only way to win this is to show you don't care what she says. Show her that you have no reason to feel bad about yourself... (obviously this comes along with actually building up your own self-esteem...)

hope i could help!
chat or message whenever :)

by the way, it seems to me that the only reason this girl would have felt the need to bring this up to this guy is that she likes him, and sensed that he might like you... so she feels the need to make you look bad (just like in mean girls... when regina makes Cady look really bad to what's his name, because regina realizes that this guy is interested in Cady...)
mean girl...

She's going to find a way to tease you because she's insecure about herself. It's even possible she's a puller as well. If people notice you they might notice her...so she's lashing out.

This is going to be really hard to do, but just walk away. If you react to her mocking you, she'll only do it more because show her you care that she's being a jerk. Practice a dead pan face in the mirror. Total disinterest in what she says. Make sure you show it to her whenever she teases you. Don't give her the satisfaction of making you cry or be upset....that's what bullies live for.

You are beautiful! Your hair pulling is NOT who you are inside...don't let some pink girl think she can bring you down! :D

hehe, I meant to say "punk girl".

Dear Pupz,
You seem like a wonderful young lady that is very articulate. I am so sorry that you have experienced this. I do not suffer from trich.(my daughter does, I am a skin picker) but I can remember my middle school days having simular situations happen. There is always a mean girl out there. If you didn't have trich. she would find something else to tease you about. I am guessing that's because she is intimadated by you. That is always the reason mean girls strike. As hard as this my be to do, next time you see her just smile to yourself because you know her secret too. You will beat this, and some day you will be reminded of her and know that your battles are much bigger than this girl would ever have the strength to endure! You are stronger than most and braver each day! You will be OK, I know this because I got picked on a lot when I was your age and I am OK. Remind yourself how beautiful you are! Hope this helps : )

What a jerk.
If you can, confront her about it.
If you can't do that, just make sure that, at the very least, you look like you don't care about it.
I'm going to guess she likes Mike and wants to make sure you and Mike don't have any chances (though honestly, who wants a girl like her though?), and also I suppose wants to feel like she's better than you. If you don't act upset, she should let up eventually.

I just think its funny, if its so disgusting, that she'd actually pull her own hairs out just to make fun of you.

I am so very sorry you had to endure this kind of pain. It is just awful. That girl is not a nice person and is very ugly inside. I feel sorry for her actually.

I've been pulling for way too many years to mention here, but the one thing I finally learned is to "minimize" the disorder. If someone makes fun just turn the other cheek -do not give looks, or say anything nasty back -just look them in the eye and say something like "It is not a big deal -please stop this". I would go to your guidance counselor at school to talk about this -it is harassment and you do not need this grief.

The angrier and nastier you get, the uglier the whole thing will get as well. Be nice and smile but stop these folks in their tracks.

Sorry you went through such a hurtful time at school. It must be so hard, and that girl was very cruel to do what she did.

I don't know what to say for advice, but probably the more you react the more she will bother you. Even though it is hard, maybe try ignoring her and walking away.

Wish I had some good advice for you.
Just know that we are here for you, and we understand your pain.
You said you felt hopeless, and wondering when will the trich end. It will end, when you stop feeling hopeless and tell yourself that you CAN beat trich and you WILL. Every time we beat ourselves up for pulling and feel bad about ourselves we are inviting the pulling cycle - we pull, we feel bad and depressed and anxious, and then we pull again because we are so stressed and depressed.

If we change our thinking and believe in our power to stop pulling, that is a huge step towards recovering and healing from trich.

You also said "I don't want to do this any more" - that is the first step - wanting to quit pulling.

You will get there - believe in yourself. Come here often to chat with those who understand. We are here for you.

I was bullied, LOTS in middle school. I had to wear a hat through seventh grade (why no one got me a wig, I don't know) but all it did was put more attention on me, I wanted to disappear.
What I've learned from those horrible experiences is that despite the many who hurt me and said horrible things, if I looked hard enough I could find a friend I already had, my mom, or even my counselor to help me find some confidence. Do your best to forget and ignore those STUPID people (they are just plain stupid you know) I know that isn't easy to do but DO what you love and stay close to those that care about you and BELIEVE the kind things that people may say about you. As Emilie80 said, having a sense of humor is a tremendous help. Put effort into your studies and school work and find a path and stick to it- immerse yourself into what you enjoy. Also, believe that you are beautiful- no matter what- you are unique and you have incredible potential. You WILL find your way to control your pulling- you can!

thesimplelife,

you're absolutely right... there is no excuse!

and life (and afterlife)does have poetic justice (although I think of that in terms of G-d, and reward and punishment)...

And in terms of the wearing labels and girls making fun of that, it's just something that so clearly girls use to boost their self-esteem (if all they are interested in is the brand-name), and ironically those are the girls with the least self-esteem to begin with!

We, on the other hand, don't need brand names to feel good about ourselves.

i'm sorry to hear that. I'm not in school anymore, I'm actually in the militry and on the other side of the world. I still pull my hair. I had an experience myself back in highschool. I would usually sit in the back of any class. Social anxiety is what got me pulling. One of the students looked back at me and asked what happened to my eyebrow. I guess I pulled enough to have a bald spot. I did the same thing too when i got to my first duty station. My boyfriend (now my husband) asked what happened becuase i had a bald spot. Now that I'm out here I didn't really get too much of bald spots but I could tell i was irratating the skin.
If this person is going around and telling people, she's probably hiding something herself and or insecure. Things will get better! Just hang in there! If it helps, they for some reason didn't give me pills (don't ask me why but I'd rather have them). I get to do shock therapy.

Oh my goodness guys thank you so much! I don't go on here a lot anymore but I just read all of your amazing responses! I'm close to tears. I can't stop smiling. I want to just thank you all again for trying to make me feel better. At least some people care! I don't even know any of you and you all just.......I don't know. Make me feel like I belong. Thank you all. I really appreciate it. And to return the favor.....I'm ALWAYS here when you need me. I check my email every single day so if you want my email, just message me. I tend to be a very understanding girl. I'm only 13 but many people say I'm very mature for my age. I don't care if you're my age or 40, I can understand this pain that you're going through with this battle. I think the fight is all the same for all of us, but in the end, it makes us stronger than ever.
pupz333

So glad u popped in to read your messages. I find this forum helps me to not pull, as I spend time here reading posts, writing in my journal, etc. I had a slip recently, but back on track as of today, day 1 of not pulling.I wasn't coming on here as often, bad diet, etc.

You will find a lot of support here, and I hope you visit more often.

You sound like a very sweet girl. I wish you all the best in your efforts to beat trich.

I totally know how you feel! Im 16 And I started pulling my hair last year as a Freshman in High school! I actually first started the very first day of high school! And it was in my english 2 honors class! I personally started pulling because I think I was so stressed out with everything! I currently now have absolutly no hair! It hurts a lot! I wear a wig now! And that helps boost my self confidence! But what Ive found is that all your real friends wont care. If that girl wants to be a butt she can! And I know it will hurt but your real friends will stick by you!